The validity of offering Qurbani on behalf of the Prophet [Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him
Q – What is the validity of doing Qurbani under the name of our Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)? Apparently, it is a common practice around the world and widely practiced in Bangladesh. My thoughts: never heard of it before and need to be clear as if it is wrong we need to stop immediately. Your thought and findings please?
All praise be to Allah for guiding us to His Law and Way, and for inspiring us the means of realising His higher objectives [Maqasid] and outlining systematic argumentation to establish them. May the blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad [SAAS], through whom Allah laid solid foundations for reform. May His mercy be upon the Prophet’s companions and the members of his household, luminaries of Islam and jewels in its crown, and upon the leading scholars through whom divine knowledge has radiated following the advent of Islam.
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah,
May Allah reward your eagerness and enthusiasm to learn what the authentic Sunnah is as regards to the issue of offering Qurbani on behalf of our beloved Prophet [peace and blessing of Allah be upon him]. I am not qualified to issue legal edicts; therefore, the comments below are purely brief advice giving and what I have gathered in this regard. For a detailed and executive answer to your query please refer to your local Imam, or alternatively visit the following web sites and pose the question to them: www.suhaibweb.com [excellent site supervised by our teacher Imam Suhaib Webb]. www.islamtoday.com, www.islamonline.net, and www.sunnipath.com
1 -According to Imam al-‘Azam Abu Hanifa, Imam al-Awzai’, Imam Layth, Shaykh al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and an opinion attributed to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the Qurbani is wajib [Obligatory]. However, according to the majority [jamhur] of the fuqaha it is a confirmed Sunnah.
2 -This issue goes back to whether one is allowed to offer sacrifice for their deceased family members. The vast majority of scholars permit one to offer the sacrifice on behalf of the deceased and there is ijma’ that the rewards of good actions such as hajj, Sadaqa, recitation, Salah reach the dead in their graves.
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah said, ‘whoever claims that the deceased do not benefit from the good actions of others has indeed breached the Ijma’. He was asked regarding the validity of offering sacrifice for the deceased. He responded by saying that it is allowed to sacrifice on his behalf as it is valid to perform hajj on his [deceased] behalf.
The prophet himself offered Qurbani on behalf of his living and dead family members [Muslim]. In other narrations we find that he even offered Qurbani on behalf of his Ummah, the living and the dead those who testified to the Tawhid of Allah [Abi Ya’la with a good isnaad, also Ahmad, and al-Bazzar]. In another narration it is reported that Ali would offer sacrifice on behalf of the prophet after his [peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] death, except that this is a strange [ghareeb] narration. [Tirmidhi].
3- We read in the history books that many of the salaf would offer sacrifice for their deceased teachers and Shuyukh. Many luminaries would sacrifice for Imam Bukhari after the completing the study of sahih Bukhari, and these reports are widespread and known
4- Therefore, technically, one is allowed to offer Qurbani on behalf of the Prophet, not just our beloved but all other Prophets and Messengers, however, let me highlight few matters:
A – We know that one of the reasons we are encouraged to offer the sacrifice is the high reward we will receive from Allah, and also for the expiation of our sins. The Prophet is infallible and does not incur any sin. Allah has forgiven his past and future ‘faults’ [here it is not sin], and hence he does not require from anyone any good actions so he may benefit from.
B – It is we who need the sacrifices since we commit sin day and night. There are many family members who may not be financially capable to offer their Qurbani, therefore, it would be better, in my opinion, to assist them rather than offering on behalf of the Prophet.
C – We can help our deprived brothers and sisters in less fortunate circumstances than us, such the people of Palestine, Afghanistan and other underprivileged countries. The Prophet was selfless and he cried for his Ummah. I am sure he will be pleased to see us helping our brothers and sisters in Palestine and other oppressed Muslim countries, especially during the economical downturn the world is facing!
5– This is not a fundamental matter of creed. As far as I understand if a person wishes to give sacrifices in the name of the Prophet, he or she will not be considered a mubtadi’ [innovator] or a mushrik [polytheist].
6- What our duty should be to our elders [especially as you say it is widespread in Bangladesh] is that we teach them the Sunnah of the Prophet. Educate them about the Tawhid of Allah; teach them the Sirah and how they should follow the Prophet without breaching his Shari’ah, the way his companions followed him [may Allah be pleased with them].
This must be done with wisdom and knowledge, “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good preaching. And reason with them in the better way.” [16:125]. Know that there are many good things they posses which we can benefit from, and if we find that they are performing certain actions that are not in accordance with the Sunnah then we have to be patient, teach them with wisdom, and make dua for them.
I pray that the aforementioned points will benefit you in understanding this issue and I pray that Allah forgives me for any mistakes I have made. Keep us in your Duas.
Wassalam
http://maqasid.wordpress.com/2008/12/07/the-validity-of-offering-qurbani-on-behalf-of-the-priphet-peace-and-blessings-of-allah-be-upon-him/
Salaam,
This is merely me writing on what I’ve read above. Excellent that we can do Qurbani on behalf of the Prophet (sal-Allahu alayhi wasallam)! However, I don’t see why we cannot do both i.e. help the poor and needy as well as do the Qurbani. Why is it implied that it would be better to do one over the other?
Helping the poor and needy should be a long term goal of each and every person of the Ummah, wheras the Qurbani is a once a year action by those eligible to pay the Zakat. When helping the poor and needy, why not set up a standing order/direct debit on a monthly basis to benefit the poor? Why do we have this mentality that it has to be a one off action?
Doesn’t Allah love actions that are done consistantly over the ones that are done only once? Surely a montly contribution to the poor would be a consistant ibadah?
