If a
discreet, pubert, free male or female Muslim, settled in a village, in a desert
or in a town, has the nisâb amount of property or money in addition to what he
or she needs, it becomes wâjib for him or her to slaughter a certain animal
with the intention of ’Iyd-al-ad’ha (the ’Iyd of qurbân) within certain days.
The need includes a house with household appliances and three sets of
clothings. According to the Shaikhayn [Imâm a’zam and Imâm Abű Yűsuf], a father
has to perform the qurbân on his rich child’s behalf [if he has a rich child],
the expense being taken from the child’s property. The meat cannot be eaten by
anyone but the child. The meat left over by the child is sold and the money is
used to buy durable things, such as clothings for the child. But the fatwâ
agrees with Imâm Muhammad’s ijtihâd. Accordingly, it is not wâjib for the
father to perform the qurbân on his child’s behalf, neither at his expense nor
the child’s. We have explained the nisâb for qurbân in our discourse on the
sadaqa fitr in the previous chapter. While explaining about the people (and
institutions) that are to be given zakât, Ibn Âbidîn says that no matter how
much produce a person gets from his field or year’s rental he gets for his
field, house, shop, [workshop or lorry] , according to Imâm Muhammad, he is
poor if it does not meet his yearly needs or if his monthly income does not
meet his monthly needs and his debts to others. The fatwâ agrees with this. But
according to Imâm a’zam and Imâm Abű Yűsuf, he is rich. For the value of the
field, which is his property, or of the fixture, meets his needs, and what is
left is (at least) the amount of nisâb. Setting apart a sum of each rental he
takes, he must save money and give the fitra and perform the qurbân. That is,
he must attain great thawâb. If he does not give the fitra and does not perform
the qurbân, he is absolved from the sin according to Imâm Muhammad. As it is
seen, both of the ijtihâds are well put and are matters of compassion for
Muslims. If a person in this situation does not give the fitra or perform the
qurbân Imâm Muhammad’s ijtihâd will save him from torment. A person who can
neither get any produce from his field nor rent it out, as well as a man or
woman who has property more than necessary but does not have any money, follows
Imâm Muhammad’s ijtihâd and does not give the fitra or perform the qurbân. If
he gives the fitra and performs the qurbân, he attains the thawâb for fitra and
qurbân according to the latter ijtihâd. A person who performs a worship which
is not wâjib for him attains thawâb for supererogatory (nâfila)
worship only. He cannot attain the thawâb
for a wâjib. If he gives the meat to the poor, he attains thawâb for alms, too.
But the thawâb for fitra and qurbân, which are wâjib, is much greater than that
which is given for nâfila and sunna. So is the case with every kind of worship.
It is written in the books Mîzân-i-kubrâ
and Manâhij that it is sunnat-i-muakkada
according to the other three Madhhabs. Anyone who claims that qurbân is not
Islamic will become a disbeliever.
[It written in the books Hazânat-al-muftîn
and Eshbâh, “If a person has houses and
shops or a field and if the rentals he gets or the produce or rent of his field
do not suffice to subsist his household, he is poor. It is permissible for him
to accept zakât.” As it is seen, the fatwâ has been given in agreement with
Imâm Muhammad]. Ibni Âbidîn says, “A
person who has a share in a joint-stock company and who cannot withdraw his
money performs the qurbân if he has money enough to perform it.”
If a person who has diffculty living on the rent he gets has the amount
of nisâb, he should give the fitra and perform the qurbân by saving money.
Cooking and preserving all the meat he should save the money for buying meat
for a few months and keep it for the next year’s fitra and qurbân, and thus
should not deprive himself of the thawâb for fitra and qurbân. He who performs
the qurbân saves himself from Hell. A hadith-i-sherîf declares: “The worst of misers is the one who does not perform the
qurbân [though it is wâjib for him to perform the qurbân].”
Rasűlullah (sallallâhu alaihi wa sallam) would kill two animals to perform the
qurbân. One was for himself, and the other was for his Umma (Muslims). It is
mustahab and produces plenty of thawâb to perform the qurbân by killing one
animal on Rasűlullah’s behalf, too.
