Qurbani is an Urdu and Persian word derived from Qurban, which means an act or sacrifice performed to please Allah. The Arabic word used for Qurbani is Udhiya whichmore direcrlt translates to mean sacrificing an animal.
Although there are
other types of animal sacrifice in Islam, such as the sacrifice of thanks that
one offers after having a son or daughter, here we are talking about the
sacrifice that is performed as part of the annual Hajj or pilgrimage ritual that is performed by Muslims every year
in Makkah, and it applies to people performing Hajj as well as Muslims at home
as well.
Qurbani is an act of
worship and it is compulsory (wajib)
on every adult Muslim man and woman who is sane, not travelling, and owns
goods, valuables, property, or currencyequal to or more in value than the Nisaab (baseline level of income). The Nisaab is used to determine whether or
not someone owns enough property to comfortably cover their annual expenses and
the rate comes to ownership of 612.36 grams of silver or 87.48 grams of gold.
[1] [2]
Performing the Qurbaniis one of the ways in which we
honor the sacrifice that Prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismail (peace be upon them
both) were willing to make for the sake Allah. Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon
him) performed this ritual as well, and Muslims today continue to follow his sunnah (prophetic tradition).
But
why is it important to remember the story of Ibrahim and Ismail every year?
Ibrahim’s test
teaches us many things important to strengthen our faith. The most important of
these is complete devotion and submission to Allah. The literal meaning of the
word Islam is submission, so as Muslims,
we are required to devote ourselves completely to Allah.
When Prophet Ibrahim offered his son as a
sacrifice, he showed his total submission to the will of Allah. For this, Allah
not only saved his son, but also rewarded Prophet Ibrahim, as stated in the
Quran:
’And We left for him (meaning
Ibrahim) favorable mention among later generations. Peace upon Ibrahim. Indeed,
We thus reward the doers of good. Indeed, he was of Our believing
servants. And We gave him good tidings of Isaac (Ishaaq), a prophet from among the righteous. And We blessed him and Isaac. (Qur’an, chapter
37, verses 108-113).
Another central
teaching from the story of Ibrahim and Ismail is patience.
When Ismail’s father
tells him about his dream in which God Almighty commands him to sacrifice
Ismail, he replies:
‘O my father, do what you are commanded to do. You will find me, God
willing, patient’. (Quran, chapter 37, verse 102).
A natural human
reaction in such a situation would have been fear. Fear of death can weaken
anybody's faith. However, we see Ismail's faith gave him the strength to face
the situation with patience.
For the submission of
Ibrahim toward Allah's will and Ismail's acceptance of the decision, Allah
rewarded them.
“And
when they had both submitted and he put him down upon his forehead, We called
to him, “O Ibrahim, you have fulfilled the vision”. Indeed, We thus reward the
doers of good. Indeed, this was the clear trial and We ransomed him with a
great sacrifice. (Quran, chapter 37, verses 103-107).
And this is another important as well as reassuring lesson we learn from
the story: no act of worship or sacrifice that a Muslim does for Allah or for
the deen(the religion) goes wasted or
unnoticed. Every single act is recorded by Allah and is rewarded.Every test
that a Muslim patiently endures, hoping for Allah's blessings, will be rewarded.
[3]
Virtues
of Qurbani
The virtues of Qurbani
or Udhiya are established from the following
peophetic narrations:
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the
Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sacrificed with his own hands two
white rams with black markings. He took the name of Allah and recited Takbir (meaning he said ‘Allah-o-Akbar’, or ‘Allah is the
Greatest). Anas states that he saw him putting his foot upon their
buttocks and saying: "In the name of Allah. And Allah is the Greatest". [4]
We learn from this narration that we should try to perform the sacrifice
with our own hands.
