Eid-il-Adha: Allah needs not the blood

Eid-ul-Adha, also known as the festival of sacrifice is celebrated on the tenth day of Dhuj Hijja, the Islamic month world over. The festival is celebrated in the remembrance of prophet Abraham’s readiness to forfeit Ishmael, his son for God. The story tells how Allah told Abraham, to lift up the foundation of Ka'aba that was a holy place in Mecca. God al...so asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, in a dream. Abraham along with his son started moving towards Mina for the sacrifice when Allah stopped him and gave him a sheep to sacrifice instead of sacrificing his son. By Allah’s design, the sacrifice comes at the end of pilgrimage every year. Not only for those who did not make the trip to Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage, even those on pilgrimage will have to observe the sacrifice.
The symbolic act finds expression in the benevolence of Allah and showing gratitude for His guidance and mercies for living. It is the duty of every capable Muslim. Once the animal is sacrificed then the meat of the animal is distributed among the friends, relatives, neighbours and poor people. Muslims communities on this day take care that no poor and needy Muslim is missed out to provide the sacrificial food. The Quran says: “Allah is One, He does not delight in flesh or blood but a symbol of thanksgiving to Allah by sharing meat with fellow-men.”
The solemn pronouncement of Allah's name over the sacrifice is an essential part of it, in fact the major act that without it, it renders the whole exercise useless. By the pronouncement, we're reminded that life is sacred, by that singular solemn invocation, we are numbed to the divine message that wanton cruelty is not our character but only for the need for food.
The sacrifice should be performed during the daytime, not at night. The knife to be used to cut the animal's throat should be hidden from the animal and must be very sharp, so much so that the least amount of force or pressure is needed to slice the animal's jugular vein, so it feels the least amount of pain. The Animal should be healthy, fed well and laid down facing the direction of the "Qiblah"
It should be noted that these days when people asked other Muslims to do the slaughtering for them, care should be taken that the person who will perform the sacrifice should not hurt the animal by clumsily jabbing away at its throat with a blunt knife, causing pain and fear. He should say "Bismillah Allahu Akbar" while the owner of the animal should recite as follows: Allahuma, Ini wajjahtu wajjhiya liladhi fatara samawati wal arda alaa milati Ibrahima hanifan, wama ana minal-mushirikin. Inna salati, wa nusukii, wamahyayah, wamamatii, li-Lahi rabil alameen. Lasharika lahu wabizhalika umirtu, wa ana minal-muslimeen. Allahuma azah adha minka wa laka.
Translation:
"Indeed I turn my face towards The One Who originated the heavens and the earth; upon the way of Abraham, the unswerving one, and I'm not of those who commit shirk [polytheism]. Indeed my salah, my sacrifice, my living and my dying is for Allah, the Sustainer of the worlds. There is no associate with Him, and so I have been commanded, and I am from the ones who submit. O Allah! (This sacrifice) is from me, for You."
After it has been slaughtered, the blood should be allowed to drain completely from its body before it is skinned, disemboweled and chopped. It is absolutely forbidden to start skinning and cutting the animal when it is still alive or writhing. Some butchers, especially the amateur ones, who want to make the maximum amount of money on the day by slaughtering as many animals as possible for people, commit grave errors in the process. They should not be allowed to abuse the animal. Moreover, it is haram for Muslims to consume blood in any form. If the blood has not drained from the animal's body completely before it is cut up, it will remain in the veins inside the meat, thus rendering the meat "haraam" for consumption.
Almighty Allah does not need the blood nor the flesh of the meat. Lan Yanal'Laha luhumuha, wala dimahuha, Walakin yanaluhu takwa minkum, It is not their meat, nor their blood that reaches Allah; it is your piety that reaches Him . What He desires is your piety, period. The meat is skinned, and shared into three. One part for the family, another part for the neighbours, friends, and those who could not afford to make the sacrifice while the last part should be distributed to the need and the poor.

PHOTOSPEAK ON MERCY JOHNSON'S WEDDING

MERCY JOHNSON WEDS

After a successful and colourful traditional wedding of star actress Mercy Johnson and her heartthrob Odianose Okojie on Friday August 26, the couple further proved to the world that their love has triumphed as they proceeded to Christ Embassy Church on August 27, 2011 to further cement their relationship and the only place everybody in the metropolitan city of Lagos wanted to be on this fateful day, was this eventful wedding ceremony.

The groom looking dapper in an all white suit and dark shade, walked into the Christ Embassy auditorium flagged by his best man Kenneth Kadiri and grooms men. Shortly after, the congregation comprising family members, friends and some members of the press were on their feet as the Bride made a head turning entrance into the church. Mercy Johnson looking beautiful by all definitions in her all white figure accentuating yet flowing wedding gown, was flagged by her chief brides maid, the beautiful Ghanaian actress Yvonne Nelson and a star studded bridal train including Waje, Empress Njamah, Chika Ike, Qween Nwokoye and Goldie.

