…As price of animals hit roof top
A lecturer in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ilorin, Prof. Yahaya Imam, has warned Muslims against stealing rams to celebrate Eid-el-Kabir festival.
Prof Imam gave the warning in Ilorin, admonishing that Allah would not accept the stolen sacrifice, as He is pure and does not accept anything impure.
“Those who cannot afford a ram should not go out of their ways to steal or commit other unwholesome acts, to be able to sacrifice a ram.
“Everybody should show gratitude to Allah and glorify Him for keeping them safe and alive,” he explained.
Imam, who teaches in the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ilorin, explained that slaughtering rams during Sallah was important both spiritually and for other purposes.
“Spiritually, Allah will reward the believer who offers the sacrifice with forgiveness of sins and other rewards, depending on the sincerity of his or her intention.
“In the mundane sphere, it is an occasion to eat, drink permissible things and rejoice with fellow beings, irrespective of their creed, tribe and nation.
“It is also an occasion to give charity both in cash and in kind, to the poor and needy,” he explained.
According to him, Sallah is a period of sober reflection, considering the historical origin of the celebration where Prophet Ibrahim’s son was replaced with a ram for fulfilling the promise of offering the only son for sacrifice.
“Sallah celebration is a period of showing gratitude to Allah and kindness to the less privileged.
“For those who can afford, let them remember those who can not by sharing part of the ram with them so that they will equally be happy on the Sallah day,” he said.
The expert on Islamic Studies enjoined Muslims in the country to use the period to beseech Allah to bring peace and harmony to the nation.
Imam further said that, as the Sallah celebrations was barely days away, Allah is capable of doing all things and changing the course of the country from hardship.
He also called on governments at all levels to alleviate the sufferings of the citizens and make life more meaningful.
“Policies capable of reducing poverty, hardships and suffering from the land must be pursued,” he added.
Meanwhile, the price of ram has gone up astronomically.
In Ibadan, Oyo State capital, the prices of rams range from N100,000 to N200,000, while goats are sold for between N50,000 and N75,000.
A ram seller at a popular ram market spot near the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, popular as Solo, lamented the difficulties experienced in purchasing rams, noting that the high cost is keeping customers away.
Solo said: “It is frustrating that we could not get rams from where we normally get them cheaply due to the security challenges of the country, but because of the significance of ram to Muslims at Sallah, we had to look for an alternative means to purchase rams so that we can sell for the reason of the festive celebration.”
She noted that the alternative is not encouraging, but that sellers had to buy the rams at high costs and sell with little profit margin. Solo, however, expressed the hope that she will have more patronage as time goes on.
She further lamented that the feeds of the rams and goats also contributed to the high cost of the animals, noting that the prices of feeds, which was sold at N1,500 last year, has now risen to N4,000 this year.