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Where will I receive most reward in having my Qurbani done?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by AskOurImam.com

Assalamu Alaykum. I would like some advice on where to do Qurbani please. In some countries the same Qurbani is for £15 whereas others range from £60 to £200+. Is there any difference in reward or benefit? As many people choose the cheaper options and countries like Palestine/ Chechnya / Iraq etc. are left without Qurbani due to the expenses … Jazakumullahu Khairan Fiddarain

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

Your question is directed towards doing Qurbani (slaughtering an animal) abroad and the choice of the country based on the variation of the values of the animals. In some countries the animal is cheaper than others.

Before responding to your question, we wish to point out the following:

The practice of Qurbani is a شعار – a salient and an outstanding feature of Islam. To honour, respect and cherish the salient features of Allah is an expression of piety of the heart[1]. This Islamic ritual commemorates and represents the great sacrifice of Ibrahim (Peace be upon him) to sacrifice his son, Isma`eel (Peace be upon him), upon the order of Allah[2].

While Qurbani presents an opportunity for the poor and needy to enjoy meat, the very purpose of Qurbani is to seek the closeness of Allah through إراقة الدم (spilling blood in offering sacrifice)[3]. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) stated:

There is nothing dearer to Allah during the days of Qurbani than the sacrificing of animals. The sacrificed animal shall come on the Day of Judgement with its horn, 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[4].

One should not do Qurbani to merely execute the obligation of having an animal slaughtered. The slaughtering of an animal is an act of worship itself and thus it is preferable for a person to slaughter the animal himself[5] and endeavour to experience the spirit of Qurbani.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) advised his daughter:

Oh Fatimah, stand up and witness the slaughtering of your animal. All your sins will be forgiven at the fall of the first drop of blood. And verily, the animal shall be brought forward on the Day of Judgement with its meat and blood and shall be increased in weight seventy times, and then placed on the scale of deeds.”

Abu Saeed (May Allah be pleased with him) asked, “Oh Messenger of Allah, is this exclusive to the family of Muhammad (Peace be upon him) who have been distinguished with goodness or for Muslims in general?” The Prophet (Peace be upon him) replied, “[This reward is] for the family of Muhammad and for the general Muslims too[6].

In reference to your question, the Prophetic instruction for a Muslim is to slaughter his Qurbani animal personally and not assign for it to be slaughtered at any other place or country. This is based on the following points:

  1. It is preferable and mustahab to slaughter the animal by the individual himself[7] or at least for the person to witness his Qurbani animal being slaughtered,[8] as is the instruction of the Prophet (Peace be Upon Him) himself[9].
  2. As for the consumption of the meat, it is also preferable for the person himself to consume the meat from his Qurbani and also feed others from it[10]. The most virtuous mode of distributing the meat is to distribute one third of the Qurbani to the poor and needy, one third to his relatives and neighbours, and the remaining third to be kept for the person himself[11]. However, if one’s family members are poor and needy, then it is virtuous to distribute all the meat among them[12].

While it is more virtuous for one to slaughter the animal himself and witness the spirit of Qurbani, he may have his Qurbani animal slaughtered abroad[13]. In doing so, the following points should be considered:

  1. The ideal situation is to sacrifice an animal locally to witness the spirit of Qurbani as well as to expresses sympathy and solidarity with other fellow unfortunate Muslims by having another Qurbani done abroad.
  1. Do not choose to do Qurbani abroad just because it is a cheaper option. Remember Allah is aware of the intention of our hearts[14]. The reward of Qurbani increases for the one who bears the most sacrifice[15]. Allah proclaims:

You will never achieve birr (ultimate reward) until you spend from that what you love,”[16] and that, “It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah, but it is piety from you.”[17]

Hence if a person sacrifices more money upon purchasing his Qurbani animal, he will be rewarded accordingly[18].

  1. A person conducting the slaughtering of his animal in another country should give preference to a place where the residents are most in need;[19] especially those countries which have been afflicted with poverty or political turmoil, such as Somalia, Mali, Iraq, Syria, Palestine etc.[20]

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Hanif Yusuf Patel

Student Darul Iftaa
UK

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

References
[1] ذلك ، ومن يعظّم شعآئر الله فانّها من تقوى القلوب [Al-Qur`an: 22:32]

[2] فلمّا اسلما وتلّه للجبين ، وناديناه ان يا ابراهيم قد صدّقت الرءيا ، انّا كذلك نجزى المحسنين ، إنّ هذا لهو البلؤ المبين، وفديناه بذبح عظيم

[Al-Qur`an, 37:103-7]

[3] وفي الأضحية اجتمع المعنيان: لأنها تقرب بإراقة الدم وهو اتلاف …

[A-Bahr al-Amiq fi Manasik al-Mu`tamir wa al-Haaj, 3:1702, Muassasah ar-Rayan]

[4] أن رسول الله صلى الله غليه وسلم قال ما عمل آدمي من عمل يوم النحر أحب إلى الله من إهراق الدم إنها لتأتي يوم القيامة بقرونها وأشعارها وأظلافها وأن الدم ليقع من الله بمكان قبل أن يقع من الأرض فطيبوا بها نفسا

[Tirmidhi, 1493; Ibn Maajah, 3118]

[5] [Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah, 5:300]

[6] قال رسول الله عليه وسلم ، يا فاطمة قومى فاشهدي اضحيتك فان لك باول قطرة تقطر من دمها مغفرة كل ذنب أما إنه يجاء بلحمها ودمها توضع في ميزانك سبعين ضعفا قال أبو سعيد يا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم هذا لآل محمد خاصة فإنهم اهل لما خصّوا به من الخير أو للمسلمين عامّة قال لآل محمد خاصة وللمسلمين عامّة