With Christ Embassy’s Pastor Ton Obiazi officiating, the wedding went on smoothly and saw the exchange of vows, rings and kisses amidst a lot of cheering from the crowd. After a lot of dancing and praising, the church wedding ended and all roads led to 10 Degrees Event Centre, the reception venue.

Once settled in the reception hall elegantly decorated by Royalandmarks, the guests were left in the hands of the MC of the event who happens to be the famous Nigerian comedian AY. He got everyone laughing and relaxed in few minutes after which he welcomed in the newly wedded couple.

The almost endless roll call of stars and dignitaries at Mercy Johnson’s wedding include, Genevieve Nnaji, Emeka Ike, Jim Iyke, Jim Iyke, Segun Arinze, Mike Ezuronye, Kenneth Okonkwo, Patience Ozokwo, Chinedu Ikedieze, Majid Mitchel, Fransis Duru, Dj Jimmy Jatt, Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly and many others.

Mulchies, Villa Sophia and Drinks Plus kept the mouths of the guests busy with mouth watering delicacies and cocktail drinks. The beautifully decorated cake, high enough to be seen from every angle of the hall was made by Cakes n Cream. Guests also could not help dancing as Ebony Band, kept everyone grooving all through the event. The heavy media coverage at the wedding was handled by Bigsam Media.

In a statement by her management firm, Bigsam Media, Mercy says thank you to all her fans, friends and colleagues who stood by her and came for the wedding.

The classy Mercy Johnson’s which left everyone who attended smiling and wishing the couple loads of marital bliss was put together by Royalandmarks.

THE REIGN OF ‘DAMAGE’ AT THE CINEMAS

Nollywood actress Uche Jombo on August 5, 2011, had her dreams to
redefine Nollywood movies fulfilled as her movie ‘Damage’ arrived in
cinemas across Nigeria. This highly anticipated movie, earlier
premiered amidst loads of pomp and style at the Silverbird Galleria in
Lagos, has since its arrival at cinemas across the federation been
enjoying a lot of patronage from movie lovers.

The thrilling movie ‘Damage’, tells the story of love and the pain of
domestic violence with a style that projects the subject as one that
has not been threaded before in a movie. A man (Kalu Ikeagwu) and his
wife (Uche Jombo) love each other immensely yet their day to day life
can only be described as a ‘cat and mouse’ situation. They fight
violently almost on a daily basis and one of the long run effects of
their fights is the psychological torture their children had to go
through.
Directed by Moses Inwang, ‘Damage’ is advocating and at the same time
highly entertaining. It features Nollywood finest like Uche Jombo,
Kalu Ikeagwu, Tonto Dikeh, Basorge Tariah Jr and others.
However, on August 13, 2011, Uche Jumbo in company of Tonto Dikeh,
Basorge Tariah Jr and Kalu Ikeagwu all of whom acted in ‘Damage’, will
be meeting and greeting fans at the Xcape Centre, 119 stadium road,
Port Harcourt.
Speaking on the movie, the producer Uche Jumbo Said, ‘the journey into
the production of ‘Damage’  was not an easy one, it was very involving
in terms of budget and other logistics but the  quality of movie we
came up with and the response we are getting from the cinemas has
proven that all our efforts was worth it. I am happy about the turn
out of the movie at the cinema, it just shows that Nigerians know and
appreciate a good movie’.
Uche Jombo went all the way for this particular production as the
Damage story is a trilogy. Beyond ‘Damage’ the first of the trilogy,
the story extends to ‘My life my Damage’ and ‘My Country their
Damage’. These three movies are however interwoven but distinct from
each other. Each story addresses important problems affecting
individuals, families and societies at large.
The Damage movie soundtrack by Mo Seeze featuring Gino is already
garnering a lot of accolades all over the internet and now Uche Jombo
has gone ahead to release a video for the Damage sound track. She says
her fans are in for loads of fun as they will enjoy the video as they
did the song.

Fire disaster at Enugu Prison Barracks, Enugu Thursday

Members of Federal Road Safety Commission transferring the bodies of fire victims in their vehicle.

A view of the petrol tanker after the accident

Shows burning petrol tanker that caused the fire outbreak

Some vehicles affected by the fire incident

A thief caught during the incident being led away by the police.

People assisting Enugu State Fire Service to extinguish the fire outbreak.

Burnt body of one of the fire victim recovered from the Prison barracks.

