Aqiqa & Qurbani
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
SUNNAH OF AQIQA / QURBANI
O Allah (The Exalted) bless our lord and master Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) as much as all that is encompassed by Your Vision.
The ‘Aqiqa (sacrifice)
‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that, “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) slaughtered a goat on the occasion of Hasan’s (may Allah be pleased with him) birth, the son of Fatimah and ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with them) and said that, “Oh Fatima! Shave the head of Hasan and pay silver equal to the weight of the hair as charity.”” i
Yahya (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) related to me from Malik (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) from Jafar ibn Muhammad (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) that his father said, “Fatima, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) weighed the hair of Hasan, Husayn, Zaynab and Umm Kulthum and gave away in sadaqa an equivalent weight of silver.” ii
Behaviour in the Aqiqah
Yahya (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) related to me from Malik (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) and he from Nafi (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) that if any of ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Umar’s (may Allah be pleased with him) family asked him for an Aqiqah, he would give it to them. He gave a sheep as Aqiqah for both his male and female children.
It is reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, “If anyone has a child born to him and wishes to offer a sacrifice on its behalf, he may offer two sheep for a boy and one for a girl.” iii
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, “Two sheep are to be sacrificed for a boy and one for a girl, but it does you no harm whether they (the animal sacrifice) be male or female.” iv
Yahya (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) related to me from Malik (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) from Rabia ibn Abi ‘Abd ar-Rahman (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) that Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Harith at-Taymi (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) said, “I heard my father say that the Aqiqah was desirable, even if it was only a sparrow.” v
Meaning it is good to perform the Aqiqah.
Shaving the head & name
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, “A boy is in pledge for his Aqiqah. Sacrifice is made for him on the seventh day, he is given a name and his head is shaved.” vi
Yahya (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) related to me from Malik (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) and he from Hisham ibn Urwa (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) that his father, Urwa ibn az-Zubayr (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) made an Aqiqah for his male and female children of a sheep each. vii
Sunnah of Aqiqah
1. Aqiqah is due to the happiness of when a child is born, the animal that is slaughtered is known as an Aqiqah.
2. An Aqiqah is Mustahab (desirable) and it is better to perform it on the 7th day. If it cannot be performed on the 7th day then perform it whenever possible and the Sunnah will be fulfilled i.e. on the 14th, 21st or 28th. viii
2 www.GardensOfSunnah.co.uk
3. Two goats can be slaughtered for a son and one goat for a daughter. Also a male animal for the boy and a female animal for the girl, if however, if this is vice-versa then it is also accepted. If you cannot afford to slaughter two, one female goat would also do for the boy.
4. If you slaughter a cow or a buffalo then for the boy you would specify two parts and for the girl one part.
5. You can mix parts of Aqiqah with a Qurbani animal. The same conditions apply for an Aqiqah animal as for the Qurbani animal.
6. The meat of the Aqiqah should be given to the poor, friends and relatives raw or cooked, or it can be served as a meal and all the people invited, in all these cases it is allowed.
7. For pious prediction don’t break the bones and if you do break them then this is not forbidden. You can cook the meat in whichever way suits you but to cook it salty is a means that the child will become with good characteristics.
8. The Aqiqah meat can be eaten by all relatives such as the mother, father, grandfather, grandmother and others.
9. The rule for the skin of the Aqiqah is the same as for the Qurbani animal, meaning you can make use of it yourself, give it to someone or give to a Madrasa or Masjid.
SUNNAH OF QURBANI
Qurbani is a worship with goods and is Wajib (necessary) upon every rich person. To sacrifice a specific animal on a specific day for the sake of Allah (The Exalted) for the intention to gain reward is called a Qurbani. Qurbani is Wajib upon every Muslim who is not a traveller and is the owner of Nisaab and is a free person.
Just as Qurbani is Wajib upon all males it is also Wajib upon all females. ix
Qurbani is not Wajib upon a traveller, however, if he wishes to perform it voluntarily, then he can do so and will gain reward.x
The owner of Nisaab means to have as much goods in addition to the basic necessities an amount of two hundred Dirhams (approx. £400-£500 and is always changing). xi
Time of Qurbani
The time of Qurbani is from the break of dawn of the 10th of Dhul Hajj to sunset on the 12th of Dhul Hajj, meaning three days and two nights. However, it is better to perform it in the morning of the 10th, then 11th, then 12th.
If the Qurbani is performed in a city then the condition is that it is performed after the ‘Eid Salaah and because there is no ‘Eid Salaah in villages and outskirts then it can be performed after the break of dawn.
It is necessary to perform Qurbani at the time of Qurbani, therefore, if that much money or the same amount of goods to the value of an animal is given then the responsibility of Qurbani will not be fulfilled. xii
If the time of Qurbani has passed then a Qurbani can no longer be performed and if you had purchased an animal for Qurbani then give it as Sadaqa (charity) or give the amount of money equivalent to the value of a goat as Sadaqa. xiii
Rules of Qurbani
1. Once the conditions of Qurbani are fulfilled (as mentioned above), then to sacrifice one goat or sheep or lamb or one seventh of a camel, cow, buffalo is Wajib and no less than this can be performed.
3 www.GardensOfSunnah.co.uk
2. If a person’s share of a large animal is less than one seventh then their share of the Qurbani will not count (meaning, if eight people are jointly sacrificing one large animal then only seven of these people’s Qurbani will count).
3. If there are less than seven people jointly performing Qurbani and the parts divided are equal to at least one seventh per person then the Qurbani will count.
