Question: Who is required to perform qurban?
ANSWER
Let’s explain:
1. Qurban means to sacrifice a goat, sheep, water buffalo, cow, ox, bull or camel with the intention of qurban on any day of the first three days of Eid al-Adha. Qurban is sacrificed to earn thawab by doing a duty that is wajib. If a Muslim man or woman who is muqim, sane, has reached puberty, and free has money or wealth as much as nisab amount in excess of his/her basic needs, it is wajib on him/her to sacrifice a certain animal on certain days by intending it for Eid al-Adha. According to our religion, from a couple, the one who is rich has to perform qurban. If both are rich, then both have to perform qurban. If both are poor, then neither has to perform qurban. A poor person does not have to perform qurban, but he/she earns much thawab if he/she does. Qurban is performed to do a wajib duty and to earn its thawab in the hereafter. It is not necessary for a father to perform qurban for his child from the wealth of the child. An insane or senile person has been included in the category of a child. One cannot perform qurban for his wife or adult child from his/her wealth without his/her permission.
2. If a Muslim who is sane and has reached puberty has as much wealth or money as nisab amount in excess of his/her basic needs, then it becomes wajib on him/her to perform qurban. On the issue of whether qurban is wajib on one or not, the third day of Eid al-Adha is taken into account. It is of no account whether one is rich or poor, muqim or musafir, sane or insane, conscious or unconscious on the first and second days of Eid al-Adha. On the third day of Eid al-Adha, if one possesses the nisab and meets the other necessary conditions, it becomes wajib on one to perform qurban. That is, if one has reached puberty on the third day or if one is poor on the first day but has become rich on the third day or if one is a safari on the first day but becomes muqim on the third day, it becomes wajib on one to perform qurban if one meets the other necessary conditions.
3. If one goes into a coma on the first day of Eid al-Adha and comes out of it on the third day, it becomes wajib on one to perform qurban if one meets the other conditions. If a rich one faints on the second day of Eid al-Adha and recovers consciousness after sunset on the third day, it is not wajib to perform qurban.
4. If a poor person performs qurban on the first or second day and then if he/she becomes rich on the third day, he/she has to perform qurban again because he/she performed the first one without it being wajib on him/her. However, in dependable books, such as Bazzaziyya, the latter scholars said, “If a poor person performs qurban on the first day and then becomes rich on the third day, it is not necessary to perform qurban again.”
5. If one knows that one will become rich on the third day, there is nothing wrong with performing qurban on the first day.
6. If a rich one dies on the first or second day without performing qurban, one has not died with the debt of qurban.
7. If one knows that one will become poor or one will go on a journey on the third day of Eid al-Adha, it is not wajib on one to perform qurban on the first day. However, if one performs it, one has performed it as a wajib duty.
8. If one goes on a journey on the first or second day when one is muqim, it will not be wajib on one to perform qurban. If one has performed it before going on a journey, one earns the thawab of wajib. If one has not performed it, one is absolved from the debt of qurban as one has gone on a journey.
9. If a rich person who is muqim chooses a safari deputy to perform qurban on his/her behalf, he/she earns the thawab of wajib.
10. If one becomes free on the third day after being captive, it is wajib on one to perform qurban if one meets the other conditions. If one becomes captive on the third day and remains captive until sunset, it is not wajib on one to perform qurban.
11. 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 Imam 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 fatwa agrees with this. However, according to Imam A’zam and Imam Abu Yusuf, he is rich. If the value of the field, which is his property, or of the fixture, meets his needs and if what is left is (at least) the amount of nisab, setting apart a sum of each rental he takes, he must save money and give fitra and perform qurban. That is, he must attain great thawab. If he does not give fitra and does not perform qurban, he is absolved from the sin according to Imam Muhammad. 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 Imam Muhammad’s ijtihad and does not give fitra or perform qurban. If he gives fitra and performs qurban, he attains the thawab for fitra and qurban according to the latter ijtihad. If a person who has difficulty living on the rent he gets has the amount of nisab, he should give fitra and perform qurban 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 qurban, and thus should not deprive himself of the thawab for fitra and qurban. It is mustahab for a man who has many dependents and who can barely make ends meet to keep all the meat of the qurban at home.
Question: When does a child reach sanity and puberty? Does my son who is 13 years old have to perform qurban?
ANSWER
Girls reach puberty at the age of 9, while boys reach puberty at the age of 12. For some, puberty may begin later than this as well. If they do not reach puberty even at the age of 15, then they are considered pubescent from that time on.
If puberty has begun and if one has 96 grams of gold or money that equals it, one has to perform qurban. If puberty has not started, one does not perform qurban even if one is rich.
Question: My mother is rich but unconscious. Does she have to perform qurban?
ANSWER
If she orders you to perform qurban on her behalf when she is conscious, you must perform it.
Question: If one’s children have gold that has reached the nisab of zakat, is it their father who must perform qurban on their
behalf?
ANSWER
It is not wajib to perform qurban for a child who has not reached puberty, even if he/she is rich. It is not necessary for a father to perform qurban for his rich child.
Question: If the animal that a poor person bought dies on the Day of Arafa, does he have to perform another qurban instead of it?
ANSWER
It is not necessary as he is poor.
Question: In the Shafi’i Madhhab, if the person who provides for the family sacrifices one qurban, is it sufficient for the whole family?
ANSWER
It is sunnat al-kifaya to sacrifice one qurban for the members of a family. If the head of the family sacrifices it, it is not necessary for the other members to sacrifice it separately. In the Hanafi Madhhab, it is wajib for each member who possesses the nisab of qurban to sacrifice a qurban.
Question: Does one who has gone on hajj have to perform qurban even if one is poor?
ANSWER
No, it is not wajib on one who does not possess the nisab of qurban. One who is safari on hajj does not have to perform qurban, either.
