70 Religious Studies: Islam
Hazrat Ibrahim (A) dreamt one night that the most Gracious
Allah was instructing him to sacrifice his dear son Ismail (A).
Hazrat Ibrahim informed this to his son. He accepted the desire
of Allah. When Hazrat Ibrahim (A) was prepared to sacrifice
his son, then Allah said, "Oh Ibrahim! You have trully obeyed
the divine command received in dream. Certainly it was a clear
test! You have passed out at that successfully". (Sura Assaffat
105-107). Being pleased the most Gracious. Allah made the
arrangements for sacrificing an animal. From that time the
system of sacrificing animals has begun. So, we also sacrifice
every year. Healthy and good looking animals are to be
sacrificed.
Akika
Children are the dearest ones to the parents. The parents have so
many duties/responsibilities to children. One responsibility is to
perform Akika on the seventh day after the child is born and to
give him/her a name. The dangers of the child are removed
away through performing Akika. But there is no harm if Akika
can not be performed. Akika can be performed by the similar
animals which are appropriate for Qurbani. It is better to