Qurban, also known as “sacrifice,” holds significant religious importance in Islam. It symbolizes devotion, sharing, and emulating the actions of the pious. In this piece, we will delve into the regulations and principles governing qurban in Islam.
Conditions of Qurban in Islam:
1. Conditions of The Person Who Performs The Qurban:
- Islam: The person performing the qurban must be a Muslim. For non-Muslims, sacrificing is not prescribed, just as other laws are not prescribed for non-Muslims.
- Ability (capable): The person who is advised to offer a qurban is the one who has the material means to pay for the sacrificial animal beyond the maintenance of himself and those whom he is obliged to provide for during Eid al-Adha and the days of tashreeq.
2. Time of performing the sacrifice (Qurban):
- The animal must be slaughtered after the Eid al-Adha prayer until the last day of the Tashreeq days.
- The animal should not be slaughtered before the Eid al-Adha prayer or after the end of the Tasprik days.
It is mentioned in the hadith:
من ذبح قبل الصلاة فإنما هو لحم قدمه لأهله وليس من النسك في شيء
Whoever slaughters meat before the prayer (Eid al-Adha), it is meat that he gives to his family, and it is not one of the qurbans (HR Bukhari).
3. The Animal to be Qurban:
- The animal must be a camel, goat, cow, sheep, or the like. So it is not valid to kurban with chickens, eggs, ducks, and so on
Allah says in Surah Al-Hajj verse 34:
وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ جَعَلْنَا مَنْسَكًا لِيَذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ عَلَىٰ مَا رَزَقَهُمْ مِنْ بَهِيمَةِ الْأَنْعَامِ ۗ فَإِلَٰهُكُمْ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَلَهُ أَسْلِمُوا ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُخْبِتِينَ
And for each person, We have prescribed qurban, that they may call upon the name of Allah for the cattle that Allah has bestowed upon them; your Lord is One Lord, so submit yourselves to Him. And give glad tidings to those who submit to Allah.
4. Condition of the Sacrificial Animal:
The age of the animal used for qurban must fulfil the following conditions:
- Sheep: more than or equal to 6 months old.
- Goat: one year old and entering its second year.
- Cattle: fully two years old and entering its third year.
- Camel: five years old and fully grown.
Mentioned in the hadith:
لا تذبحوا إلا مسنة إلا أن تعسر عليكم فتذبحوا جذعة من الضأن
Do not slaughter except musinnah unless you are in difficulty so you slaughter Judz’ah from sheep (HR Muslim).
The animals that cannot be qurban are those that fit the criteria of the following hadith:
أنَّ رسولَ اللَّهِ صلَّى اللَّهُ عليهِ وسلَّمَ سُئلَ ماذا يُتَّقى منَ الضَّحايا فأشارَ بيدِه فقالَ أربعًا العرجاءُ البيِّنُ ظَلَعُها والعوراءُ البيِّنُ عَوَرُها والمريضةُ البيِّنُ مرَضُها والعجفاءُ الَّتي لا تُنقي.
The Messenger of Allah Shallallahu alaihi wa sallam was asked about sacrificial animals that should be avoided, so he pointed with his hand and said: ‘There are four things: A limp that shows its defect, a blindness that shows its defect, a sickness that shows its disease, and a limp that cannot stand.’ (Hidayat Ar-Ruwat)
The hadith above explains that the animals that are not allowed to be qurban are those that have the following characteristics:
- One-sided blindness and obvious blindness.
- Sick and obviously sick
- Lame and obviously lame
- They are so old that they have no bone marrow
5. The Best Animal:
- The best animal is a camel, then a cow, then a sheep/goat, then 1/7th of a camel or cow.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Othaymeen mentions it in his book Ahkam Al-Udhiyah as follows:
الأفضل من الأضاحي : الإبل ، ثم البقر إن ضحى بها كاملة ، ثم الضأن ، ثم المعز ، ثم سُبْع البدنة ، ثم سبع البقرة
The most appropriate sacrificial animal is the camel, then the cow when slaughtered whole, then the sheep, then the goat, then 1/7 of the camel, then 1/7 of the cow.
6. The Head of The Family Qurban Is Enough For His Family:
- The head of a household has the option to personally carry out the qurban ritual for themselves and their family members.
It is mentioned in the hadith of ‘Atho’ ibn Yasar
سَأَلْتُ أَبَا أَيُّوبَ الأَنْصَارِيَّ كَيْفَ كَانَتْ الضَّحَايَا عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ؟ فَقَالَ : كَانَ الرَّجُلُ يُضَحِّي بِالشَّاةِ عَنْهُ وَعَنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ ، فَيَأْكُلُونَ وَيُطْعِمُونَ
‘I once asked Ayyub al-Anshari, how was the qurban at the time of the Messenger of Allah Shallallahu alaihi wa sallam?’ He replied, ‘A man used to kurban a sheep for himself and his family. Then they would eat the kurban and feed others.’ (Tirmidhi no. 1505 and Ibn Majah no. 3147)
Qurban is a great act of worship that brings many honours and lessons for the performer in the sight of Allah, but in performing this qurban we need to know the conditions so that our qurban is considered a qurban and not just a regular qurban. May Allah ta’ala grant us the guidance and ability to perform qurbani this year.
Wallahu a’lam
References
- أحكام ومسائل متعلقة بالأضحية – الإسلام سؤال وجواب. (n.d.). Islamqa.info. Retrieved May 7, 2024, from https://islamqa.info/ar/researches/10/%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%88%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%89%D9%84-%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B6%D8%AD%D9%8A%D8%A9#19
- شروط الأضحية – الإسلام سؤال وجواب. (n.d.). Ar.islamway.net. Retrieved May 7, 2024, from https://ar.islamway.net/fatwa/
- Surat Al-Hajj Ayat 34. (n.d.). Tafsir AlQuran Online. Retrieved May 7, 2024, from https://tafsirq.com/22-al-hajj/ayat-34
- الفرق بين الضأن والماعز.. 5 اختلافات جوهرية. (2021, July 8). العين الإخبارية. https://al-ain.com/article/eid-aladha-goats-lamb
- MSc, M. A. T. (2012, September 18). Panduan Qurban. Rumaysho.com. https://rumaysho.com/2814-panduan-qurban.html
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- MSc, M. A. T. (2016, September 5). Patungan Sapi atau Satu Kambing? Rumaysho.com. https://rumaysho.com/14284-patungan-sapi-atau-satu-kambing.html
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