Qurbani/ Sacrifice
This week’s reminder is about the sacrifice or Qurbani.
Eid al-Adha is meant to be recognition of the material and spiritual favours of Allah SWT to his creation, manifested by the ritual slaughtering, called Qurbani, necessary for all able Muslims to perform, following the way of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him).
In reference to the Qurbani, we have the following hadith of the Prophet SAWS as reminded to us by the imam:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Every day two angels come down from Heaven and one of them says, ‘O Allah! Compensate every person who spends in Your Cause,’ and the other (angel) says, ‘O Allah! Destroy every miser.’ ”
Dear brothers and sisters, we live in a time and place where the Qurbani is almost devoid of spirituality. After all, almost a month prior to today, we start receiving the email, calls, letters and text messages urging us to donate for Qurbani via this charity or that.
In that, such is the range of the prices, it is almost like shopping for insurance. One click of a button or a phone call and we are done.
We ought to remind ourselves that this is a sacred act and it is full of blessings. In fact, there is a growing movement in this country to perform and distribute the sacrifice locally.
Although that isn’t necessary, it is important that we understand the conditions of the Qurbani. This is both to equip us with the knowledge of Qurbani but also to help us connect to the blessed act spiritually.
Therefore this reminder concludes with 3 practical tips that we can all take away in regards to the Qurbani.
First point in this is in regards to the animal that is being slaughtered. The options for this is one of four. They are camel, cow, sheep or goat. It can be either male or female. The animal itself must be in good condition, i.e. must be healthy and not have any disability or illness.
Such animal can be sacrificed to be consumed but would not count as part of the Qurbani as is stated by some scholars. Allah SWT knows best.
The next point is regarding the person upon whom Qurbani is mandatory. The general rule is that it is mandatory for any sane adult who can afford to do so.
With that being said, we ought to know what constitutes a sacrifice for the individual? The general rule is that the sacrifice of the full animal is enough for the family. Specifically a full animal is enough to count as Qurbani for seven adults.
A side point worthy to note is about identifying the individual who is paying for the Qurbani. Often as is the case in the west, we pay for the Qurbani to be done on our behalf. The organisation that does this asks us of the name of the person who the Qurbani is being done for.
Although many people do record names, it is not necessary to give the name of the person, even if you are making a Qurbani on their behalf, as long as you have made the intention that you are giving the Qurbani on their behalf. Allah SWT knows best.
The next point is in regards to the timing of the sacrifice. The Qurbani can be performed from the 10th day of the month of Dhul-Hijjah, I,e today until the sun sets on the 12th of Dhul-Hijjah. The best time is to perform the act of Qurbani is immediately after the completion of the Eid prayers.
When giving to charity, it is advisable to do this sooner rather than later, as it gives them time to send the money to the abbatoir overseas and perform the sacrifice on time and distribute the meat.
Dear brothers and sisters, the Qurbani is an important part of our faith. By acquainting ourselves the rules and etiquettes of the act, we have equipped ourselves with the intricacies of the act as well as have a renewed appreciation of the blessing that is the act of Qurbani or sacrifice.
