Korban, aqiqah religious acts to express gratitude

THIS time of the year, during the Hari Raya Aidil Adha and the days of Tasyrik (the 11th, 12th and 13th days of the Islamic month of Zulhijjah) the act of korban or sacrifice is a common practice in all Muslim nations throughout the world, Brunei Darussalam included.

It involves the sacrifice of certain animals such as goats, cows and camels, as a demonstration of gratitude for the blessings given by Allah SWT.

Another common event that may be carried out during this time is the aqiqah. Many may confuse Korban and aqiqah and think they are the same, but they are, in fact, different.

The Brunei Times asked a mosque affairs officer about this matter, and he said that aqiqah and Korban differ in various ways: in terms of meaning, duration and the way of distributing the meat as a sedekah or alms.

Korban is defined as an animal that is slaughtered on Hari Raya Aidil Adha and days of Tasyrik, and signified syukur or gratitude upon the comfort given by Allah SWT.

Meanwhile, aqiqah is the act of slaughtering an animal to celebrate the birth of a newborn to show the parents' gratitude and joy to Allah the Almighty for the blessings being bestowed upon them.

As what is already known, the act of Korban is done within a determined time, but, aqiqah can be conducted within the whole year round.

But, there is a time that aqiqah is considered to be afdhal, that is on the seventh day after the baby is born.

Aqiqah can also be done as soon as the baby is born, and sunat or encouraged to be carried out in between the time until the child could be considered as baligh or has reached puberty and independent and has full responsibility under Islamic law.

If the aqiqah has not been done for a person, then the responsibility to perform it rests on him or her as an independent individual.

Another difference is that, in distributing the Korban meat as alms, it is usually still in it's raw state.

This treatment is different when it come to the aqiqah, as it is sunat for the meat to be cooked with a sweet ingredient, such as honey, before it is to be distributed.

There is however, one similarity between the two. Muslims are not obligated or wajib to do either. The performance of Korban and aqiqah are considered to be sunat muakkkadah or highly recommended

If the newborn is a boy, it is sunat to slaughter two goats, and if the baby is a girl, it is sunat to slaughter one goat.

The Brunei Times