During his first preaching journey, when Shri…

During his first preaching journey, when Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji reached the city of Lahore, it was the time of Shraddha (a ritual period for honoring ancestors). Upon arriving in Lahore, he set up his resting place near a well under a peepal tree at Jawaharmal's chowhata (square).

At Amrit Vela (the early hours before dawn), after completing his morning ablutions, Guru Ji immersed himself in deep meditation upon the divine. However, nearby, some people began slaughtering animals. The distressing cries of the animals severely disrupted Guru Ji’s meditation. Realizing that the sanctity of Amrit Vela had been rendered meaningless, he was deeply disturbed. Witnessing this divine play of the world, he uttered:

ਅਸੰਖ ਗਲਵਢ ਹਤਿਆ ਕਮਾਹਿ ॥ ਅਸੰਖ ਪਾਪੀ ਪਾਪੁ ਕਰਿ ਜਾਹਿ ॥ (Japji Sahib, Ang 3)

Meaning: Countless are those who commit murder and revel in killing; countless are the sinners who continue to commit sins. Each of them will have to account for their deeds.

When Guru Ji observed that the mullahs were reciting kalma (Islamic prayers) and claiming that they had earned religious merit by performing qurbani (sacrifice), further stating that the slaughtered animals would attain jannat (heaven), he strongly opposed this belief.

Guru Ji declared that killing innocent creatures for one’s selfish motives is a grave sin, and it becomes an even greater sin when such killings are justified as acts of religious merit. He questioned, "What kind of belief is this, where one considers the slaughter of God's creation as virtuous and deceives oneself? The Almighty is the father of all living beings. How can a father ever be pleased with the killing of his own children?"