Qurbân
means to sacrifice a sheep, a goat, an ox (or cow), or a camel with the
intention of performing the qurbân on one of the first three days of the ’Iyd
of Qurbân. Up to seven people may share a cow or a camel in their performance
of the qurbân, buying it collectively. The qurbâns of vow and aqîqa may be
joined to them. Although it is possible to become a shareholder later of the
qurbân which a rich person has already bought, it would be makrűh. It is not
permissible for eight people to purchase seven cows or for two people to
purchase two sheep as qurbân shareholders. For each person would then own a
share in each qurbân. To avoid interest earning, it is necessary to divide the
meat by weighing it out in equal amounts. It is not permissible to
divide the meat without weighing it even
if the shareholders agree among themselves to waive their rights mutually. For
waiving their rights mutually would mean giving presents. It is not permissible
to make a gift of something which is sharable before the shares have been
divided and distributed to the shareholders. If each of six of the shareholders
is given a piece of the skin or a leg of the animal together with its meat,
then it is permissible to share without weighing. It is written in the books Hindiyya and Majmuâ-i
Zuhdiyya that the head is categorized as the skin of the animal.
It is written in Hindiyya that,
“It is wâjib for a rich or poor person who says before the ’Iyd, ‘for the sake
of Allah, let it be my vow to slaughter as a qurbân a sheep or that particular
sheep’ to slaughter one sheep during ’Iyd-al-Adha (’Iyd of qurbân). If he is
rich when he fulfills his vow on the days of ’Iyd, although he may have been
poor when he made his vow before the days of ’Iyd, then it is wâjib to
sacrifice one qurbân in addition for ’Iyd. If the rich man intended to
sacrifice it as an ’Iyd qurbân at the time he made his vow, he performs only
one qurbân. If the rich man made his vow before the ’Iyd, then he certainly
should perform two qurbâns. The poor sacrifices only one. They cannot sell the
vowed qurbâns. The animal bought and slaughtered during the ’Iyd by a musâfir[1] or a poor person or by a person who has not made
an intention or a vow to perform the qurbân, becomes nafila (supererogatory)
worship. It is wâjib to sacrifice the qurbân which a rich person bought and
intended to perform as a thanksgiving for the blessings of life instead of
intending to sacrifice it as the ’Iyd qurbân at the time of purchase.” See the
following chapter for further details.
The following is an expatiation on the qurbân which is wâjib for a rich
person to perform. The qurbân is not performed by giving the animals alive as
alms to the poor or to pious or charitable institutions. It is wâjib to butcher
them. It is written in Jawhara that,
“The thawâb that will be given for the money spent on the qurbân is very much
more than the thawâb for a hundred times more [that is, a large amount of]
money given as alms.” It is permissible to appoint someone to act as one’s
wakîl (deputy) to buy the animal for qurbân, butcher it and give the meat to
the poor, and to get these done by someone else and give the money
---------------------------------
[1] This word has a technical meaning defined by Islam’s Sharî’at. Please see Endless Bliss Fourth Fascicle.
to buy the animal or the animal alive to
the deputy. But it is mustahab to be present as the animal is butchered. It is
harâm to kill cocks, hens or wild animals such as deer in the name of qurbân;
it means to imitate magians, i.e., fire-worshippers.
It is not wâjib for a person who knows he will be poor or safarî
(travelling) on the third day of the ’Iyd to perform the qurbân on the first
day. Yet for a person who knows he will be rich on the third day it becomes
wâjib to perform it at dawn on the tenth day of (the month of) Zu’l-hijja,
which is the first day of the ’Iyd. It is not determined according to one’s
being rich or poor or muqîm (settled) or safarî (travelling) on the first day
of the ’Iyd. Performing the qurbân is not wâjib for hâdjis (Muslim pilgrims)
who have journeyed to Mekka from other places. For they are safarî[1] .
For
those who perform the qurbân in cities it becomes wâjib after the ’Iyd prayer.
It is not permissible for them to perform the qurbân before the prayer. They
may perform it any time before the sunset of the third day. In villages it can
also be performed after fajr (dawn) and before the ’Iyd prayer. For those who
are in Mekka or Minâ on the first day of the ’Iyd it is not wâjib to perform
the ’Iyd prayer.