[At-Targhib wa At-Tarhib, 2/160]

[7] وندب أن يذبح بيده ان علم ذلك – لأن الأولى في القرب أن يتولاها الانسان بنفسه

[Tabyeen al-Haqa`iq Sharh Kanz ad-Daqa`iq, 6:9, Maktabah Imdadiyah, Multan]

قلت: أرأيت الأضحية يذبحها صابحها أحب إليك أم يأمر غيره؟ قال: يذبحها هو أحب إلي، وإن أمر غيره لم يضره

[Al-Asl li al-Imam Muhammad as-Shaybani, 5:411, Dar Ibn Hazam]

وفى فتاوى أهل سمرقند: الأفضل أن يضحي الرجل بيده، إذا قدر عليه وإن لم يقدر فوض إلى غيره ، حكى أن ابا حنيفة فعل بنفسه

[Al-Muhit al-Burhani, 8:468, Idarah al-Qur`an; Al-Fatawa At-Tatarkhaniyah, 17:435-6, Maktabah Zakariya, Deoband]

[Al-Fatawa Al-Hindiyyah, 5:300; Bahishti Zewar (Mukammal), p.160, Idarah Isha`at-e-Diniyat; Fatawa Bayyinat, 4:559]

فإذا ذبحها للمسلم بأمره أجزأه ويكره ، والله أعلم

[Al-Jawharat an-Nirah, 2:190]

[8] ولكن ينبغي له أن يشهدها بنفسه وان كان لايحسن ذلك فالافضل أن يستعين بغيره كيلا يجعلها ميتة

[Ibid]

[9] [At-Targhib wa At-Tarhib, 2/160]

[10] ويستحب للمضحى أن يأكل من أضحيّته ، ويطعم منها غيره … فإن الأفضل له أن يدعه لعياله ، ويوسع به عليهم

[Al-Fatawa at-Tatarkhaniyyah, 17:436-7; Al-Muhit al-Burhani, 8:469]

11] الأفضل أن يتصدّق بثلث الاضحية ويتخذ التلت ضيافة للأقارب والجيران ويدخر الثلث الباقى

[Al-Fatawa as-Sirajiyyah, p.389, Zamzam & Darul Uloom Zakaria]

[12] وإن كان فقيرا ذاعيال فالافضل أن يأكله هو وعياله

[Al-Fatawa at-Tatarkhaniyyah, 17:437]

… فإن الأفضل له أن يدعه لعياله ، ويوسع به عليهم

[Al-Fatawa at-Tatarkhaniyyah, 17:436-7; Al-Muhit al-Burhani, 8:469]

[13] والذبح بيده إن أن أحسن وإلا أمر غيره

[Sharh al-Wiqayah ma`a Umdat ar-Ri`ayah, 7:258, Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah]

[14] انه عليم بذات الصّدور

[Al-Qur`an, 11:5]

[15] قالت عائشة رضي الله عنها: يا رسول الله يصدر الناس بنسكين وأصدر بنسك؟ فقيل لها: انتظري فإذا طهرت فاخرجي الى التنعيم فأهلي ثم ائتينا بمكان كذا ولكنها على قدر نفقتك أو نصبك

[Saheeh Bukhari, 1695; Saheeh Muslim, 2448]

[16] لن تنال البر حتى تنفقوا مما تحبون

[Al-Qur`an, 3:92]

[17] لن ينال الله لحومها ولا دماءها ولكن يناله التقوى منكم

[Al-Qur`an, 22:37]

[18] البقرة أفضل من الشاة فى الأضحية إذا استوتا فى القيمة لأنها أعظم وأكثر، والشاة افضل من سبع البقرة إذا اسستوتا فى القيمة واللحم لأن لحم الشاة أفضل من سبع البقرة وإذا كان سبع البقرة أكثر لحما فسبع البقرة أفضل والأصل فى هذا أنهما إذا استويا فى القيمة واللحم فأطيبهما لحما أفضل وإذا اختلفا فى القيمة واللحم فالفاضل أولى

[Al-Muhit Al-Burhani, 8:468]

فمن يعمل مثقال ذرة خيرا يرم [Al-Qur`an, 99:7]

مثل الذين ينفقون أموالهم فى سبيل الله كمثل حبة انبتت سبع سنابل فى كلّ سنبلة مّائة حبة ، والله يضعف لمن يشاء، والله واسع عليم

[Al-Qur`an, 2:261]

[19] وأطعموا القانع والمعتر [Al-Qur`an, 22:36]

[20] قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: من ذبح قبل الصلوة فليعد. فقام رجل فقال: هذا يوم يشتهى فيه اللحم وذكر من جيرانه فكأن النبي صلى الله عليه صدقه، قال: وعندي جذعة أحب ألي من شاتي لحم فرخص له النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فلا أدري: أبلغت الرخصة من سواه أم لا

[Saheeh al-Bukhari, 911]

This answer was collected from AskOurImam.com, which is operated under the supervision of Mufti Hanif Yusuf Patel. He graduated from Jamiatul Ilm Wal Huda, Blackburn, U.K, with a distinction in Alimiyyah degree. He thereafter travelled to Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah Durban, South Africa, to train as a Mufti under the tutelage of Mufti Ebrahim Desai and Mufti Husain Kadodia.

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