A nouveau sacrifice this Id-ul-Zuha

LUCKNOW: Waize deen ke hain, deen ke ahsan kitne, Ahale Hindu hain yahan aur Musalman kitne; Sikh aur Parsi Isai sabhi to hain magar, koi batla de sahi, inme hain insan kitne. (Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis and Christians all take pride in their religion and act as if they are currying favour by following the rituals assiduously. But will somebody tell me how many have actually grasped the actual meaning of their religion, which wants to transform every man into a human being?)
For Aqil Raza Rizvi, these lines are not just poetic verses, which he has penned down while pursuing his favourite pass-time.Rather, his true feelings about religion, have in fact, found manifestation in these writings, which he also applies to his own life, as he says that he prefers to sacrifice ''money'' on the auspicious day of Id-ul-Zuha.
Chief technician at the Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University, Rizvi says, "Sacrifice on the occasion of Id-ul-Zuha is one of the most pious duties of a Muslim. The spirit behind the festival, is that Allah wants to be assured that His followers sacrifice in his name, that thing, which is most dear to them. In this materialistic world, money has become all important for us. Thus, as an individual, I prefer to sacrifice money by donating it to orphanages and institutions, which could provide food to the needy and poor, at least for a day."
The feeling of sacrifice is more important than what you sacrifice, he says. Allah has also placed humanity above all things. The ''sacrifice'' of money for the benefit of the hungry, brings happiness to gloomy faces. "Our President APJ Abdul Kalam set a precedent, when he decided not to host a Roza iftar party at Rashtrapati Bhavan, choosing to donate the amount that would be spent on the iftar party to an orphanage," Rizvi points out.
"Religion teaches man to always speak the truth... but if a lie can save the life of a human being, then it is better than the truth, which could prove fatal," he said, while referring to a story that he read while in class 8, about a man who told a lie to his king''s official, to save life of a poor man.People in this world do all kinds of jobs in order to survive and serve, he said. The Almighty has given man the supreme status on this earth and He wants man to serve humanity, he summed up.