It has been reported at the end of the twenty-first chapter in the
fourth fascicle that it is sunna to clip one’s hair, beard and moustache and to
trim one’s nails and to shave one’s armpits and pubes every week. It is written
at the end of the chapter about the ’Iyd prayer in Ibni
Âbidîn (rahmatullâhi ’aleyh), “These acts of sunna should not be
delayed during the first ten days of the month of Zu’l-hijja. The hadîth that
states, ‘The person who is to perform the qurbân
must not clip his hair or trim his nails when the month of Zu’lhijja begins!’
is not a command. It indicates that it is mustahab to delay these acts until
after performing the qurbân. But it is sinful to delay them longer, especially
if one has not done them for forty days.”
As it
is seen, for a person who intends to perform the qurbân it is mustahab not to
cut his hair, beard, moustache or nails from the first day of the month of
Zu’lhijja till after performing the qurbân. But it is not wâjib. It will not be
sinful for him to do these acts, nor will it decrease the thawâb for qurbân.
For a person who shaves because of a good excuse, growing the beard on those
days
---------------------------------
[1] See the fifteenth chapter in the fourth fascicle of Endless Bliss.
causes fitna, which in turn is not
permissible at all.
It is
not permissible to give away the living animal of qurbân or its value in money
as alms. If one gives it as alms, one has to sacrifice a second one until the
evening of the third day. A person who has not killed the qurbân of ’Iyd or the
vowed qurbân by the evening of the third day gives the living animal or its
value [in silver or gold] to the poor if he has bought the qurbân animal. If he
sacrifices it after the ’Iyd, he cannot eat from the meat; he gives it all to
the poor. If the value of all the meat obtained from the animal is less than
its value alive, he also gives the difference as alms. If he has not bought it
he gives the value of a medium animal of qurbân as alms to the poor. Thus he
escapes punishment, but does not attain the thawâb for performing the qurbân.
If the
animal was imperfect before the purchase or if later it has been flawed with
some imperfection disqualifying it from being a qurbân though it was suitable
for being killed as a qurbân during the purchase, the rich person buys another
and kills it (as the qurbân). If the (animal bought for the) vowed qurbân is
imperfect both the rich person and the poor person sacrifice it. If the animal
for the vowed qurbân dies (before being sacrificed) they do not have to buy
another one. It is not permissible to utilize the wool and the milk of an
animal for qurbân before it is sacrificed.
Nor is it halâl to slaughter it and eat its meat or let rich people eat
it before its prescribed time. These things, (that is, the wool, the milk, and
the meat), can be given to the poor. Therefore, the qurbân cannot be performed
on the ’Arafa[1] day.
It is not halâl for one to eat its meat or to let rich people eat it. After a
day is judged to be the ’Iyd day by testimony of witnesses and as prescribed by
the Sharî’a and the ’Iyd prayer and the qurbân are performed, if it is found
out that it was the ’Arafa day, the prayer and the qurbân will be accepted. At
places where Ramadân and the month containing the days of ’Iyd cannot be
discovered by testimony of witnesses as prescribed by the Sharî’a, the first
day of the month of Zu’lhijja and hence the tenth day, that is, the first day
of the ’Iyd of qurbân are calculated by using the Iţýk
method, which is explained in the eleventh chapter. The first day of
the ’Iyd is the day determined by this calculation. Or it is the next day.
---------------------------------
[1] Day previous to the first day of ’Iyd of Qurbân; ninth day of Zu’lhijja.
It
cannot be the previous day. For the new moon cannot be seen before it appears
in the sky. Being prudent, one should perform the qurbân on the second day of
the ’Iyd found by calculation. But the qurbân whose thawâb will be presented as
a gift to the dead should be performed on the first calculated day. For, this
sacrifice can be performed on the ’Arafa day, too. A Muslim who has not
performed the qurbân should give directions in his last will before dying to
his inheritors that the qurbân be performed on his behalf out of the property
he is leaving behind. The willed qurbân is performed on (one of) the ’Iyd days.
The person who performs it cannot eat from the meat even if he is poor. He has
to give all the meat to the poor. If a person has died before having given
directions in his last will, his inheritors or others may kill an animal of
qurbân out of their property any time and present the thawâb to him. The thawâb
will belong to the person who performs the qurbân. It can also be presented to
the dead person. The person who performs this qurbân can eat from the meat,
too.
