Ask our children:
1. Is it important to make qurbaani of animals in the days of ‘eid?
2. If we don’t have money to buy an animal, what can we do?
Now tell them the story:
Once, there was a little boy named Qaasim who loved qurbaani. In fact, the days of qurbaani were his favourite days in the whole year! He even had a small calendar stuck inside his cupboard, and every day, he would count the days left for Qurbaani.
One year, however, Qaasim was very sad and heartbroken. His father came home and said, “Qaasim! I’m so sorry! We can’t make qurbaani this year because we don’t have enough money. We can’t buy a sheep.” As he said this, tears came into Qaasim’s eyes. He was so sad and disappointed, that he didn’t even feel like playing with his toys.
The day of ‘eid came, and Qaasim did not have any sheep to play with or feed. It was a very, very sad ‘eid. There was a bull at Basheer’s house, and a ram at Rasheed’s house, but Qaasim’s back yard was empty. However, when ‘eid was over, Qaasim had an idea.
A few days later, while Qaasim and his family were eating lunch together, Qaasim said to his father, “Papa! You know the money you give me every month to buy sweets and toys?” His father replied, “Yes, I give you R50 every month. So what about it?” Qaasim said, “From now on, instead of giving me that money to buy sweets and toys, I want you to put it in a special box and save it for qurbaani! Then we will have enough money to buy a sheep next year!”
Qaasim’s father looked at him and said, “Qaasim! R50 is not enough! Even if we save that money, we won’t have enough to buy a sheep!” Qaasim said, “Never mind! I still want you to save it! One day, it will be enough, then we can buy a sheep and make qurbaani again!” When Qaasim’s big brother and big sister saw how much love he had for qurbaani, they realized that they should help him. They both said, “Papa! You also give us R50 every month to buy what we want, but from now on, save it for qurbaani!”
Qaasim’s father was surprised at what he was hearing. Normally, his children would wait the whole month for their spending money. They would buy sweets, chocolates, ice creams and toys. But now, they were telling him to keep it for qurbaani! He looked at Qaasim’s mother and said, “If we also spend a little less every month, we can save the money together. Then inshaAllah we will be able to buy a sheep next year!”
Qaasim’s mother agreed, so every month, they reminded Qaasim’s father to take their spending money and place it in the box. As the days and weeks and months passed, the box got more and more full, until finally, they had enough money.
The next year, when it was almost time for Qurbaani, Qaasim’s father took him to the farm to choose the sheep. Qaasim was carrying the box with the money under his arm and he was bursting with excitement. After they bought the sheep and brought it home, Qaasim’s father said to him, “Qaasim! From all of us, it was you who had the most love for qurbaani! It was you who gave us the idea to save money every month to buy a sheep! Allah Ta‘ala is very happy with you because of this, and Allah Ta‘ala will give you a big reward on the Day of Qiyaamah!”
Qaasim was thrilled – he had a sheep for Qurbaani and Allah Ta‘ala would reward him as well!
Lessons:
1. Making qurbaani is very important for Muslims. If we have enough money, we must make qurbaani.
2. If we don’t have enough money for qurbaani, we can try to save a little money every month. InshaAllah, we will have enough money one day to buy an animal for qurbaani.
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