Naats

This incident belongs to a middle-class family. Listen to the story of a father who is unable to perform the sacrifice (Qurbani). "Baba... Baba... Will we also get meat, right?" I said, "Yes, yes, why not? Absolutely we will get it." "But Baba... on the last Eid, no one gave us any meat. Now it has been a whole year since we even saw meat..." I explained with great affection, "Son, Allah has not kept us hungry. My dear daughter, we must thank Allah in every situation." My daughter started speaking again, "The uncle next door has brought a big animal for sacrifice, and Chacha Iqbal opposite us has also brought a goat." I was thinking in my heart that the meat of Qurbani is meant for us poor people, after all, the rich eat meat all year round. Thinking this, I set off towards the mosque for Eid prayers. There too, the Molvi Sahib was delivering a sermon stating that one must not forget the poor and needy during Qurbani... they have many rights. Anyway, I also returned home after performing the prayer. After waiting for about an hour, my daughter said, "Baba, the meat hasn't arrived yet." Her elder sister Rafia said, "Quiet down, Shazi! Don't trouble Baba." I silently listened to the conversation of both and kept ignoring it. Even after a long time, when meat did not arrive from anywhere, Shazia's mother said, "Listen, I have even chopped the onions and tomatoes. But meat hasn't come from anywhere. Did they forget to send meat to our side? Why don't you go and ask for it yourself?" I looked at her with surprise, wondering what strange thing she was saying. I said gently, "Look, Shazia's mother... you know that to this day, we have never begged from anyone. Allah will create some means or the other." After the afternoon passed, upon Shazia's repeated insistence, we first went to the house of an acquaintance, a Doctor, in the next street. I could not bear to look at my daughter's disappointed face. Therefore, out of compulsion, I took her along and set off. When the Doctor came to the door, I said, "Doctor Sahib, I am your neighbor, can we get some Qurbani meat?" Hearing this, the Doctor's face turned red with anger, and he spoke contemptuously, "Don't know where all these people come from to beg for meat!" and slammed the door shut. Tears welled up in my eyes from the feeling of humiliation. But so that my daughter's heart wouldn't break, I tried to force back the tears behind my eyelids. The last hope was Chacha Iqbal. I walked with heavy steps. In front of him too, for the sake of my daughter, I stretched out my hand begging for meat. Hearing about the meat, Chacha Iqbal looked at me with a strange gaze and walked away. After a short while, he came out, handed over a shopper bag, and quickly went back inside, as if I had committed a sin by asking for meat. Upon reaching home, when we checked, it contained only bones and fat. Silently, I got up and went into the room, and my tears kept flowing soundlessly. My wife came and said, "It's alright, don't be sad. I will make chutney." After a short while, Shazia came into the room and said, "Baba, we don't want to eat meat. My stomach is hurting." But I understood that the daughter was comforting her father. As soon as I heard this, tears started falling from my eyes, and then I burst into tears uncontrollably. But I wasn't the only one crying; both my daughters and my wife were also shedding tears. Just then, our neighbor Akram's voice was heard, who used to push a vegetable cart. "Azad Bhai, open the door!" When I opened the door, Akram handed over a shopper bag containing three to four kilograms of meat and said, "My younger brother brought it from the village. We cannot eat this much alone. You should eat this too." Tears of joy and gratitude welled up in my eyes, and prayers for Akram started coming from the bottom of my heart. We had just finished eating meat when a very strong storm arrived. It started raining heavily, and along with it, the power went out. The power didn't return even on the second day. Upon checking, it was found that the transformer had burnt out. On the third day, my daughter Shazia and I came outside and saw that Chacha Iqbal and the Doctor were throwing away a lot of meat outside, which had spoiled due to the lack of electricity. And dogs were pouncing on it. Shazia said, "Baba... did they perform the sacrifice for the dogs?" They were left staring at Shazia's face. Hearing this, Chacha Iqbal and the Doctor bowed their heads in shame. This is not just a piece of writing, but an eyewitness account during the occasion of Qurbani over the past few years. For God's sake, be considerate of the poor and needy people who live around you. (Copied and Transcribed) Selection: Islamic Tube Pro