If two
persons’ animals for qurbân are confused with each other, the animal killed by
each person thinking that it belongs to him becomes his qurbân. If a person
usurps or steals someone else’s sheep, it is permissible for him to sacrifice
it as a qurbân or to sell it, even if he pays the value for the living animal
afterwards. For when its value is paid, the usurped animal will be his own
property. In this case it is also necessary for him to do tawba (penance) for
his sin of extortion.
An
animal with one blind eye or with one lame leg so that it cannot walk or which
has lost a major part of its eye, ear, tail or one of its front or hind legs or
which is very feeble, cannot be the qurbân. It is permissible to make the
qurbân from an animal which has broken horns or has no horns at all or which is
scabby or castrated. A female animal as well as a male one can be killed as the
qurbân. If it is a sheep, it produces more thawâb when it is male and is more
white in colour than black, but with goats female ones bring more thawâb.
Killing a sheep causes more thawâb than killing an ox when they are equal in
value. A sheep or a goat has to be over one year of age, an ox has to be over
two, and a camel over five. It is permissible if a six-month-old home-bred
sheep is big enough and fat enough. If the young that comes out of an animal
sacrificed is alive, it must be butchered if you are to eat it. It is not
permissible to eat it if it is dead.
It is
makrűh to drag an animal to the place of slaughter, to sharpen the knives after
getting the animal to the ground, or to
kill one animal in front of another.
First a knee-deep hole is dug. The sacrificial animal is blindfolded
with a piece of cloth. It is made to lie on its left side with its face and
throat towards the qibla. Its throat is brought near the hole. The ankles of
its front legs are fastened together with one of its hind legs. The tekbîr of
’Iyd is said three times. Next the following words are said: “Bismillahi Allâhu akbar.” Then, if the animal is
not a camel, its throat is cut at any place. While saying “Bismillahi,” the “h” must be articulated with
due stress and aspiration. In this case it is not necessary to bear in mind
that it is Allah’s name. If one does not pronounce the “h” clearly enough, one
has to bear in mind that one is saying Allah’s name. If one does not do this
either, the animal becomes as unclean as a carrion. It is not halâl to eat it.
For this reason, we should not say, “Allah ta’âlâ,”
but should accustom ourselves to articulating the “h” always clearly by saying,
“Allâhu ta’âlâ.” The animal’s throat
contains the oesophagus, called merî,
the windpipe, called hulqűm, and the
jugular veins, called awdaj, on both
sides. Three of these four pipes must be cut at the same time. It is sunna for
the person who jugulates the animal to face the qibla. It is makrűh to cut the
whole neck before the animal begins to lose its living temperature, that is,
before its struggle is over. It is harâm to cut the back of the neck only.
Also, it is makrűh to cut off the animal’s head or to begin skinning it before
its struggle is completely over and it is dead. It is mustahab that the act of
jugulating be done by someone who knows how to do it. A woman as well is
permitted to do it. If one does not know how to jugulate the animal, it is mustahab
to have it jugulated by one’s deputy, also to be present at the place during
the act, and to say the hundred and sixty-second âyat, (Inna salâtî), of An’âm
sűra up to the part that reads, “lâ sharîka leh.”
