My daughter – udhiyaa this Eid ul Adha

In this very comprehensive article on qurbani, the author states that it  is  proper  for  a  woman  to  slaughter  her  own animal, and that in  fact,  if  she  is  able  to  carry  out  the  Dhabah (slaughtering)  correctly,  it  will  be  better  for  her  to  sacrifice  her  own  animal.

The  following is the hadith of Rasool saws which supports that there is no prohibition against a female performing the slaughter of an animal:

ان امراة، ذبحت شاة بحجر، فسيل النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم عن ذلك، فامر باكلها

A lady slaughtered a sheep with a stone and then the Prophet (ﷺ) was asked about it and he permitted it to be eaten.

_{— Sahih Bukhari, Book of Hunting}

Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) reported in his Saheeh from `Ubayd-Allah from Nafi`, that he (Nafi`) heard Ibn Ka`b ibn Malik narrating from his father that they used to have sheep which they allowed to graze on mount Sala’ in Madinah: a slave-women noticed that one of the sheep was dying, so she broke a stone and slaughtered it. He said: “Do not eat it until I ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or I send someone to ask him. So he asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or sent someone else to ask, and he told him to eat it. `Ubay-Allah said: “I liked the fact that she was a slave-woman and yet she managed to slaughter it.”

Commenting on this hadith, Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “This shows that it is permissible to eat meat slaughtered by a woman, whether she is free or a slave, old or young, Muslim or from the People of the Book (Jewish or Christian), in a state of purity or otherwise, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told them to eat the meat she had slaughtered and did not ask for further details.”

This year, when Maulana summoned one of my children to perform the slaughter, Youngest shied away from the cow, stating that he preferred to start with a sheep. BD stepped forward and performed the slaughter herself. May Allah swt be pleased with her and accept her and our udhiyaa.

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Your sacrifice – are you present or absent?

Squeamishness aside, NoS has been apathetic towards personally slaughtering the sacrificial animal on Eid ul Adha, and this year, has exhorted his desire to have it performed overseas and the meat distributed to those in need there. My own view is that as much as possible, we should be physically and actively involved in the sacrifice. Differing views aside, I came across the following hadith on this site:-

Hadhrat  Abu  Saeed  Khudri  (radhiyallahu  anhu)  narrates  that  once  on  the  occasion  of  qurbani  The Messenger  of  Allah (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said  to  his  daughter  Fatima  (Radhiyallahu  anha):

“O  Fatima!  Stand  near  your  qurbani  animal  and  witness  its  sacrifice,  for  verily  every  drop  of  blood is  forgiveness  for  your  past  sins.”

She  then  inquired:

O  Prophet  of  Allah!  Is  this  virtue  specially  for  us,  the  Ahle  Bait (Family  of  Rasool), or  is  it for  the  entire  Ummat?

The  Prophet upon whom be peace replied:

“It  is  for  us  as  well  as  for  the  rest  of  the  Ummat.”

[Musnad  of  Imam  Bazzar]

 

Beachfront Eid – OOTD

It is narrated that Umm ‘Atiyah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said:

“We were commanded (and in one report it says, he commanded us – meaning the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) to bring out to the Eid prayers the adolescent girls and the women in seclusion, and he commanded the menstruating women to avoid the prayer-place of the Muslims.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1/93; Muslim, 890.

Eid ul Adha 2018, Barbados

Change of venue this year. Possibly close to 200 persons attended.

Meat & Sweet – Eid ul Adha 2018

This year, we invited friends to join with us yesterday, to partake of the Qurbani meat (beef from the cow slaughtered by BD). So while I have much to my chagrin, no photos of the decor (inclusive of a beautiful rose gold foil Eid Mubarak banner loaned by Sister R, beneath the eave of a pink & purple striped canopy set above pink covered tables dressed with silver bottles from whence sprang darker pink fronds of glitter), I can share photos of the sweets – mousse made by BD, caramel blondies & chocolate cupcakes topped with homemade marshmallow frosting made by BD, sour cream crumb cake made by BD, cheesecake made by Sister S, our neighbour, coconut cake squares made by Sister W of Halalicious Treats, & an unnamed absolutely deliciously dreamy concoction by Sister S, mother of 3 girls. With ice cream – caramel toffee, strawberry, coffee mocha & chocolate. Friends came, and stayed, and all seemed content.

The  Mustahab  (best)  method  of  distributing   qurbani  meat  is  to  divide  it  into  three  equal  parts.  One part  should  be  given  to  the  poor,  one  part  to  one’s  relatives  and  friends  and  one  part  retained  for  one’s own  family.

4score but who’s counting?

 

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:

“The lifespan for my Ummah is from sixty years to seventy years and very few surpass this”

Some weeks ago, Aunt P who has been my class mate, my housemate, my spouse’s second mother, my colleague, my partner, my confidant, a prayer warrior, and most of all, my friend, passed that milestone of 80. In addition to her family sponsored festivities, BD, my mum and I took her out to tea at the seafront restaurant at Bougainvillea Hotel. Fruit tarts, smoked salmon & cucumber sandwiches, carrot cake, vegetable samosas, egg pinwheels, cheese & blueberry scones with clotted cream and jam. And Harney’s brand of teas!