My thoughts, thats all. Sorry to go on a bit.
Wassalaam
Fully agree and endorse.
Jazakalla khair for yr references and ideas you have given good answer to question
I believe that we must follow Allah order as wet as sunnah
And eid ul zuha is a loved incident of ibrahim alaihissalam
If people stop doing sacrifices then how can we keep in practice as for giving alms to poor you have definitely can do it with infaaq .
as-salamu alaikum dear shaykh,
jazakum Allahu khairan for this reply, and for the material you post on this site, which is a source of continual benefit.
perhaps you could clarify what you meant with regards to ‘ijma’a’ on the idea of thawab reaching the dead? i think perhaps you meant there is ijma’ on some actions – such as sadaqa jariya, etc, though on others there is a difference of opinion, e.g. qur’an recitation, given that imam shafi’i for instance declared that the thawab of such actions does not reach the deceased (see imam nawawi’s exposition in the beginning of sharh sahih muslim) – and it would be in this light that imam ibn taymiyya’s words would be explained:
‘if one holds that the reward of (any) good actions does not reach the deceased he has indeed gone against ijma”
if i have understood this properly, maybe you could change the wording slightly, as it it may be slightly misleading. if not, perhaps you could explain the issue better to me.
jazakum Allahu khairan,
was-salam
z
Assalamu Alaikum,
There was a mistake on my post regarding the validity of offering Qurbani in the name of the prophet. A clear error from my part and after speaking to one of my teachers Shaykh Wunis al-Mabrook, the president of the European Assembly of Imams and Spiritual Guides, I have made the following amendments on point two:
2 -This issue goes back to whether one is allowed to offer sacrifice for their deceased family members. The vast majority of scholars permit one to offer the sacrifice on behalf of the deceased and in addition they opine that the rewards of good actions such as hajj, Sadaqa, recitation, Salah reach the dead in their graves.
Jk, to the readers for highlighting this and I hope Allah forgives me for my mistake.
Keep us in your duas
Your brother and student Abdullah
Asalamualaikum Imam Suhaib,
Here is a nice fatwa with some additional information:
Collective Participation in the Sacrifice for `Îd al-Adhâ| Sheikh Salman al-Oadah|
Offering a sacrifice for `Id al-Adhâ is an emphatic Sunnah according to the opinion of most scholars. Hanafî scholars differ, considering it an obligation upon a person provided that he is not a traveler and that he possesses the amount of money that makes him liable to pay Zakâh. [Radd al-Muhtâr (5/198)].
According to the strongest opinion, however, it is an emphatic Sunnah and one animal can be sacrificed on behalf of an entire household. This is in accordance with the practice of the Companions. Abû Ayyûb al-Ansârî stated: “A man used to slaughter a sheep on behalf of himself and the people of his household.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî (1505), Sunan Ibn Mâjah (3147), al-Muwatta’ (1075), and Sunan al-Bayhaqî (9/268)]
It is, of course, permissible to slaughter more than one sheep on behalf of a single household.
As for people who wish to participate financially in a joint slaughter where each party contributes a certain specified amount of money, this cannot be accomplished with the purchase of a sheep, even if the people involved are close relatives.
People can jointly purchase a cow or a camel and slaughter it, since seven individuals can participate in the slaughter of a cow or a camel.
Jâbir relates: “Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) commanded us to participate jointly in the slaughter of a camel or a cow with seven people sharing in one animal.” [Sahîh Muslim (1318)]
This ruling cannot be applied to a sheep. The opinion of the overwhelming majority of scholars is that this ruling applies exclusively to the slaughter of a camel or a cow and that it is not allowed for a number of people to share financially in the slaughter of a sheep. There is some disagreement on this matter, but it is inconsequential.
As for the idea of many people sharing in the blessings of the sacrifice, this is something possible in all cases, even with the slaughter of a single sheep. The person carrying out the sacrifice of the animal can involve anyone he pleases, living or dead, in the blessings of that sacrifice.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) sacrificed a horned ram and said: “In the name of Allah. O Allah! Accept this on behalf of Muhammad, the family of Muhammad, and the Ummah of Muhammad.” [Sahîh Muslim (1967)]
If a number of people are financially independent but cannot individually afford to slaughter a sheep, they can come together on this basis to share in a single sacrifice. This may be accomplished by all of them pooling their money together and one from among them offering the sacrifice as an individual and sharing the blessings of it among all of them, just as the Prophet (peace be upon him) did on behalf of his Ummah. In this way, they can carry out one of the rites of Islam and share in its blessings, which is a good thing.
Moreover, we can even say that their joint participation is in their intent to uphold one of the rites of Islam, since the purpose of such rites is that they should be carried out.
It seems apparent that the lack of allowing joint financial participation in the sacrifice of a single sheep is in cases where people have the financial ability to sacrifice individually or to share in the purchase of a cow or a camel. As for people who wish to uphold this rite, but cannot afford to purchase sheep on an individual basis, they will be permitted to share in the purchase and sacrifice of a single sheep. This is especially evident when the people in question are blood brothers or close relatives.
And Allah knows best.
salaams !
can anyone answer .. is the qurbani allowed on behaf of the prophet … and please give relevant and authentic proof to support ..
thanks !
Agreed.
There are few querries my non muslim friends discuss with me .
Why is this practice followed when animal sacrifice in many countries based on some old believes, is banned .
Why do we do three shares of the meat , was that planned by the Prophet , when he took his son for the sacrifice.
Cant the poor be helped in some other way instead of that meat portion .
Where does it signifies a Qurabani , by killing an animal and then partying .
Qurbani is worship for Muslims to slaughter animals (goats, cattle, camels) which is good to give people and be eaten meat