4. Every person that is jointly performing Qurbani have to make the intention that they are doing it to gain reward and not just to gain the meat and therefore a person wanting to perform an Aqiqah can also join in as this is done to gain reward. xiv
Rules of meat and the skin
1. If the animal is bought jointly then the meat should be weighed and equally distributed. It should not be divided roughly because if it is divided un-equally then even if the person receiving less forgives them it will not be forgiven as the right is as per Shariat. xv
2. Then split your share into three parts and give one third to the poor as Sadaqa, one third to your relatives and one third for yourself and eat the meat yourself and give some to your wife and children. If you have a lot of children and a large family then you can keep all the meat for yourself and if you so wish you can give all of it to Sadaqa, however, it is better to keep one part of yourself.
3. If you have performed a Qurbani on behalf of a deceased person then the rule of the meat is the same, however, if the deceased had requested for the Qurbani then give all the meat away as Sadaqa.
4. If the Qurbani is from a deceased person then the meat cannot be eaten by yourself nor can it be given to a rich person, but it is Wajib to give all the meat away as Sadaqa. xvi
5. It is Mustahab for the person performing the Qurbani to eat the Qurbani meat as the first food of the day. xvii
6. The meat of the Qurbani should not be given to infidels.
7. The animal’s skin, reins, saddle etc. should all be given in Sadaqa. You can use the skin for yourself and make something out of it e.g. a leather bag or a mat for praying Namaz on. However, you cannot sell the skin and use the money for yourself, if this is done then the money has to be given as Sadaqa. xviii
8. Nowadays people usually give the skins to Madressas, this is allowed and if you sell the skin with the intention to give the money to the Madressas then this is also allowed. xix
9. The meat of the Qurbani cannot be given to the person performing the Qurbani or skinning the animal as labour or salary. If however, you give it as a gift as you would do to friends then this is acceptable, but you cannot include it as a form of payment for his work. xx
10. There are many places where the skin is given to the Imam. This should not be given as part of his salary but can be given as a gift or assistance. xxi
Which animals can be used for Qurbani
1. Animals for Qurbani – Camel, cow, buffalo, goat, ewe (male or female), eunuch, and large eunuch can all be used for Qurbani. xxii
2. Wild animals such as deer, white antelope, and reindeer cannot be used to perform Qurbani.
3. A sheep or lamb is included in the eunuch category.
Age of a Qurbani Animal
A camel must be at least five years old; a buffalo must be at least two years old and a sheep or lamb or goat at least a year old. If they are younger than this then the Qurbani will not count. However, if a lamb or a 4 www.GardensOfSunnah.co.uk
i Tirmidhi
ii Muatta Imam Malik
iii Abu Dawood & Mishkat
iv Tirmidhi, Nasa’i & Abu Dawud.
v Muatta Imam Malik
vi Mishkat
vii Muatta Imam Malik
viii Abu Dawud
ix Durr-e-Mukhtar, etc
x ibid
xi Durr-e-Mukhtar, Alamgiri, etc.
xii Alamgiri etc.
xiii Durr-e-Mukhtar, Alamgiri, etc.
xiv Radd-ul-Mohtar
xv ibid Bahar
xvi Bahar
xvii Barraur-Raiq
xviii Durr-e-Mukhtar, Radd-ul-Mohtar
xix Alamgiri, Bahar
xx Hidaya etc.
xxi Bahar-e-Shariat
xxii Alamgiri
xxiiixxiii Durr-e-Mukhtar
xxiv Durr-e-Mukhtar, Radd-ul-Mohtar, Alamgiri
xxv Alamgiri, etc.
xxvi Durr-e-Mukhtar, Bahar
xxvii ibid Hidaya, Alamgiri
xxviii Durr-e-Mukhtar, Radd-ul-Mohtar
xxix Bahar-e-Shariat
xxx Alamgiri, Bahar
xxxi Bahar-e-Shariat
eunuch’s young is so big at six months that by looking at it from a distance it looks to be a year old then it can be used for Qurbani. xxiii
What should a Qurbani Animal be like?
1. A Qurbani animal should be big and healthy and should not have any faults. If there is a small fault with the animal then the Qurbani will count but is Makrooh and if there is a big fault then the Qurbani will not count. xxiv
2. If a bull has no horns from birth then it is allowed and if the horns have been broken upto the root then it is not allowed to use it for Qurbani and if they are a little broken then it is allowed. xxv
3. A blind, lame, cross-eyed, mad, cut-ears, cut-tailed, teethless, cut-teats, dried teats, cut nosed, deaf from birth, a hermaphrodite (where an animal’s both sexual organ’s exist), an animal that only eats impurities then all of these animals cannot be used for Qurbani. xxvi
4. If the illness is small and the lameness is not that bad so that the animal can walk upto the slaughter-house or the ears, nose etc. are less than a third cut then the animal can be used for Qurbani. xxvii
5. If when performing the Qurbani the animal jumped and shook and due to this it became faulty then there is no harm. xxviii
6. If you performed a Qurbani and found that there is a live born inside then that should also be slaughtered and can be made use of, and if the young inside is dead then it should be thrown away. xxix
7. If after purchasing and before the Qurbani the animal give birth then the new-born should also be slaughtered and if it is sold then the money should be given away as Sadaqa and if it is not slaughtered before the Qurbani then give it away live as Sadaqa. xxx
NOTICE: Just look at our master and king the Prophet Muhammad Mustafa’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) big heart and concern that he made a Qurbani on behalf of his Ummah and thought of us, therefore, if a Muslim can then they should perform an additional Qurbani on behalf of the Holy Prophet then it would be a very good and fortunate act. xxxi