Perfect 10 sisterhood

 

Yesterday was Emancipation Day in Barbados. One of my sisters’ groups (that of Tea & Taqwa) organised a day out at the Perfect 10 beach house in Cattlewash on the East Coast of Barbados. Beach house in this instance was a quirky ground floor apartment filled with eye pleasing treasures (2 shown in the pix) on the opposite side of the coast road (many many steps up).

It was one of those soporific days, just overcast enough to not be stifling, and with enough zephyrs (that’s still not the right use of that word), to be a beautiful day out.

Sisters of all sizes, shapes, ages, hair styles and dresses assembled for a very relaxing outing with lots of food, some icebreakers that let us each learn something about each other, a talk on sisterhood in Islam, interjections on time management, invitation accepting,  anger management, and community.

Hadhrat Abdullah ibn Masood (radiallahu anhu) says that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
“Accept the invitation of he who invites you. Avoid declining a gift and refrain from annoying the Muslims.” [Muslim]

Amongst us were the progeny of various nations, a football coach, a makeup afficionado, a budding writer, a therapist, a baker/crafter mum, a du’a baby, a school secretary, several pursuers of knowledge in several avenues, soon to be mums. It was interesting how we defined ourselves by our ages, and our children. But also interesting to hear what we knew of our seatmates.

PS: Menu – veg rice, macaroni pie, plaintain, baked potatoes, garlic bread, pasta salad, potato salad, baked chicken, tossed salad, cole slaw. Mangoes, mango bars, cakes, brownies, and cookies.

In my veg rice were a mishmash of cuban rice & spanish rice- black beans, corn & sweet peppers, mushrooms, coriander, capers, tomatoes in tomato paste, cumin, garlic, onion, rice!

Eid OOTD

BD & NoS in Granny’s Garden on Eid morning after Eid gaah

It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Umar (radi Allahu anhu) said that ‘Umar (radi Allahu anhu) took a brocade cloak that was for sale in the market and brought it to the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam), and said, “O Messenger of Allah, buy this and adorn yourself with it for Eid and for receiving the delegations.” The Messenger of Allah  (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said to him, “Rather this is the dress of one who has no share (of piety or of reward in the Hereafter)…” [Sahih al-Bukhari]

The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) agreed with ‘Umar  (radi Allahu anhu) on the idea of adorning oneself for Eid, but he denounced him for choosing this cloak because it was made of silk.

It was narrated that Jaabir (radi Allahu anhu) said: The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) had a cloak which he would wear on the two Eids and on Fridays. [Saheeh Ibn Khuzaymah, 1756]

Al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated with a sahih isnaad that Ibn ‘Umar (radi Allahu anhu) used to wear his best clothes on Eid.

Finally – Eid Creations decor

A few years ago, I discovered Eid Creations online and slavered over their lines. I ordered & the dinner plates, dessert plates, napkins, paper lantern packs, Eid Mubarak swirls, & cupcake liners & tags, were delivered to BH. I’ve hung some of the lanterns & swirls and every year since have taken out the plates etc looked at them, and put them back. This year, they stayed out, and were put out to be used.

Sister N also gifted me with some ultra think LED string lights which were the perfect replacement solution for the LED candle in the huge blue vase (alas, no pictures to show). The blue lights atop the gate were the lights I bought for independence last year (our 50th) which we never got around to stringing.

Backyard Eid Barbecue

I know, it sounds weird. and I have a non-Muslim friend who is adamant that Eid should only be celebrated with Indian food. (To be fair, on Eid day, we did prepare at home lamb vindaloo, pumpkin, stir fried shrimp & paratha & dhalpuri.)

However, the following day, we hosted a very impromptu backyard Eid barbecue at home. Fortunately, our friends were all amenable to what were very last minute invitations:).

Our menu was uncomplicated – macaroni pie, potato salad, barbecued chicken. Friends brought a chicken, a green salad, cole slaw, & added to our servings of garlic bread. Another friend, Sister N, who is holidaying here on her annual retreat to Barbados, brought hot dogs & burgers, and buns. We were able to source homemade pizza to add to the menu as we had some vegetarians and milk-allergic invitees, as well as some lamb sausage – so an unbaked cheese pizza to which BD added the lamb sausage, a cheeseless chicken pineapple & onion pizza, and a vegetarian pizza. Homemade lemonade & sorrel, and Barbados’ Plus & Malt drinks.

The dessert table offered varieties of sweetmeats including BD’s baked goods, a Muslim friendly great cake & coconut bread from L, and oodles of other sweet baked goods. (And I have NO pictures of that central table, sob).

Guests came, and stayed. And even anti-social Youngest softened enough to invite a friend other than the one that BD invited for him without his consent. Alhamdulillah for a soothing relaxed blessed Eid ul Fitr with families and friends.