This year has continued to be challenging in terms of availability of lamb meeting Qurbani criteria. Euro Quality Lambs (EQL) has been strictly adhering to the halal-stakeholder agreed and endorsed Qurbani protocol for several years.
Supermarket demand for UK lamb has been robust and higher spending by Muslims, as well as the lamb seasonality factors, has resulted in significantly higher livestock prices than normal. With trending inflation also impacting the spending capacity of households, the amount of charity meat gifted for distribution was less than last year.
Many of you will know that Qurbani for us does not end 3 days after Eid-al-Adha. We carry on for a further ten days cutting and distributing lamb and mutton donations for charity. This necessitates hanging/maturation of Qurbani carcasses which incidentally results in increased flavour and enhanced tenderness. We are passionate about cutting and packing the meat the same way we would offer it as a gift to a guest, hence the extra time devoted for a worthy cause!
Here’s a rundown of what we’ve done with your kind donations in 2022.
Skin Proceeds
Alhumdulillah we collected £1,067 of skin and by-product proceeds from those that entrusted us with this Amanah. We have continued our partnership with Islamic Relief in ensuring the money generated is allocated to the poor and needy as defined by the first two categories of Zakah recipients. This was donated to Islamic Relief on 19-July-2022.
Our estimation is that, across the UK, approximately £200k+ of skin and by-product money is UNACCOUNTED FOR! That is a lot of money that could have been used to support those in need. Please spread awareness about this important topic so that more butchers and abattoirs are held accountable for how these amounts are communicated, collected and distributed so that ultimately more people can receive financial support from the blessings of each Qurbani performed. We request you to play your part by asking your butcher to sign up to the Qurbani protocol here. Halal Food Information Centre (HFIC) shall be pleased to take this further with them inshaAllah.
Gift Aid
Your gift-aid made a huge difference and helped pay for distribution costs and couriering meat to those who could not get to our site. It will also be used to develop Qurbani standards for UK abattoirs/butchers and charities offering Qurbani abroad. If you are a UK tax-payer we always recommend you tick the gift-aid box. It will make no difference to you but will make all the difference between whether meat can be sent out to someone or not!
Meat Donations
Alhumduillah 414kg of charity meat was donated this year compared to 624kg last year. We could not fulfil all requests as 200kg of meat requests were unmet so we prioritised the following.
The meat generated was cut, packed and distributed to the following causes and places:
Shropshire Refugees
Through our masjid, Craven Arms Islamic Centre (CAIC), and connections with the South Shropshire Interfaith Forum, we have come to know many refugee families that have been settled in the surrounding areas, mainly Syrian but also more recently Afghans.
New refugees were prioritised over ‘older’ refugees (those settled for 3+ years). Meat was gifted to 16 new Syrian families in Telford and Newton, 5 new Afghan families in Llanydroes Wells and 1 Sudanese family in Walsall. In total 225kgs of meat was distributed to nearby refugees. Imam Sohayb Peerbhai of CAIC personally distributed the meat to Telford with collections arranged from friends and well-wishers for Newtown and Walsall.
“I am so humbled to see people appreciating the donations, and the reaction I see from the recipients is unforgettable. I am very thankful to donors for the opportunity to distribute the Amanah of this charity meat to resettled families locally.”
Imam Sohayb Peerbhai, Craven Arms Islamic Centre
Refugees & Asylum Seekers in Scotland and Cardiff
Our networks have advised us of individuals and families in Scotland and Cardiff in need of support – some of whom used to live locally but have since moved away. We distributed 20kg of Qurbani meat to 2 Syrian families and 2 Syrian brothers in Scotland, and 16kg of meat was couriered to 2 asylum-seeking sisters in Cardiff. Your gift-aid helped fund the courier costs so a big jazakAllah khair from the sisters 🙂
Secret Angels Wolverhampton
Following a successful distribution last year 106kg of meat was given to Secret Angels in Wolverhampton. They support food banks and individuals locally and distributed Qurbani meat to:
- UKIM Madina Masjid iCare Food Hub
- Good Shepherd Services
- Friends of Di’s Kitchen
- Sudanese & Ghanayan families
Freezer stock
We also freeze stock for people or organisations holding eligible events throughout the year to benefit or empower communities. Last year an event in the Shropshire Hills Community Centre to raise money for charity used 25kg of Qurbani meat to generate £1,000 from biryani sales. Just before Qurbani some meat was cooked when hosting Palestinian exchange students. This year we have allocated 47kg of meat to be frozen for distribution as and when requested. We will also make it available for those directly in need.
How do we manage charity meat requests?
The question may naturally come up as to how we manage requests for Qurbani meat? Since the donated meat is an amanah, it is of utmost importance to distribute it following a procedure that warrants transparency and integrity whilst ensuring due diligence and dignity for the recipient.
Upon receiving an enquiry we ask organisations to submit a meat request using this link: https://eql.mobi/q/gh6q9. This form facilitates us in having more information about potential recipients to assess their application and to allocate the right quantity for people in the family, or communities supported by an organisation, as the case may be. We hope to improve and refine this form going forward. All suggestions are welcome!
How can you help?
As mentioned earlier the charity meat donated this year was less than the amount requested. There are two ways you could help us to address this for next year inshaAllah.
Firstly please consider performing at least one charity Qurbani from your family in the UK, or at least selecting the primal option and donating a third of your Qurbani meat to charity (the sunnah way). Encourage others to do likewise so there is more meat available to be distributed.
Secondly please forward this link to organisations that you believe would benefit from receiving Qurbani meat so we can reach out further and support those most in need https://eql.mobi/q/gh6q9.
Qurbani 2023
Qurbani is a great act of ibadah that carries immense reward if performed in the prescribed manner with true belief and intention. There is nothing more beloved to Allah swt during the three days of Tashreek than Qurbani. May Allah swt accept our Qurbanis, ibadah and prayers. Ameen.
EQL thanks all its customers, donors, colleagues, drivers and partners, including Islamic Relief, for making the Qurbani 2022 charitable distribution successful. We shall continue to further excel the quality of our Qurbani services and to provide you with the best experience, assurance and value. We look forward to welcoming you again next year insha’Allah 🙂