Jaber (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the
Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) slaughtered on the day of sacrifice
two horned, white and black castrated rams. When he faced them towards the Qibla (towards Makkah), he said:
"Verily I turn my face towards the One who created the heavens and the
earth, while being upon the religion of Ibrahim, being upright, and I am not
one of the polytheists. Verily my prayer, my life and my death are all for
Allah, the Lord of the worlds. There is no partner with him and I have been
ordered that, and I am one of the Muslims. O Allah, it is Thine and for Thee,
from Muhammad and his Ummah: In the name of Allah. Allah is the
greatest". He then slaughtered the rams. [5]
Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) reports that the Prophet
(peace be upon him) said, "The son of Adam does not perform any actions on
the day of sacrifice which is more pleasing to Allah than the shedding of
blood. He will come on the day of resurrection with its hair, horns and hooves,
and the blood certainly will fall in a place near Allah before it falls on the
ground. So, make yourselves purified therewith. [6] [7]
Significance of performing Qurbani
It is stated in the
Quran:
“So turn in prayer towards your Lord
and sacrifice (animals).” (Quran, chapter 108, verse 2)
Prophet
Mohammad (peace be upon him) said:
There is nothing dearer
to Allah during the days of Qurbanithan
the sacrificing of animals. The sacrificed animal shall come on the Day of
Judgment with its horns, hair, and hooves (to be weighed). The sacrifice is
accepted by Allah before the blood reaches the ground. Therefore, sacrifice
with an open and happy heart. [8]
ZaydibnArqam (may
Allah be pleased with him) relates that the Companions asked, “O Messenger of
Allah! What is Qurbani?” He replied,
“It is the Sunnah (legal tradition
and way) 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 fiber of the
wool.” [9]
The significance of Qurbanican be understood from the
following verse of the Quran:
‘Their
meat will not reach Allah, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety
from you. Thus have We subjected them to you that you may glorify Allah for
that [to] which He has guided you; and give good tidings to the doers of good’.
(Quran, chapter 22, verse 37)
This shows Qurbani’s significance as an act of
worship and also explains how it is the symbolism of the act rather than the
act itself which makes the sacrifice so important. Allah does not need our
sacrifice. He created all life and He can call life back to Him when He sees
fit. He does not need another of His creation to kill for Him. Qurbani is in fact an act that benefits
us. By sacrificing something of our own for the sake of Allah, we are nurturing
our faith, strengthening our capacity for patience, and reminding ourselves of the
brief nature of the life of this world.
The sacrifice is an opportunity
to increase in piety and to draw closer to Allah.
The one who does not perform Qurbani
If a person does not perform Qurbani, even if he or she can afford to
do so, they is missing out on many rewards. However, not performing the Qurbaniitself is not a sin as such, and
he or she does not have to make up what they missed in years past, because Qurbaniis Sunnah and recommended but not obligatory, and the time for it has
gone. This applies as long as someone did not vow to perform a sacrifice. For
those who vowed to perform a sacrifice, the act then becomes obligatory.
A religious book entitled al-Mawsoo‘ah
al-Fiqhiyyah says that if a person does not offer a sacrifice before
the time has passed, if it was a voluntary sacrifice he should not offer it;
rather they have missed the opportunity to offer a sacrifice this year. But if
it was a vow, he or she has to offer a sacrifice and make up what they were
obliged to do. [10]
The
time of Qurbani
- Qurbanican
only be performed during the three days of Dhu’l-Hijjah (the 12th
month of the Islamic lunar calendar), on the 10th, 11th and 12th, and cannot be
performed in any other day of the year.
-
Although Qurbaniis permissible on
each of the above three days, the first day (i.e. the 10th of Dhu’l-Hijjah) is
the most preferable and desired day.
- Qurbani
cannot be performed before the special Eidholiday
prayer that is performed on the 10th of Dhu’ Hijjah.
- Qurbanican
be performed during nighttime, but it is preferable to perform it during the
daytime.
May
Allah guide us to what He loves and approves, and shower His blessings and
mercy upon us all, amen.
[4] Found in SahihBukhari and Sahih
Muslim
[5] Found in Ahmed, Abu
Daud, and IbneMajah
[6] Found in Tirmizi, and IbnMajah
[8] Found in SunanTirmidhi
and SunanIbnMajah
[9] Found in
SunanIbnMajah
