In last article about Eid-ul-Azha, we observed the spiritual gains of sacrifice on the occasion of Eid which are mostly limited to one's own self. Now, we will observe the vast impacts of this very important act on the lives of people around us and on the society in general.

There are clear guidelines on how to use or distribute the meat of this sacrificed animal. When we say that the animal was sacrificed in the way of Allah so its meat should also be utilized with the same intention. Its meat is to be distributed among the poor and needy, cherished with relatives and loved ones and a part of it is to be used for one's own family needs but best are those who prefer the needy and poor on their family members and distribute the major part of it.

In all the good works or deeds, intention is of extreme importance. Whenever we do any good work, we aim to win the will and favors of Allah. While battling our greed and ignoring our selfishness, we sacrifice an animal to win the favor of Allah and get close to the blessings bestowed to us by Allah. But it should not be forgotten that Allah becomes happy of us when we get close to the people around us by being good and helpful to them. When the meat of animal is distributed among the poor and needy and we make them happy, it becomes a source of getting close to Allah.

A person who is having a variety of foods on his table in every meal might never come to know the true worth of these bounties or may not come to realize the true pain of hunger or lack of food. In countries like ours, there are hundred thousands of families that hardly manage to arrange mere bread for their lunch or dinner. Some of them cannot eat meat or other expensive edibles even once in a month.

Whenever meat or other delicious thing is cooked, every member especially the children really get excited. But Eid becomes the occasion when these poor families also get enough meat to eat and cherish and faces of children blossom with happiness. Such a unique opportunity of making others happy might not be seen on so many other occasions.

In last few years, we have witnessed efforts to extend the blessings of sacrifice or 'Qurbani' to different parts of the world. First, it was aimed to help the poor and needy present in your vicinity or neighborhood. Then the sensitive hearts and souls of the world were shocked by the calamities and problems of the drought-hit nations of Africa and the human sufferings followed by flood in South Asian countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and others and some other parts of the world torn by war or natural disasters.

Distribution of meat by Saudi Arabian government and the efforts of Turkish citizens and philanthropists have given a new meaning to the sacrifice and helping others. These sincere people not only bring their 'Qurbani' but they themselves go to the far-flung and remote areas to share the pain and sufferings of their fellow beings.

This tradition has motivated a lot of Muslims in different countries of the world to become the part of this beautiful process of charity and love. Now, even Non-Muslims have started putting their share in this act of 'Qurbani' because the helping spirit of this process has impressed them a lot.

As mentioned earlier, meat of 'Qurban' is to be distributed among the poor and needy and also to be cherished with the relatives. This has become a very beautiful tradition when the relatives gather at a place, have picnics, prepare delicious foods and barbecue and also invite their neighbors and friends. In countries of Muslim minority, they also invite their Non-Muslim friends and neighbors and thus it has become a very important source of bringing the relatives and friends close to each other.

With these, this blessed occasion brings along a number of other benefits. On the occasion of Eid, millions of animals are sold. Then their hides also boost up the leather industry. With all these, a great boost is given to the economy of the country and works as a fresh blood the body of economy.

However, few things should be taken care of in this regard. Sacrifice is done resisting and crushing your desires and greed. On Eid days, when there is abundance of meat and delicious dishes are being prepared, some people eat too much and cannot control their appetite and thus their health is greatly harmed. It should be taken care of that we should eat balanced meals including not only meat but also vegetables and fruits and eat with proper control so that we should not get ill with over-eating.

Similarly, some people store the best part of the meat and distribute the rest among the poor. It is just like cheating yourself. When 'Qurbani' will be done with this intention, it will not be accepted as a sacrifice in the way of Allah and would have no benefit to our spiritual and moral world. Rather, it would make us even greedier. It is also necessary that charity or good work should be done from the best available things and not from something which we don't like for ourselves. Thus, we should spare good parts of meat for distribution among the poor and needy while the rest can be used at home.

In the same way, some people store major part of the meat and distribute very less of it and again breed their carnal desires. It must be understood that meat of the sacrificed animal is to be used in the three Eid days only and then we should return to our normal routine of eating and not aim to eat the meat of it for the month to follow.

One another problem faced by people is the failure of access of meat of 'Qurbani' to the deserving people as fake and undeserving people have greatly increased very recently. These go to different houses, collect a bulk of meat and sell on half price in the market to the butchers. It is necessary that we should look in our surrounding to the poor and needy families and distribute the meat in a proper channel so that the benefits of it should reach to the truly deserving.

In short, this is an occasion of earning the favors of Allah, helping others, strengthening relationships with relatives, friends and neighbors and many more. May Allah bestow us with blessings to put more and more share in this blessed work!