Udhiyyah / Qurbani

Udhiyyah (Qurbani)

Prepared by Imam Mushtaq Shaikh

[فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنْحَرْ]

“So turn in prayer towards your Lord and sacrifice (animals).” [Surah Al Kawthar, v.2]

1. The Mother of the Believers, Sayyidatuna Aishah (رضي الله عنها) reports that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said, “A human does no action from the actions on the day of Nahr (Udhiyyah) more beloved to Allah then spilling blood (sacrificing an animal). On the Day of judgement, it will appear with its horns, and hair, and hooves, and indeed the blood will be accepted by Allah from where it is received before it even falls upon the earth, so let your heart delight in it.” [At-Tirmidhi #1493, Ibn Majah #3126]

2. Sayyiduna Zayd ibn Arqam (رضي الله عنه) relates that the Companions (رضي الله عنهم)  asked, “O Messenger of Allah! What is Udhiyyah?” He replied, “It is the sunnah of your father Ibrahim (Peace be upon him) .” They asked again, “What benefit do we get from it?” He answered, “A reward for every hair (of the sacrificed animal).” “And (what reward is there for animals with) wool, O Messenger of Allah?” they asked. “A reward,” he said, “for every fibre of the wool.” [Ibn Majah #3127]

3. Sayyiduna Jundub bin Sufyan Al-Bajali (رضي الله عنه) relates, “Once during the lifetime of The Messenger of Allah ﷺ we offered some animals as sacrifices. Some people slaughtered their sacrifices before the (Eid) prayer, so when the Prophet ﷺ finished his prayer, he saw that they had slaughtered their sacrifices before the prayer. He said, ‘Whoever has slaughtered (his sacrifice) before the prayer, should slaughter (another sacrifice) in lieu of it; and whoever has not yet slaughtered it till we have prayed; should slaughter (it) by mentioning Allah’s Name.’” [Bukhari #5500]

4. Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه)  related that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever can afford it, but does not offer a sacrifice, let him not come near our prayer place (the place where Eid salat is performed).” [Ibn Majah #3123]

5. Sayyiduna Al-Bara’ ibn Azib (رضي الله عنه)  reports: I heard the Prophet ﷺ delivering a sermon saying, “The first thing to be done on this day (Eid al-Adhaa) is to perform salah; and after returning from the prayer we perform the sacrifice. Whoever does so, has acted according to our Sunna.” [Bukhari, #951]

Few basic masaa’il pertaining to Udhiyyah/Qurbani

Udhiyyah/Qurbani is Wajib (obligatory) on every male and female Muslim who is:

1) Of sound mind and mature (has reached the age of puberty)

2) Non-Traveller (i.e. Muqeem – not a Shari’ traveller/musafir)

3) Possesses the Nisab amount (87.48 grams of gold) or its equivalent in cash, personal jewelry or any other form of wealth which is in excess of one’s basic personal needs and debts on any of the three days of Udhiyyah/Qurbani, i.e. 10th, 11th and the 12th of Dhul-Hijjah. Unlike in the case of Zakah, it is not necessary that this amount be in one’s possession for a complete lunar year.

Nisab: 87.48 grams of gold = $7,164.83CDN. Price as of June, 18/23.  For updated nisab amount, please refer to https://darulfiqh.com/

If Qurbani is wajib, it cannot be substituted by another act of worship such as charity. Qurbani is a separate act of worship. Similar as salah, it cannot be replaced by charity.

The animal for Udhiyyah/Qurbani must be:

1. A one year old goat or sheep/lamb

2. A two year old cow, bull or buffalo

3. A five year old camel.

A lamb that is older than six months and physically appears to be one year old will suffice for Qurbani. This ruling applies to lamb only and not to goats.

A lamb less than 6 months of age is not acceptable for Qurbani.

A goat less than one year old is not acceptable for Qurbani.

A cow less than two years old is not acceptable for Qurbani.

Animals should be healthy. Animals with certain defects are not accepted for Udhiyyah/Qurbani.

The time for Qurbani begins after the Eid Salaah on the 10th of Zul Hijjah and ends at the setting of the sun on the 12th of Zul Hijjah. It is better to perform Qurbani on the first day, then the second, and thereafter the third.

A lamb, sheep or goat suffices for one person only.

A cow, buffalo or camel will suffice for seven persons.

There are no restrictions on how the meat should be distributed. It is recommended to divide the meat into three—one-third for one’s family and the remaining two for relatives and the poor.

The meat of an animal that has seven shares (i.e. cow, buffalo, camel) must be equally distributed among the shareholders by weighing it accurately. It should not be distributed by mere estimation.

Qurbani will be discharged if one appoints a representative for this task and the representative executes the task. The representative may be an organization, business, or individual, whether in one’s own country or another country.

NOTE: For further masaa’il/details on Udhiyyah/Qurbani please consult a religious scholar.

The religious rulings are based on Hanafi fiqh.