Qurbani Facts

• Qurbani is compulsory on every adult Muslim, male or female who owns 613.35 grams of silver or its equivalent in money, personal ornaments, stock-in-trade or any other form of wealth which is surplus to his basic needs. 613.35 grams of silver = Rs 56,305.53 (according to the trending silver rates)
• Qurbani of only one goat or sheep is allowed per head. However, cow, buffalo or camel, can be divided into 7 parts.
• Qurbani can only be performed on November 6, 7 and 8, this year. However, it is preferable to perform it on the first day.
• Qurbani cannot be offered before the Eid prayer
• Qurbani’s Sunnah is to perform it with one’s own hands, turning the animal’s face towards the Kaaba. It is compulsory to recite: Bismillah Allahuakbar in Arabic and optional to recite:
• I, being upright, turn my face towards the One who has created the heavens and the earth, and I am not among those who associate partners with Allah. (Al-An’am, 6:79)
• Qurbani meat cannot be sold. It is preferable to divide it into 3 parts, one-third for the poor, one-third for relatives and the rest for one’s self
• Qurbani has no alternative.

LAHORE – Being unable to buy animals after a multiple fold increase in their prices and hoping that they will manage to reach a cheap bargain at the last minute, people are being forced to return empty-handed from the Bakar Mandis.
The conventional rush in the markets just five days before Eidul Adha is missing this time since the exorbitant prices have forced the people to resort to waiting for the last-minute price drops. People have been visiting the six sale points outside the city to compare prices with their budgets, but most return empty handed.
The exemption of taxes on entry and sale of animals in the city has not caused any difference to prices which have inflated excessively.
As illustrated by the table, the price of an average goat or sheep exceeds Rs 20,000, while a pair of sheep is being sold from Rs 75,000 to Rs 100,000. The most expensive bull can be bought in LDA Avenue I from Livestock Dairy Farm of Khanewal and the Livestock Department is demanding Rs 6 lac for it. The bull is named Dil Pasand 2 and is the offspring of Dil Pasand 1 which was sold last year for Rs 12 lac.

THEY WERE MUCH CHEAPER LAST YEAR: Citizens feel the prices were much lower last year and an average small animal, goat or sheep, could be bought for Rs 15,000.

“Since people prefer goats and sheep over cows and camels, the prices of these animals have gone up,” said Imran Saleem, a businessman.

LIMITED SALE POINTS, UNLIMITED CHANCES TO EXPLOIT CUSTOMERS: Since the six sale points are located far away from the residential areas and since the customers are few and far between, the dealers are enjoying unlimited opportunities to exorbitant prices for their animals.
The six sale points are catering to a population three times greater than last year’s and visiting all these six sale points located in different corners of the city is impossible, hence the customers cannot really compare prices to pressurise the dealers.
Some traders are even bringing animals in small batches inside the city to attract customers, making sure they can avoid the Lahore Development Authority who can charge them for violation of Section 144.

WE’LL GET THEM FROM ELSEWHERE: Citizens are also opting to buy their animals from farms located outside the city in the hope of reaching a better bargain. “I bought a pair of goats for just Rs 26,000 from a village near Kasur. The farm owner told me that the same goats were being sold for Rs 80,000 in the six sale points the government has set up,” Ahsan Jamshed Khan, an engineer, told Pakistan Today.

IT ISN’T OUR FAULT: “We have to transport the animals all the way outside the city to the sale points, that costs us a lot,” said Tahir Naz, a trader.
“The feed prices have gone up because of the increase in fuel prices hence we have to charge more than last year,” another trader, Gulzar Khan, told Pakistan Today.