By Mohammed Makki
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
MAKKAH – Dr. Abdullah Al-Mutlaq, a member of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars and an adviser at the Royal Court, has called upon the Muslim faithful in the Kingdom to invest the millions of riyal spent on animals sacrificed on behalf of the dead in charitable projects to support the poor.
Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, he said: “The legitimate animal sacrifice is for the living people in the family but people now sacrifice animals for the dead, forgetting themselves.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him) has urged sacrifice for living family members every year.
Al-Mutlaq estimated that at least a million animals are sacrificed in the Kingdom on behalf of the dead every year, although there is no religious text exists to prove its legitimacy.
“Suppose the value of a sacrificial animal is SR800, they will be spending at least SR800 million on this form of sacrifice every year,” the scholar pointed out.
He asked the faithful to redirect the money spent on this unauthorized sacrifice for charitable programs such as building homes for the poor, supporting marriages of young men and women, and providing medical treatment for the poor and needy.
He emphasized the need to allocate at least SR400 million to charitable organizations as well as societies that support the youth to get married, SR200 million to support housing for the poor and SR200 million for the treatment of poor patients.
Al-Mutlaq urged the faithful to rethink the matter. “I hope a charitable organization should be formed with the support of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Dar Al-Ifta to collect the money used for this sacrifice and use it on charitable and humanitarian projects.”
He said families could advise the organization on the purpose their money should be spent. He pointed out that some non-Sunni religious sects collect Fitr Zakat and other charity in cash and amass a huge of amount of money every year.
However, some of this money is spent on useless things, he said.
Abdul Aziz Al-Abdullah backed Al-Mutlaq’s proposal and said there is no religious basis for sacrifice on behalf of the dead.
The late scholar Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zaid Al-Mahmoud has pointed out that he had not seen any evidence for this sacrifice in the Qur’an and the Sunnah, nor in the works of prominent scholars confirming the legitimacy of the sacrifice for the dead or explaining its importance and rewards, he added.