When a believer turns toward the qiblah on the morning of Eid al-Adha and lays the blade against the throat of the animal, they are in truth repeating an oath of surrender that Prophet Ibrahim swore with his son four thousand years ago. Qurban is not flesh and blood; it is the believer being finally able to say, "Whatever I give, it would not be enough." This sermon explores the meaning of Qurban — from the legacy of Prophet Ibrahim to its rulings, wisdoms, and the spirit of Eid.
What Is Qurban — and Why Is It Worship?
Qurban (Arabic: udhiyyah) is the ritual sacrifice of a specific animal during the days of Eid al-Adha, performed with the intention of drawing near to Allah. It is a tangible thanksgiving for the existence Allah has granted to the human being, and it predates Islam. Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) had vowed: "If a son is granted to me, I will sacrifice him for the sake of Allah." Years passed; Isma'il (peace be upon him) grew to the age of walking beside his father. And then Ibrahim began to see, in his sleep, that he was offering his son in sacrifice. The dreams of prophets are revelation; this dream too was a revelation. The Qur'an tells the story in Surah As-Saffat:
فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ ٱلسَّعۡىَ قَالَ يَٰبُنَىَّ إِنِّىٓ أَرَىٰ فِى ٱلۡمَنَامِ أَنِّىٓ أَذۡبَحُكَ فَٱنظُرۡ مَاذَا تَرَىٰۚ قَالَ يَٰٓأَبَتِ ٱفۡعَلۡ مَا تُؤۡمَرُۖ سَتَجِدُنِىٓ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ
— Surah As-Saffat 37:102When he reached the age to walk and work with him, Ibrahim said: "O my son, I see in a dream that I am sacrificing you; look — what do you say?" He answered: "O my father, do what you are commanded; you will find me, if Allah wills, among those who are patient."
Both submitted to Allah. Ibrahim laid his son down upon his temple. At that moment Allah sent down a great ransom:
وَفَدَيۡنَٰهُ بِذِبۡحٍ عَظِيمࣲ
— Surah As-Saffat 37:107And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice.
Through Prophet Ibrahim, Allah protected mankind from the terrible practice of human sacrifice. Ibrahim sacrificed the ram that descended in place of his son, and so the practice of Qurban came down to us as a sunnah from Ibrahim. Allah commanded the Prophet Muhammad to carry it forward as well, in Surah Al-Kawthar:
إِنَّآ أَعۡطَيۡنَٰكَ ٱلۡكَوۡثَرَ. فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنۡحَرۡ. إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ ٱلۡأَبۡتَرُ
— Surah Al-Kawthar 108:1-3Indeed, We have given you abundance. So pray to your Lord and sacrifice. Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off.
The Real Capital of Qurban Is Intention
Qurban is not a folk custom; it is an act of worship, and the essence of every act of worship is intention. The Qur'an states unmistakably what Allah seeks from the rite:
لَن يَنَالَ ٱللَّهَ لُحُومُهَا وَلَا دِمَآؤُهَا وَلَٰكِن يَنَالُهُ ٱلتَّقۡوَىٰ مِنكُمۡۚ كَذَٰلِكَ سَخَّرَهَا لَكُمۡ لِتُكَبِّرُواْ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَىٰكُمۡۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ
— Surah Al-Hajj 22:37Neither their flesh nor their blood reaches Allah; only your godliness reaches Him. So He has subjected them to you that you may magnify Allah for having guided you. And give glad tidings to those who do good.
Surah Al-Ma'idah recounts the two sacrifices of Habil and Qabil. One was accepted; the other rejected. When Qabil came to murder his brother, Habil said: "Allah accepts only from the God-conscious" (Al-Ma'idah 5:27). The same flesh, the same blood — but different intentions, different outcomes. The Prophet summarised this principle:
— Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Bad' al-Wahy, no. 1Actions are by intentions, and to every person belongs only what he intended.
Qurban is a concrete image of Islamic social solidarity. Every day, countless animals are slaughtered in the world, and their meat goes mostly to the wealthy. Qurban turns this around: the poor and charitable institutions are the chief beneficiaries. The Prophet said:
— Sunan al-Tirmidhi, al-Adahi, no. 1493The son of Adam does no deed on the Day of Sacrifice more beloved to Allah than the offering of the qurban. The animal will come on the Day of Judgment with its horns, its hair, and its hooves. Its blood is accepted by Allah before it falls to the ground. So make your hearts joyful with it.
The Ruling on Qurban and Those Upon Whom It Falls
According to Imam Abu Hanifah, Qurban is wajib (binding); the Shafi'i, Maliki, and Hanbali schools — as well as the Hanafi master Abu Yusuf — hold that it is sunnah muakkadah (a strongly emphasised practice). The Hanafi proof rests on the command in Surah Al-Kawthar — "Pray to your Lord and sacrifice" (108:2) — and on the hadith: "Whoever has the means and does not offer the qurban, let him not come near our place of prayer."
Qurban is incumbent upon every settled, sane, adult Muslim — male or female — who possesses the nisab of zakat al-fitr. It is not obligatory upon a non-Muslim, upon a traveller, or upon a poor person. The nisab is owning, beyond one's essential needs and debts, 80.18 grams of gold or its equivalent in cash or goods. Unlike zakat, the wealth need not be appreciating, nor need a year have passed; whoever holds this nisab during the days of Eid al-Adha is obliged to offer Qurban that year.
