1- Definition

 In Islam, Qurban is one of its great rituals, by which we remember the Oneness of Allah. The word Qurban means “nearness”, in Syara’  terminology it means an act performed to seek nearness to Almighty Allah and to seek His good pleasure, with slaughtering  animals in a specific time. Originally, the word ‘Qurban’ included all acts of charity because the purpose of charity is nothing but to seek Allah’s pleasure.

2- History of Qurban

Qurban has been obligated in the second year of Hijrah to commemorate the unparalleled sacrifice offered by Prophet Sayyidina Ibrahim (Álayhis salaam) when he, in pursuance to a command of Allah conveyed to him in a dream, prepared himself to slaughter his beloved son Sayyidina Ismail (Álayhis salaam) and actually did so, but Allah Almighty, after testing the ultimate limits of his submission, sent down a sheep and saved his son from the logical fate of slaughter  The story is mentioned in the Surah As-Shaffaat, verse 101-103.

 3- The Legality of Qurban

There are two scholarly opinions on Qurban:

(A) - that it is waajib (obligatory). This is the opinion of al-Oozaa’i, al-Layth and Abu Haneefah, and it is one of the two opinions narrated from Imaam Ahmad. It was also the opinion of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, and is one of the two opinions in the madhhab of Maalik, or what seems to be the madhhab of Maalik. Those who favour this opinion take the following as evidence:

1-The aayah: “Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only).” [al-Kawthar 108:2]. This is a command, and a command implies that something is obligatory.

2. Allah also says: 
 “And for every nation We have appointed religious ceremonies, that they may mention the Name of Allah over the beast of cattle that He has given them for food. And your God is One God, so you must submit to Him Alone (in Islam)…” [al-Hajj 22:34]

 3- The hadeeth: “Whoever can afford to offer a sacrifice but does not do so, let him not approach our place or prayer.” (Reported by Ahmad and Ibn Maajah; classed as saheeh by al-Haakim from the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him). It says in Fath al-Baari that its narrators  are thiqaat).

(B) that it is a confirmed Sunnah (sunnah mu’akkadah). This is the opinion of the majority, and it is the madhhab of al-Shaafa’i and the better-known opinion of Maalik and Ahmad. But most of those who favour this opinion stated that it is makrooh (disliked) for the one who is able to offer a sacrifice to neglect to do so. They base their opinion on the following:

1.    The hadeeth of Jaabir (may Allah be pleased with him) in Sunan Abi Dawood, where he said: “I prayed on Eid al-Adhaa with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and when he finished (the prayer), he was brought two rams, and he sacrificed them. He said, ‘In the Name of Allah, Allah is Most Great. This is on behalf of myself and any member of my ummah who did not offer a sacrifice.” (Sunan Abi Dawood bi Sharh Muhammad Shams al-Haq Abaadi, 7/486)

 2.    The hadeeth reported by all the famous muhadditheen apart from al-Bukhaari: “Whoever among you wants to offer a sacrifice, let him not take anything from his hair or nails.” Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, may Allah preserve him, said, following his discussion of those who say it is obligatory and those who say it is Sunnah, “Each point of view has its evidence, but to be on the safe side, the one who is able to offer a sacrifice should not neglect to do so, because of what is involved in this act of reverence towards Allah, remembering Him, and making sure that one has nothing to be blamed for.

Udhiyah is confirmed as Sunnah or Sunnah Muakkadah (highly recommended act) according to the majority of scholars. One sacrifice is sufficient on behalf of all the family members especially for the head of the household and it is compulsory for one if he or she made Nazhr (vow) to offer udhiyah. For Rasulullah Sallallahu’alai wasallam it is waajib.

3- Conditions and Rulings of Qurban

a- The time for Sacrifice

b- The kinds of animals prescribed for sacrifice

c- The guidelines that has been layout for a person to execute sacrifice

a- The time for qurban

The sacrifice of an animal has been recognised as a form of worship only during three days of the month of Dhul Hijjah, namely the 10th, 11th and 12th of the month, which is from after the prayer and khutbah of `Eid   until before sunset on the last day of  tashreeq, which is the 13th day of Dhul-Hijjah.

