What Is Qurbani? Meaning, Rules and How It Is Done

Every year in Dhul Hijjah, Muslims around the world buy an animal, sacrifice it for the sake of Allah and share the meat. That act is Qurbani. It remembers the obedience of Prophet Ibrahim (AS) and it feeds people who rarely eat meat.

What does Qurbani mean?

The word comes from the Arabic root q-r-b, which means to come near. Qurbani is an act done to get closer to Allah. The meat is shared out, but the point is the worship.

You will hear several words for the same thing:

• Qurbani is the word used in Urdu, Bengali, Hindi and Persian.
• Udhiyah is the Arabic term scholars use in fiqh books. Our guide to the meaning of Udhiyah explains it in more detail.
• Qurban is common in Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia.
• Dhabihah (or zabihah) is different. It means the Islamic method of slaughter, which applies to all halal meat all year round.

The story behind Qurbani

Ibrahim and Ismail

Allah tested Prophet Ibrahim (AS) in a dream, commanding him to sacrifice his son Ismail (AS). Father and son both accepted. When Ibrahim was about to carry out the command, Allah replaced Ismail with a ram (Surah As-Saffat 37:102 to 107). Each Qurbani remembers that moment of complete trust in Allah.

The sons of Adam

The Quran also tells of the two sons of Adam (AS), who each made an offering. One was accepted and the other was not, and the Quran says: “Allah only accepts from those who are mindful of Him” (Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:27). The lesson is simple. Allah looks at the intention, not the size of the animal.

The practice of the Prophet ﷺ

In Madinah the Prophet ﷺ sacrificed every year. He slaughtered two horned rams with his own hand, one for himself and his family and one for those in his Ummah who could not afford to sacrifice (Sahih al-Bukhari 5554, Sunan Abu Dawud 2810).

Why Qurbani matters

Allah says: “It is not their meat or their blood that reaches Allah. It is your devotion that reaches Him” (Surah Al-Hajj 22:37). Qurbani is about taqwa: giving up something you value because Allah asked.

It also has a clear social side. For a few days, the poorest families in a community eat meat, often for the only time that year. Qurbani is worship and charity at once, which is why many people pair it with other sadaqah during Dhul Hijjah.

Who has to give Qurbani?

In the Hanafi school, Qurbani is wajib on a Muslim who is:

• an adult and of sound mind
• a resident, not a traveller
• the owner of wealth at or above the nisab, beyond basic needs, during the days of Eid

The nisab is the same threshold used for Zakat: the value of 87.48 grams of gold or 612.36 grams of silver. The Shafi’i, Maliki and Hanbali schools say Qurbani is a confirmed Sunnah (sunnah mu’akkadah). It isn’t strictly required, but leaving it when you can afford it is disliked. There is more detail in is Qurbani mandatory?

When Qurbani is done

The time starts after the Eid prayer on 10 Dhul Hijjah. An animal slaughtered before the prayer does not count as Qurbani. In the Hanafi school the time ends at sunset on the 12th, and in the Shafi’i school at sunset on the 13th. The best time is the first day, straight after the Eid prayer.

For 2027, 10 Dhul Hijjah is expected on Sunday, May 16 in the US, UK and Saudi Arabia, and Monday, May 17 in much of South Asia. See the Eid al-Adha 2027 date for how this is worked out.

Which animals can be used?

Only livestock count: sheep, goats, cattle (including buffalo) and camels. Chickens and other birds don’t count, and neither does any wild animal.

The animal must also be healthy. The Prophet ﷺ named four defects that make an animal unfit: clear blindness in one eye, clear illness, a limp so bad it can’t walk, and an animal so thin it has no marrow (Sunan Abu Dawud 2802, Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 1497). Scholars add others by analogy, such as a horn broken off at the root or most of an ear missing. Our guide to cow, goat and sheep Qurbani goes through each animal.

How the slaughter is done

The person slaughtering makes the intention for Allah and says Bismillahi Allahu Akbar at the cut. The animal must be alive. A very sharp knife is used to cut the windpipe, the food pipe and the jugular veins in one quick movement so the blood drains fully.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah has prescribed excellence in everything. When you slaughter, slaughter well. Sharpen your blade and spare the animal suffering” (Sahih Muslim 1955). That is why the knife is not sharpened in front of the animal, and one animal is not slaughtered in sight of another.

Many Western abattoirs stun animals before the cut. If the stun kills the animal, the meat is not halal at all. Even when it doesn’t, many scholars dislike stunning for Qurbani, and many families would rather avoid it completely.

Doing it yourself or through someone else

It is best to slaughter your own animal, or at least to be there. If that isn’t possible, you can appoint someone you trust to do it for you, including in another country. This is called wakalah and it is valid in all four schools.

Hair and nails

If you are giving Qurbani, the Sunnah is not to cut your hair or nails from the start of Dhul Hijjah until your animal has been sacrificed (Sahih Muslim 1977).

Sharing the meat

The recommended way is to split the meat into thirds: one for your household, one for relatives and neighbours, and one for the poor. This is a recommendation, not a condition. If you give through a charity, it is fine for all the meat to go to people in need.

Two things are not allowed. You can’t pay the butcher with meat or the skin, and you can’t sell any part of the animal for profit (Sahih al-Bukhari 1716).

The reward

A narration in Jami’ at-Tirmidhi (1493) and Sunan Ibn Majah (3126) says no deed on the Day of Sacrifice is more beloved to Allah than shedding the blood of the sacrifice, and that the animal will come on the Day of Judgement with its horns, hair and hooves. At-Tirmidhi called it hasan, though some later scholars consider the chain weak. Another narration promising a reward for every hair (Sunan Ibn Majah 3127) is graded weak.

Common mistakes

• Slaughtering before the Eid prayer. It doesn’t count as Qurbani.
• Choosing an unfit animal. A cheap animal with a bad limp or an illness is not valid.
• Paying the butcher in meat or skin. Pay a normal wage instead.
• Freezing everything. Keeping meat is allowed (Sahih Muslim 1971), but the poor should get their share fresh.

Quick questions

Can I give money instead of an animal? No. The worship is the sacrifice itself. Money given instead is ordinary sadaqah.

Can I give Qurbani for someone who has died? Yes. You can sacrifice on their behalf and the reward reaches them.

Can a woman slaughter? Yes, if she knows the method and says the tasmiyah.

What if I miss the days? In the Hanafi school, someone who was obliged and missed it gives the value of a sheep or goat to the poor.

Is “Qurbani Eid” a different festival? No. It is a common name for Eid al-Adha. See Qurbani Eid explained.

Can Aqiqah share a cow with Qurbani? Many scholars allow one share of a cow or camel to be for Aqiqah and others for Qurbani.

Giving Qurbani from the West

Most Muslims in the US, UK, Canada and Australia can’t slaughter at home, and local abattoirs usually stun. So most people appoint a charity. If you do, ask how the animals are chosen, whether they are stunned and who gets the meat.

At Qurbani Charity we buy healthy animals of the right age in rural Bangladesh and slaughter them by hand after the Eid prayer, with no stunning. The meat goes to Rohingya refugees and the poorest local families, and you get photos and video of your animal. If that is what you are looking for, read how our Qurbani donation works or reserve your Qurbani. If you still have questions on the fiqh, the full Qurbani rules guide is the next place to go.