Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage)

36. “And (as for) the fat camels, We have made them for you of the symbols of Allah, therein is good for you. So mention Allah’s Name on them, standing in a row; then, when they fall down (sacrificed) on their sides, eat of them and feed the contented (poor one) and such who begs with due humility; thus have We made them subservient to you that perhaps you may give thanks.”

Spend Generously When Glorifying Symbols of Allah

The verses under discussion speak about: the rites of Hajj, the symbols of Allah, and the subject of sacrifice.

At first, it says:

“And (as for) the fat camels, We have made them for you of the symbols of Allah…”

From one side, they belong to people and, on the other side, they are among the symbols and signs of Allah (s.w.t.) in this great worship, because ‘Sacrifice in Hajj’ is one of the clear manifestations of this worship, the philosophy of which was referred to formerly.

The Arabic term /budn/ is the plural form of /badanah/ which means a big fat and fleshy camel, and in view of the fact that such an animal is the most appropriate for the ceremonies of sacrifice and feeding the poor and needy ones, it is specially emphasized here, else we know well that the fatness of the sacrificial animal is not among the obligatory conditions of it. It is enough for us to be careful that the animal should not be rather thin.

Then, the Qur’an adds:

“…therein is good for you.…”

From one side, you use its meat and feed others from it, and on the other side, because of this donation and that you worship Allah, you will enjoy its spiritual results and gain access to Allah.

Then the Qur’an states the quality of offering sacrifice in a short sentence, as follows:

“…So mention Allah’s Name on them, standing in a row;…”

No doubt, mentioning the name of Allah at the time of slaughtering the animals, or immolation of a camel, does not need that a particular quality be observed, and mentioning any Name of Allah is enough.

The apparent of the holy verse also shows the same thing, but some narrations contain a special invocation of Allah to be mentioned for here which, in fact, is the statement of a complete one.

The commentators have quoted this invocation from Ibn-‘Abbas, as this:

“Allahu Akbar-u-La’ilaha ’Illalah-u-wallahu Akbar. Allahumma minka wa laka”.1

Yet, in a narration from Imam Sadiq (as) some more expressive sentences have been quoted. He (as) said:

“When you bought the sacrificial animal, do turn it toward Qiblah, and at the time of slaughtering, you should say:

‘I have turned my face (myself wholly) toward Him Who created the heavens and the earth being upright, and I am not of the idolaters. Verily my prayer and my worship, my life and my death are for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

No associate (there is) for Him, and this (submission) I have been commanded to, and I am the first of the Muslims. O’ Allah! (this sacrifice) is Yours and it is for You. By the Name of Allah and to Allah, and Allah is the Great. O’ Allah! Accept it from me’.”2

The Qur’anic term /sawaff/ is the plural form of /saffah/ which means ‘standing in row’, and as some Islamic narrations denote, the objective of it is that the hands of the sacrificial camel must be tied together from the wrist to the knee while it is standing so that the camel does not move so much and does not run away at the time of slaughtering.

It is natural that when the body of the camel bleeds for a while, its hands grow weak and weaker and finally, the camel lies on the ground, therefore, at the end of the verse, the Qur’an says:

“…then, when they fall down (sacrificed) on their sides, eat of them and feed the contented (poor one) and such who begs with due humility;…”

The difference between the Arabic words /qani‘/ and /mu‘tar/ is that the word /qani‘/ is applied to a person that when something is given to him, he is satisfied and becomes contented and happy. He shows no protest, objection and anger. But the word /mu‘tar/ is used for a person who comes to you, asks for something, and he is often not content with what you give him, and he protests.

The Arabic word /qani‘/ is derived from /qana‘ah/ while the Qur’anic word /mu‘tar/ is derived from /‘arr/, pronounced as /harr/, originally means ‘scab’ which is a mangy skin disease in human beings, then the word /mu‘tar/ has been used for a beggar who comes unto one and asks for help (and it usually happens that he protests).

The word /qani‘/ has been mentioned in the verse before the word /mu‘tar/. This matter shows that those groups of the deprived who are self-modest and self-possessed must be taken more under consideration.

This point is also noteworthy that the Qur’anic phrase /kulu minha/ (eat of them) apparently means that the pilgrims must eat something out of their own sacrifice as an obligation; and, perhaps, this is for the equality between them and the poor.

Finally, The Qur’an concludes the holy verse as fallows:

“…thus have We made them subservient to you that perhaps you may give thanks.”

This is amazing, indeed, that a big animal such as camel, with that power and strength that it has; is so subservient to us that it lets even a child ties his feet very firmly, and then it will be slaughtered. (The style of slaughtering a camel is that a knife is pushed in the hole of the neck of that camel and it begins bleeding, and soon the animal is sacrificed).

Sometimes, in order to show us the importance of this conquest, Allah (s.w.t.) takes the command of obedience and submission from this animal, and we have seen that an angry camel, which a little boy can take its rein and leads it here and there in an ordinary case, turns to a dangerous being that several strong men cannot usually manage to control it.