The hadith of Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When you see the new moon of Dhul-Hijjah – according to another version, When the ten days (of Dhul-Hijjah) begin – and anyone of you wants to offer a sacrifice, let him refrain (from cutting) his hair and nails” (Reported by Ahmad and Muslim). According to another version, “…let him not remove anything from his hair and nails until he has offered the sacrifice.” And according to yet another version, “…he should not touch his hair or skin.”

Whoever slaughters his sacrifice before the Eid prayer is over, or after the sun sets on the thirteenth, his sacrifice is is not valid.

“Whosoever offered a sacrifice before the `Eid prayer, he or she just slaughtered an animal for meat, but whosoever made sacrifice after the `Eid Al-Adha prayer, he or she has offered a sacrifice.” (Al-Bukhari, Sahih, Hadith no. 902)

b. - The kinds of animals prescribed for qurban

 It should one of the animal of the al-an`am class (i.e., camel, cow, sheep or goat) and It should be free of any faults that would render it unsuitable for sacrifice. No kind of animals, other than those three may be offered as Udhiyah.

. It should be free of any faults, because the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said: “There are four that will not do for sacrifice: a one-eyed animal whose defect is obvious, a sick animal whose sickness is obvious, a lame animal whose limp is obvious and an emaciated animal that has no marrow in its bones.” (Sahih Al-Jami`, no. 886). There are milder defects that do not disqualify an animal, but it is makruh to sacrifice such animals, such as an animal with a horn or ear missing, or an animal with slits in its ears, etc. Qurban is an act of worship to Allah, and Allah is Good and accepts only that which is good. Whoever honors the rites of Allah; this has to do with the piety of the heart

According to Al-Imam As-Syafie the obvious defects is as above:

• An animal so sick 
• An animal with one or both eyes that are damaged.
• An animal that obviously limps.
• An animal that is abnormally skinny.

An ailing animal whose poor health has not had an obvious effect can be accepted as a legitimate sacrifice.

The animal should have reached the required age, as in the hadith Jabir reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Only slaughter the aged animal, and if you couldn’t, slaughter a Jaz’ah of lamb” [Muslim].

The scholars had thoroughly discussed and summarized the matter as above:

a)Udhiyah from lamb should be at least six months old and

b)Udhiyah from goat should be at least one year old.

c) Udhiyah from cows should be at least two years old and

d) Udhiyah form camels should be at least five years old, whether it is male or female.

the better the condition of the sacrificial animal, the more acceptable it is.

c- The guidelines that have been laid out for a person to execute sacrifice.

1- Muslim.

2- Has attained puberty (Baligh).

3- Is of sound mind (not insane).

4- A Muqeem (not a traveller).

5- Free person.

6- A person of affluence.

6- Method to perform Qurban and its manners.

The method could be done in two ways; one is to do it individually and could be done through a group.

It was narrated in Saheeh al-Bukhaari (5558) and Saheeh Muslim (1966) that Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sacrificed two white rams speckled with black. He slaughtered them with his own hand, said ‘Allaahu akbar’ and put his foot on their necks.” 

One sheep or one goat is sufficient as Eid sacrifice for the man as well as his own family. It is also lawful for 7 people to slaughter one cow as Eid sacrifice.   

Mostly the scholars use a Hadith of Ibn Abbas which narrated in Sunan Abu Dawud and Sunan Tirmizi, which is Saheeh, It states as

“We were in a journey with the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallam the Azha came we shared seven in the Cow and ten in the Camel”  

Jaber Ibn Abdullah said: ‘In the year of Hudaibiya, we along with Allah’s Messenger, sacrificed a camel for seven persons and a cow for seven persons.’ [Narrated by Muslim]

This is the strongest among the different opinions of the Imaams in the matter of Udhiyah. Mostly the scholars use a Hadith of Ibn Abbas which narrated in Sunan Abu Dawud and Sunan Tirmizi, which is Saheeh, It states as

