LUCKNOW: Do not take or upload videos or photos when sacrificing the animal on Bakrid, do not exchange handshakes or embrace one another, wear new masks and new gloves when performing rituals and follow all Covid norms even during namaz. These are some of the points of advisory from the Islamic Centre of India (ICI) laid out ahead of Eid-ul-Zuha to be celebrated on July 21.
In its 21-point advisory, ICI has asked people to offer Eid namaz with only 50 people with distancing, as is the government norm during Covid.
The festival, like last year, is expected to be a low-key affair with people finding it difficult to procure animals for sacrifice. Goat markets have still not officially come up in and around the city, so unofficial small-scale ones or individual sources have been the way for people to lay their hands on the sacrificial goat.
Calling sacrifice an act of esteemed worship, head of ICI Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali said that like all festivals since the pandemic, this one too calls for extreme safety of oneself and others and social distancing and masking should be followed to perfection.
“The sacrifice should not be made at a public place or on the side of the road. Blood should be immersed in mud to act as plant fertiliser rather than entered into drains which is unhygienic for all. New masks and new gloves should be worn by the person performing the sacrifice and ritual and namaz should be offered in a group of not more than 50 with distancing. Handshakes and embraces should be avoided,” read the advisory.
No Eid namaz at Asafi Mosque
In view of Covid, there will be no Eid namaz at Asafi Mosque this year. The decision was conveyed by Imam-e-Juma Maulana Kalbe Jawad Naqvi. Instead of community namaz, the cleric will offer prayers at his home which will be broadcast live on a local religious channel. The cleric has said that namaz at home should not be offered with the intention of a community prayer, but as an individual one.