It is stated as follows in the chapter about qurbân (Zebâih) in the
book Hindiyya: “An animal which a Muslim
or an Ahl-i-kitâb (a Jew or a Christian) has slaughtered by mentioning the name
or an attribute of Allâhu ta’âlâ in any language, is edible. An animal killed
by a polytheist or an apostate should not be eaten. If the person concerned
mentions the name of Jesus or says, ‘one of the three gods’ as he slaughters
the animal, the meat should not be eaten. If he holds this belief but does not
express it (as he slaughters the animal), the meat becomes edible. It is the
expression made during the slaughtering which is important. If a person makes
such a (polytheistic) expression in the name of a
prayer or thanksgiving or if he intends to
worship someone other than Allah, e.g. if he says, ‘for the sake of Allah and
Muhammad,’ what he slaughters cannot be eaten.” A disbeliever who believes in a
(past) prophet and in his Holy Book, which was interpolated afterwards, is
considered (to be one of) the Ahl-i-kitâb
(people of the book), even if he says that his prophet
is a god or ’son of god’ or entreats idols. For, words such as ‘god’, ‘idol’,
‘lord’, ‘father’ are used also in meanings such as ‘helper’, ‘who causes
creation,’ ‘who is loved very much.’ If a person mentions Îsâ (Jesus)
‘alaihis-salâm’ with these names in these meanings, he does not become a
polytheist. In this case, his calling him ‘one of the three gods’ or ‘god’ is
metaphorical, not literal. If he says that ‘Jesus Christ creates whatever he
likes,’ he becomes a mushrik
(polytheist). Most of today’s Műsawîs (Jews), Îsawîs, Nasrânîs and Christians
are among the Ahl-i-kitâb. Because they love Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ very much,
they entreat idols and icons so that they intercede for the creation of their
wishes. If the Basmala is omitted on purpose, the meat becomes harâm according
to Hanafî but halâl according to Shâfi’î. Although it is permissible to eat the
animal slaughtered by a Christian who calls Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ ‘god’, you
should not have such people slaughter your animals or eat the animals
slaughtered by them unless there is a strong necessity to do so. Animals
slaughtered by disbelievers without a holy book, e.g. by the Nusayrîs living in
Syria or by Druzîs, cannot be eaten. It is not necessary to inquire and find
out what kind of a person slaughtered the animal.
It is written in Jawhara: “When
Rasűlullah (sallallâhu alaihi wa sallam) went on hajj he took a hundred camels
for qurbân. He himself jugulated sixty-three of them and then gave the knife to
Hadrat Alî, who jugulated the rest.”
The person who performs the qurbân can eat the meat himself or he can
give it to anyone whether rich or poor or a zimmî. It is mustahab to keep
one-third of the meat for the household, to give one-third to the neighbors and
one-third to the poor. One may give all the meat to the poor or keep all of it
for one’s household as well. That it is permissible to give the meat to zimmî
disbelievers too is written in Hindiyya
and Behjet-al-fatâwâ. The skin is given
to a poor person who performs his duty of namâz. It is not given to people not
known well enough. Or it is used at home. Or it is given in return for
something of permanent use. It is not given for something consumable or money.
If the skin or meat is sold, the money is given (to the poor) as alms. The person
who butchers the animal cannot be given
its skin or some of its meat in return for his labour. It is harâm to eat seven
parts of the qurbân or any other (edible) animal: fluid blood, genital organ,
tecticles, glands, gall-bladder, the female animal’s vagina, and urinary
bladder.
It is written in Hindiyya,
“There are two sorts of Zakât-i-shar’î[1] : optional and indispensable. Optional zakât is
the nahr of the camel, (which means to kill it by stabbing it in the pit of the
throat), and the zebh of other domestic animals, (which means to jugulate
them). Indispensable zakât is the jerh of the animals of hunt, that is, to kill
them by wounding them on some part of their body. It is necessary to utter the
name of Allâhu ta’âlâ while performing zebh, or throwing the arrow or firing
the bullet or sending off the greyhound upon the hunt. It is permissible to
utter it in another language even if one knows Arabic. An animal cannot be
jugulated with the same takbîr that has been uttered for another animal. An animal
killed by zakât is cannonically clean. If it is an edible animal which is halâl
to eat, it can be eaten. Otherwise it cannot be eaten. But it can be utilized
in some other way.”
If a
person makes a qurbân of his own sheep on someone else’s behalf, it is not
acceptable, whether the latter has ordered him or not. For, an animal can be
killed as the qurbân for someone else only if it is that person’s personal
property. It is required that the former person present his sheep to the
latter, or to the latter’s deputy, and the latter, or his deputy, take
possession of the sheep, appoint the former his deputy, and then give the sheep
back to the former and have him kill it on his behalf. It is permissible to
kill someone else’s animal as his qurbân on his behalf without his knowledge.
If one kills someone else’s animal as one’s own qurbân without his permission,
it will be acceptable if one pays its value afterwards. If the owner refuses
the value and takes the jugulated animal instead, the qurbân will have been
performed for the owner. It is never permissible to perform the qurbân from an
animal which one is keeping as an amânat (entrusted for safe-keeping), âriyat
(borrowed for using), or hire.” If a bullet hits the prey and kills it or the
prey is killed with a stone or club, it cannot be eaten. For, it is necessary
for the blood to flow.
---------------------------------
[1] Canonical purification of a beast for food by slaughtering it in the prescribed manner.