“We were in a journey with the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wassallum the Azha came we shared seven in the Cow and ten in the Camel”  

b- Equipment for qurban

The instrument for cutting the throat of the animal should be sharp.This is to be kind to the unfortunate animal and spare it unnecessary suffering insofar as this is possible.  The Prophet (peace be on him) recommended sharpening the knife and putting the animal at ease, saying, Allah has ordained kindness (or excellence) in everything. If killing is to be done, do it in the best manner, and when you slaughter, do it in the best manner by first sharpening the knife and putting the animal at ease. (Reported by Muslim on the authority of Shaddad bin Aus.)

c-    The most important thing is to do the following while making qurban:

1. If one is not good at slaughtering, then he should be present and witness his qurban while it is being slaughtered

2- Treat the animal gently: So avoid all actions that amount to torturing the animal; don’t sharpen the knife while it is watching; don’t slaughter one animal when another is watching.

3. Lay the animal down, and offer water, and use a sharp knife so that the arteries are cut quickly and the animal is spared the suffering as much as possible.

4. Slaughter in the Name of Allah by saying : “Bismillah wa-Allahu akbar, Allahuma hatha ‘ann folaan (and mentions his name)”, meaning In the name of Allah, Allah is most great, O Allah accept this is on behalf of (and mentions his name). The Prophet (peace be upon him) slaughtered a ram with his own hand and said: ” Bismillah wa-Allahu akbar, O Allah accept this (sacrifice) on behalf of myself and whoever from my Ummah who did not sacrifice.” [Abu Dawud and Al-Tirmidhi].

4. It is also recommended to let the animal face the direction of qiblah, although it is not an essential requirement for the validity of sacrifice.

7. Distributing Qurban

It is Sunnah for one who offers Udhiyah , distributing its meat among family, friends and the needy as a special act of charity for the occasion. The meat from the sacrifice of ‘Eid al-Adha is mostly given away to others. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Eat, make a provision, and save from it” [Muslim].

It is not specifically stated in Islam what proportion is to  given out to individual of the right status, it is up to the discretion of individual giving out the division of the sacrifice according to the needs and requirement of the place.

A person who has obtained the portion of the sacrifice and he is in a state of poverty he could use or sell his portion since it belongs to him and if he is well-off he could not sell his portion of the sacrifice.

Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) having said: O people of Medina, do not eat the flesh of sacrificed animals beyond three days. Ibn al-Muthanni said: Three days. They (the Companions of the Holy Prophet) complained to the Messenger of Allah (may peace he upon him) that they had children and servants of theirs (to feed), whereupon he said: Eat, and feed others, and store, and make it a provision of food.

It is permissible to pay the butcher (or whoever administers the slaughtering of Udhiyah), however, the meat of the Udhiyah may not be used as payment. Abu Hanifah says that it is permissible to sell its skin then give its price in charity, or exchange it for something useful.

Narrated ‘Ali bin Abu Talib r.a Allah’s Messenger sallallahu ‘alai wasallam appointed me to be in charge of his sacrificial animals, and commanded me to distribute the whole of their meat, hides, and saddle clothes to the poor, and not to give to the butcher anything out of them.He (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) also said: “We give the butcher from ours (wealth)”.

If during the sacrifice a fetus is found in the animal whether alive or dead it is permissible for consumption. It is sufficient that the slaughter is done to the animal’s mother.

Narrated AbuSa’id al-Khudri:

I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) about the embryo. He replied: Eat it if you wish.

Musaddad’s version says: we said: Apostle of Allah, we slaughter a she-camel, a cow and a sheep, and we find an embryo in its womb. Shall we throw it away or eat it? He replied: Eat it if you wish for the slaughter of its mother served its purpose.

 8. The Wisdoms from Qurban

1- It is an act of worship done for Allah, in which the ‘abd (servant) draws closer to his Lord to seek Allah’s pleasure.

2- Remove all traces of Jahiliyyah rituals of slaughtering animals.

3- Instills in the heart the essence of consciousness of the Creator, fear of Allah, the preparedness to sacrifice one’s all in the path of Allah.

4- Strengthens family and society ties.

5- It reminds us the exemplary obedience of our father, Ibrahîm (alaihi as-salâm), to His Lord and his great sacrifices to Him.