Question: What are the qualifications for the ones who will have shares in a qurban?
ANSWER
Some of them are as follows:
1. All the partners must be Muslim. Each must intend for performing qurban and doing ibadah, and the share of each must not be less than one-seventh. If any of them has a share in qurban just for its meat and the other partners know this fact, none of their shares is valid. If it is not known, then it is valid. If some of the partners have died or become senile, there is no harm.
2. If one wants to sacrifice a qurban –a share for a vow (nazr), a share for aqiqah, a share for Eid al-Adha, a share for voluntary ibadah, a share for a deceased person, a share for our Master the Messenger of Allah—one may sacrifice a cow. All of them may be included. Up to seven people can take part in it. Only, the animal must be bought in the beginning with the intention of including up to seven people. If one buys it only for oneself and then makes another person a partner, then it is makruh.
3. One who has an absolute vow (nazr) cannot share in a qurban. That is, one who has made such a vow "I will sacrifice that horned black ram" cannot sacrifice another black ram instead of it. One cannot share in a qurban for one's this vow.
4. If a rich one buys a cow only for himself, it is permissible for someone else to share in it later, but it is makruh. One should buy the cow with the intention of including up to seven people. According to a qawl, if a poor person buys a cow to sacrifice it, then he cannot include other people because his qurban is in the category of a vow (nazr).
5. Cattle, e.g., a cow, can be sacrificed by seven people maximum. It is not a condition that an odd number of people should share in it. They may be in even number, but it is better if they are in odd number because it is sunnat-i zawaid. A hadith-i sharif says:
(Allahu ta'ala is one, and He loves him who observes in odd numbers. O people of the Qur'an, observe odd numbers.) [Tirmidhi]
6. If one sacrifices qurban with the intention of making up the one one did not perform the year before, one will not be considered to have made it up. The qurban one sacrifices is considered voluntary. If one cannot sacrifice qurban in its due time, one must give its value to a poor person in gold.
7. Up to seven Muslims who are sane and pubescent can buy a cow or camel and sacrifice it jointly. A share of vow (nazr) or aqiqa may be included in these seven shares.
8. The meat of the qurban must be weighed and shared evenly. Its fat and other edible parts must be shared. Sharing it without weighing and then agreeing mutually is not permissible, and it is considered interest. If four of the seven people are given a leg together with meat and if the fifth one is given its skin together with meat and if the sixth one is given its head together with its meat, then it is permissible to share it without weighing. It is not necessary to add anything to the share of the seventh one.
9. If seven people give their cow to someone else and say, "We have appointed you a general agent to sacrifice it, to get someone else to sacrifice it, and to utilize its meat as you wish," the general agent can give all the meat to anyone without sharing it or can share it between the partners by estimation without weighing.
10. A couple or a father and son who live in the same home must weigh and share their joint qurban. After sharing it, one of them may give his/her share to the other if he/she wishes. He/she cannot give it away without sharing it. Alternatively, by the methods mentioned above, it is permissible to share them without weighing.
11. A cow, for example, can be sacrificed by seven people maximum. More than seven people cannot share one or more cows. For example, it is not permissible for eight people to buy seven cows to share because each has a share in each animal. None of them can have a share less than one-seventh. Likewise, it is not permissible for three people to buy nine sheep jointly because they have a share in each sheep at a rate of one-third. However, a sheep can be sacrificed by only one person. It is not permissible for a few people to buy and sacrifice a sheep jointly.
Question: We, four people, bought a cow jointly to sacrifice at Eid al-Adha. Can we include a few more people later?
ANSWER
When they are buying it if they thought that they would include up to seven people, then it is permissible to include other partners. Or else it would be makruh. In order to avoid a makruh act, you may sell the cow to someone else or anyone from among four people may buy it. If the buyer intends to include up to seven people while buying it, they can be partners again.
Question: Can three rich people on whom it is wajib to perform qurban and a poor person on whom it is not wajib to perform qurban sacrifice a cow jointly?
ANSWER
Yes, they can.
Question: Can one become a partner at Eid al-Adha for a cow that people one does not know bought?
ANSWER
One should not become partners with people one does not know. If any of them sacrifices it not for Allah's sake but for its meat, none of others' shares is valid. If we do not know their intention, then we will not be responsible. Therefore, we should be partners with pious people we know.
Question: As it is not wajib to perform qurban in the Shafi'i Madhhab, is there anything wrong with making a Shafi'i Muslim a partner?
ANSWER
The difference of people's madhhabs does not affect qurban partnership. His qurban is considered sunnat. Likewise, one who has a share for aqiqa or for a dead one can be a partner, too. However, a disbeliever cannot be a partner. One who performs qurban only for its meat cannot be a partner, either.
Question: If three partners give different amounts of money, will their qurban be valid? For example, if they buy a cow for 2,800 TRY and if one of them gives for 800 TRY, the other gives 1,600 TRY, and the third one gives 400 TRY and if they share the meat as per their money, is it permissible?
ANSWER
It is permissible as the money of the third partner, who gives the least money, is not less than one-seventh. During the distribution of the meat, the third partner receives one share and the second partner receives four shares and the first person receives two shares. The total is seven shares. If one of them gave less than one-seventh, that is, less than 400 TRY, it would not be valid. Each partner must give money as per his/her share. Likewise, the distribution of the meat must be done as per each partner's share.