When buying a qurbân one should make one’s niyyat as follows: “I intend
to buy a qurbân which is wâjib to sacrifice on the ’Iyd day.” One does not have
to make the niyyat again while jugulating the animal. Nor does one have to kill
the animal which one has bought with that intention. But the value of the
animal one is going to kill instead of that animal should not be less. One
might as well not make the niyyat at all while buying the animal. But then it
is necessary to make the niyyat while killing the animal, or when appointing
someone one’s deputy. A person who wishes to donate his or her qurbân to a
charitable society should say, “I appoint you as my deputy to butcher my ’Iyd
(or nazr) qurbân or have it butchered by someone else you may appoint, and to
give its meat and skin to anyone you consider proper.” The person in charge
(deputy), attaches a number plate to the qurbân which is delivered or bought.
He keeps a record of both the name of the owner of the qurbân and the number of
the qurbân in a note-book. He appoints the butchers as agents by announcing the
names of the owners while the qurbâns are sacrificied. He gives the meat to
whomever he wishes and the skin is given to a poor person in charge. That poor
person, before the value of the skins he is given reaches the level of nîsâb,
gives as a gift all he has to whomever he wishes. And that person sells them,
and gives the money thus obtained to whomever he wants. It is permissible for a
poor person to sell or give as a gift the skins that are given to him.
If one
kills several sheep, all of them become qurbân. Or, according to more
dependable information, the best one becomes qurbân and the others become
supererogatory.
If a
poor person with property below the amount of nisâb intends to kill an animal
which is his own property as the qurbân, or if he buys an animal during the
’Iyd of Qurbân but without the intention of qurbân and then intends to kill it
as the qurbân, or if he buys it with the intention of qurbân but before the
’Iyd of Qurbân, it is not wâjib for him to kill it. If he kills it, it becomes
supererogatory; he can eat its meat, and the meat he gives to the poor becomes
alms. If a poor person buys an animal with the intention of qurbân and within
the first three days of the ’Iyd, according to this report, the animal becomes
a votive offering (a vow), then it becomes wâjib for him to jugulate it within
the first three days of the ’Iyd. According to another report, it does not
become a vow; it becomes supererogatory. Whether rich or poor, a person who has
performed the qurbân of votive offering cannot
eat from the meat, nor can people who are
not eligible to receive zakât, nor can he let the rich eat from the meat. If he
does not kill the animal within these three days, he gives away the living
animal or its equivalent as alms after the ’Iyd. It is permissible also to kill
the animal and give the meat as alms, but in case the value of the entire meat
is less than the value of the living animal, then the difference should be
given as alms.
PERFORMING THE AQÎQA - Aqîqa means to jugulate an animal with
the intention of thanking Allâhu ta’âlâ for the blessing of child. When the
child is seven days old it is mustahab to name it, to shave its head, to give
as alms the hair’s weight in gold or silver (only silver if it is a girl), and
to kill two animals of an aqîqa for a boy and one for a girl. It is mustahab in
Hanafî Madhhab. The animal for aqîqa should be the same as the animal for
qurbân. It can be killed later too. [It can be killed any time. It can be
killed during the ’Iyd of qurbân too. It is written in Shir’a that after his prophethood,
Rasűlullah (sall Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) performed aqîqa for himself. A baby
born dead is not named, nor is the aqîqa performed for him]. The meat can be
eaten by the person who has sacrificed the animal and can be given cooked or
uncooked to anyone rich or poor. Performing an aqîqa is sunnat-i-muakkada in
the Madhhabs of Shâfi’î and Mâlikî. In the Madhhabs of Shâfi’î and Hanbalî, the
bones are not thrown away or broken. They are separated from one another by the
joints and then put together. Then they are wrapped up in clean, white cloth,
and buried. The bones can be broken in the Madhhabs of Hanafî and Mâlikî. The
aqîqa protects children against calamities and illnesses. It increases the
children’s intercession for their parents. It is written as follows in the
first volume of Mawâhib-i-leduniyya:
“Ibrâhim was born in the eighth year of the Hegira, and on the seventh day
Rasűlullah had Ibrâhim’s hair cut, gave as alms the hair’s weight in silver,
and killed two rams as aqîqa. Then he buried the hair.”