Who must offer qurbani, and when
Who qurbani is obligatory on, the niṣāb that makes someone wealthy enough, who it is offered for, and the three days it can be done.
Qurbani means sacrificing an animal on special days, to worship Allah.
Who has to do qurbani?
- You must be free (not enslaved).
- You must be at home, not travelling.
- You must be wealthy enough: owning more than you need for daily life, with no debts.
When can you do it?
- Only on the 10th, 11th or 12th day of Dhul-Hijjah.
- The time starts after the Eid prayer on the 10th, and ends when the sun sets on the 12th.
- The best day is the 10th, straight after the Eid prayer.
- In a village with no Eid prayer, you can start right after sunrise on the 10th.
- Do it in the daytime; doing it at night is disliked.
Qurbani means sacrificing a specific animal on specific days with the intention of worship.
Qurbani is obligatory on every Muslim who is free (not a slave), resident (not travelling), and wealthy enough to reach the niṣāb. It is not obligatory on a slave, a traveller, or someone poor.
For someone who does not reach the niṣāb, qurbani is not obligatory, but it is still recommended as a good deed.
Qurbani must be performed for oneself. If a child owns wealth reaching the niṣāb, the father must perform qurbani for the child, paid for from the child's own wealth.
Qurbani can only be performed on the 10th, 11th and 12th of Dhūl-Ḥijjah. The time begins after the Eid prayer on the 10th and ends at sunset on the 12th.
Performing qurbani on the 10th, Eid day itself, is best.
Qurbani should be performed during the day. Doing it at night is disliked.
If qurbani is not performed within the specified days, the animal must be given away in charity. If it had not yet been purchased, its value must be donated instead.
Qurbani, in the terminology of the law, is the sacrifice of a specified kind of animal on specified days with the intention of worship.
Qurbani is obligatory (the source terms it obligatory; this is the standard classification of qurbani as wājib rather than farḍ in this school) on every Muslim who is free, resident, not a traveller, and ṣāḥib-e-niṣāb. It is not obligatory on a slave, a traveller, or one who does not reach the niṣāb.
One who does not reach the niṣāb is not bound by the obligation, though qurbani remains mustaḥabb for them as a voluntary act of worship.
The obligation is discharged on one's own behalf. Where a minor child independently owns wealth reaching the niṣāb, the father is obligated to perform qurbani on the child's behalf, the cost being met from the child's own wealth rather than the father's.
The window for a valid qurbani is fixed to the 10th, 11th and 12th of Dhūl-Ḥijjah, commencing after the Eid prayer on the 10th and expiring at sunset on the 12th; a sacrifice outside this window is not qurbani.
Precedence within the window is mustaḥabb: performing the sacrifice on the 10th, Eid day itself, is preferred to deferring it to the 11th or 12th.
The sacrifice is to be made by day; performing it after nightfall, within the permitted three days, is makrūh.
Where the obligation lapses unperformed through the close of the window, the animal itself (or, if none had yet been acquired, its monetary value) must be given away as ṣadaqah in place of the sacrifice.
Terms on this page
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