Welcome! Oh Ramadan

Another chain of opportunities of opportunities are here again before us. It is a time for another high level spiritual devotion, for cleansing of our iniquities, for attracting divine blessings, for prayers, alms_giving, dhikr, re_direction of destinies, and a set of hundreds of opportunities for a ticket to al_janah.
Ramadan, the blessed month opens up a new vista for spiritual shopping, a month of intensive worship, reading of the Qur’an, giving charity, purifying one’s behaviour, and doing good deeds and moving the believers closer to his creator. It is a month in which good deeds are multiplied and bad deeds are overlooked.  A month of forgiveness and mercy, a month so great that flings the door of paradise open and with its might chains the devils and closes the doors of hell fire.
The night month of Islamic calendar and the third pillar of faith that is so honoured so much by Allah that the Glorious Qur’an was revealed.
For those who are drifted into swirls of sins and rebellion in different ways, to cleanse and purify themselves.
In this respect, one should make good use of the fruitfulness of Ramadan. It will amount to absolute loss in this world and a wanton miss of mercy and forgiveness of Allah if the month passed by without observing it.  What will be worse than digging one’s own grave and tumbles down in it?
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ascended the minbar and said: “Amin, amin, amin.” The companion asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah, you ascended the minbar and said, ‘Amin, amin, amin.” He said: “Jibril (peace be upon him) came to me and said: ‘If Ramadan comes and a person is not forgiven, he will enter Hell and Allah will cast him far away. Say Amin.’ So I said Amin. He said: ‘O Muhammad, if both or one of a person’s parents are alive and he does not honour them and he dies, he will enter Hell and Allah will cast him far away. Say Amin.’ So, I said Amin. He said: ‘If you are mentioned in a person’s presence and he does not send blessings upon you and he dies, he will enter Hell and Allah will cast him far away. Say Amin.’ So, I said Amin.”
Allah says in the Qur’an “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed for those before you.  That you may learn self restraint.”
Fast for a fixed number of days; but if any of you is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed number (should be made up) from days later.  For those who can do it (with hardship), is a ransom, the feeding of one that is indigent.  But he that will give more, of his own free will, it is better for him.  And it is better for you that you fast, if only you knew.”
“Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down Qur’an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (signs) for guidance and judgment (between right and wrong).  So, every one of you who is present (at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting but if anyone is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (should be made up) by days later.  Allah intends every facility for you; He does not want to put you to difficulty.  (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period and to glorify Him in that He has guided you, and perchance you shall be grateful.” (Q2:183-185)
Fasting for the period of 29 or 30 days in the month of Ramadan is not meant for self torture neither is it merely a temporary abstention from food and drink but a spiritual exercise to move believers closer to God and offer him divine blessings.  During the period,  a measure of ascendancy is given to one’s spiritual nature, which becomes a means of coming closer to God while Allah makes good His promise by descending mercy on the believers.
Fasting is also a way of developing sympathy for the less fortunate, and learning to appreciate Allah for His bounties. Fasting is also beneficial to the health and provides a break in the cycle of rigid habits or overindulgence.Many Muslims insist on the local physical sighting of the moon to mark the beginning of Ramadan, but others use the calculated time of the new moon or the Saudi Arabian declaration to determine the start of the month. Since the new moon is not in the same state at the same time globally, the beginning and ending dates of Ramadan depend on what lunar sightings are received in each respective location. As a result, Ramadan date vary in different countries, but usually only by a day. This is due to the cycle of the moon. When one country sees the moon, mainly Saudi Arabia, the moon travels the same path all year round and that same moon seen in the east is then seen traveling towards the west. All the countries around the world see the moon within a 24 hour period once spotted by one country in the east.
While being appreciative of the grace of Allah for witnessing another Ramadan, it is also important to welcome the glorious month by saying Mar’aba bika yaa Ramadan, wa baraka llahu fiha.

More facts emerge on Mother of 7 miracle babies

Precious Ogbonna

There are indication that the husband who had kept mum all these while may also be a complicity in the case of Precious' seven miracle babies.  A family source has hinted societygist that before the ordeal of his wife in the hands of the police, Mr Ogbonna demanded the sum of N4million from his wife as a share of what she had received as donations from good spirited Nigerians on the seven miracle babies.
We gathered that Precious refused claiming she had no such money and the man vowed to deal with her.  A family source also hinted that the man who is a furniture maker at 41 Tetlow street, Owerri had the habit of extorting money from his wife, adding that all had not been well with the family since the issue of pregnancy came up two years ago. We gathered that he stayed away from the house and only coming around when he needed money.
Source hinted that recently Precious moved out of the house to hire a three bed-room apartment at the Umulere, Owerri where she was arrested by the police on Monday June 20. He seldom come to the house according to the source.
Meanwhile, in the interview he granted one of the daily newspapers, he had tried to exonerate himself on the issue disclaiming suggesting he disclaims the paternity of the seven babies.
Watch out for more details 

Mr Donatus Ogbonna