With Eid al Adha this weekend many Muslims will be participating in the ritual of qurbani (festival of sacrifice). For those wanting to make this spiritual connection through sacrifice but without the hassle of slaughtering at home, there are a number of farms to visit. The Qurbaan Farm is a familiar place. The Qurbaan Farm’s aim is to make the ritual easier and more hygienic, with facilities adapting to contemporary times.

The farm is one of the first qurbani farms established in the Western Cape owned by AC Ebrahim. Having 25 years of qurbani service under its belt, Qurban Farm is a hot spot this time of year as most Muslim customers value the cleanliness of the facilities and the highly skilled manner the labourers complete the slaughter.

“People don’t have to bend down for holes if they busy cutting. It is very easy. The premises meets the standards for what we require. It is in good condition and clean,” says manager Abdul Rahim.

Described as “evolving with contemporary times” sheep are now slaughtered on tables and there is a specific demarcated premises for the ritual to be performed. It is much more cleanly where sheep are claimed to be slaughtered “humanely.” While the ritual stems from flock being slaughtered over a sand pit, but the company desires for procedures to be much more simplistic and hygienic.

“Sheep used to be placed on the ground. Humanely! And little holes were made for the sheep to be slaughtered and blood to run in. Now we have a facility specifically for the procedure. It is easier, cleanlier and people don’t fall into holes while their busy,”says Rahim.

This festival of sacrifice is testiment to the bravery of Prophet Ibrahim (as) who was commanded by Allah (saw) to slaughter his son Ismaeel. When attempting to carry forth with Allah’s commandment Allah (swt) intervened and put a sheep in place of Ismaeel for Ibrahim to slaughter. Eid al Adha with the practice of Qurbani honors the willingness of Ibrahim (as) to sacrifice his promised son.

Islamic scholar and author of Ritual Slaughter (Udhiyyah/Qurbani) Abu Lubaba writes every adult Muslim, male or female, any other form of wealth which is surplus to his basic needs, is under an obligation to offer a ritual slaughter. Whether an adult stays with their parents or not they have to pay for their Qurbani. However, if a husband or a father, apart from offering his own ritual slaughter, offers another on behalf of his wife or his son, he can do so with their permission. Qurbani is only valid during three days of Dhul Hijjah, 10th, 11th, and 12th. Qurbani cannot be performed in any other day of the year.

The service of qurbani at Qurban Farm entails slaughtering the sheep, skinning, cutting of meat and refrigeration. The cost of the services are R100 per sheep, the cost of the sheep varies depending on the size of the sheep ranging from R1195 to R1850. VOC