Only at mosques of Islamic Cultural Centres, 9,475 kg of meat were distributed over the past few days: 4,450 kg in Kyiv, over 1,500 kg Kharkiv, 1,750 kg in Odesa, 750 in Zaporizhzhia, 450 kg in Lviv, 275 kg in Vinnytsia, 200 kg in Sumy and 100 кг in Dnipro.
Yet there are also smaller communities of RAMU “Umma”, communities of other Muslim organisations, and plenty of people who opted to carry out the slaying and distribution on their own, delivering the meat to needy people.
That’s exactly what the social part of the holiday is about: help those in need; learn to see the signs of need in people around you, understand their hardships and never forget about them all year round.
Obligatory sacrifice is the matter of conscience of each family who has financial means for that. One family with joint budget usually sacrifices a 1-year old ram or goat; yet 7 families can unite their funds and sacrifice a two-years old bull or cow from all of them. One third of the meat is left for the family, the other third is presented to relatives and friends, and the last third is distributed among the needy people — and each part must be equal in value and quality!
The meaning of the sacrifice is spiritual, for the Holy Qur’an says, “Their meat will not reach Allah, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you” [22:37].
