[فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنْحَرْ]

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

1. The Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah رضى الله عنها (Allah is pleased with her) 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 رضى الله عنه relates that the Companions (Allah is pleased with them) 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 رضى 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 رضى 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 رضى 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:

• Of sound mind and mature (has reached the age of puberty).
• Non-Traveller (i.e. Muqeem – not a Shari’ traveller/musafir).
• 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 = $13,775.60CDN. Price as of May, 28/25. For updated nisab amount, please refer to:  https://www.nzfcanada.com/zakat-calculator

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 or zakah.

The animal for Udhiyyah/Qurbani must be:

• A one year old goat or sheep/lamb
• A two year old cow, bull or buffalo
• 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 Dhul-Hijjah and ends at the setting of the sun on the 12th of Dhul-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 fulfills 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.

Shaikhul Hind Mawlana Mahmoodul Hasan d. 1920 (May Allah have mercy on him) was a person of great piety and a scholar of his time. He would personally feed his Qurbaani cow milk and jelebi (a sweet dessert popular in South Asia). The cow would become very attached to him. When he would leave his home to deliver lessons at the Darul Uloom, it would follow him right to the gate where it would sit down. When he would return after lessons, it would follow him back home. On the day of Eid, he would begin to cry and tears would flow while sacrificing the cow. On the same day he would purchase another cow for the following year. This way he would tend to the cow for an entire year.

By Mawlana Mushtaq Shaikh