The animals that may be sacrificed are sheep, goats, camels, cattle, and buffalo. The camel must be five years old, cattle and buffalo two years, and sheep and goats one year — though a sheep that has completed six months and resembles a yearling in stature may be used. A single sheep or goat suffices for one person; cattle, buffalo, and camels may be shared among up to seven people, provided every share-holder intends an act of worship.
Defects that disqualify the animal include: blindness in one or both eyes, extreme thinness, inability to walk to the place of slaughter, the loss of more than a third of an ear or tail, an animal born without an ear, the loss of more than half its teeth, the cutting of most of its tongue, or being on the point of death. The valid time for the sacrifice in places where Eid prayer is performed begins after the Eid prayer and ends with the third day of Eid.
Stories
The Knife That Refused to Cut
When Ibrahim heard his son's words of submission, he sharpened the blade, laid his son down upon his temple, and closed his eyes. The commentators record: the blessed blade touched the throat but did not cut. Ibrahim pressed harder; still it would not cut. "O blade, why will you not cut?" he asked. By the permission of Allah a voice came from the blade: "You say to me, 'Cut!' — but my Lord has said, 'Do not cut.' Which of us has the better right to obey?" In that moment Jibril called out: "Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!" A ram was sent down from Paradise in Isma'il's place.
The greatness of Ibrahim is not that he cut — it is that he was prepared to cut. The sacrifice was never his son. It was the readiness to place the love of Allah above the love of his own son.
The Prophet's Counsel to Fatimah
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to his daughter Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her): "O Fatimah, be present when your qurban is sacrificed. Every sin of yours will be forgiven with the first drop of its blood that touches the ground." The hadith makes clear that Qurban is not a fee one pays to be excused; it is a station of conscious witness on the morning of Eid.
— al-Mu'jam al-Awsat li-al-Tabarani, no. 2225One Hundred Animals at the Farewell Hajj
On the Farewell Hajj, the Prophet (peace be upon him) sacrificed one hundred camels. He slaughtered sixty-three of them — corresponding to the number of years he had lived — with his own blessed hands, and authorised Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to slaughter the remaining thirty-seven. For each animal he said, "Bismillah, Allahu akbar." That a Messenger of Allah would personally take the blade — when he could have simply commanded — teaches the Ummah that Qurban is an act of worship in itself, not a transaction to be outsourced.
From the Festivals of Jahiliyyah to the Two Eids
When the Prophet emigrated to Medina, he found that the Ansar had two days on which they used to play and amuse themselves. He asked what those days were. They said: "In the time of ignorance, we used to play and amuse ourselves on these days." The Prophet said: "Allah has given you two days better than these: the Day of Fitr and the Day of Adha." In place of the games of ignorance, two days oriented to the Lord — the replacement of amusement with worship is the rebuilding of a society.
— Sunan Abi Dawud, al-Salah, no. 1134Recommended Practices on the Days of Eid
Eid al-Adha is not merely a day of slaughter. The believer who follows the Sunnah of the Prophet receives the morning with the following adab:
- Spend the night of Eid in worship, missed prayers, recitation of the Qur'an, and istighfar. The Prophet said: "Whoever stands in worship on the nights of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, hoping for reward, his heart will not die on the day when hearts die."
- Rise early, perform ghusl, apply pleasant scent, and put on one's best clothing.
- If able, walk to the Eid prayer; speak the takbir on the way.
- A person who will sacrifice eats nothing until they have eaten from the qurban — like a fasting person who breaks the fast with its meat.
- Kiss the hands of parents, exchange greetings with relatives and neighbours, reconcile those who are estranged, give generous charity to the poor, and visit graves.
- Be liberal with one's family. Visit the sick. Bring joy to orphans.
The Eid prayer is wajib and follows the conditions of the Friday prayer. It consists of two units, with three additional takbirs in each. It is performed after sunrise and the end of the time of dislike, and before midday.
Putting Qurban Into Practice With VAAZ
In the VAAZ app, the 99 Beautiful Names of Allah collection introduces Ar-Razzaq, Al-Wahhab, and Ash-Shakur — names that frame the logic of Qurban: it is Allah who gives, Allah who takes, and Allah who is worthy of all praise. The dua archive gathers the supplications said over the qurban, the niyyah of the Eid prayer, and the morning supplications of Eid.
For the wider setting of Qurban within the pilgrimage, see Sermon on Hajj; for the inner cleansing that is the precondition of an accepted sacrifice, see Sermon on Tawbah. Neither the flesh nor the blood reaches Allah; only godliness reaches Him. Qurban is the moment when the believer measures, in a single stroke of the blade, the distance between wishing one were Ibrahim and acting in the path of Ibrahim.
References
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah As-Saffat 37:100-111.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Hajj 22:34-37.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Kawthar 108:1-3.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:27.
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Bad' al-Wahy, hadith no. 1 ("Actions are by intentions").
- Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Adahi (the Prophet sacrificing two white rams).
- Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Kitab al-Adahi, hadith no. 1493 (Blood accepted before it touches the ground).
- Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Salah, hadith no. 1134 (the two festivals).
- Sunan Ibn Majah, Kitab al-Adahi (Whoever has means and does not sacrifice).
- al-Mu'jam al-Awsat li-al-Tabarani, hadith no. 2225 (the Prophet's counsel to Fatimah).
- Imam al-Ghazali, Ihya' Ulum al-Din, on Intention.
- Presidency of Religious Affairs, Islamic Catechism, on Qurban.