Zulhijjah: Eidul-Adha, Hajj, Sacrifice, etc.
By Mufti Taqi Usmani
- First Ten Days
- The 9th day of Zulhijjah
- The Fast of
Youmul 'Arafah
-
Takbir-ut-tashriq
- On the
Eid day
- How to Perform Eid Prayers (Hanafi
School)
-
Khutbah: The Address of
Eidul-Adha
- Sacrifice or
Qurbani: Philosophy and Rules
- The Time of
Qurbani
- Who is Required to Perform
Qurbani?
- No Alternate for
Qurbani
- The Animals of
Qurbani
- Rules about Defective Animals
- The
Sunnah Method of
Qurbani
- Distribution of the Meat
- Hajj
Zulhijjah is the last month of the Islamic calendar. Literally, it
means "
hajj."
Obviously, this name of the month indicates that the great annual
worship of "
hajj"
is performed in this month, which gives it special significance. Some
specific merits and
rules relevant to this month are mentioned below:
First Ten Days
The first ten days of Zulhijjah are among the most magnificent days
in Islamic
calendar. The Holy Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, has said, "One
fast during
these days is equal to the fasting of one complete year, and the worship
of one night
during this period is equal to the worship in the
"Lailatul-Qadr".
Every Muslim should avail of this wonderful opportunity by performing
during this
period as much
Iba'dah (acts of worship) to Allah as he or she
can.
The 9th day of
Zulhijjah
The 9th day of Zulhijjah is called
'Youmul -
"Arafah' (The
Day
of
'Arafah). This is the date when the
Hujjaj (Haji pilgrims,
plural of Haajj)
assemble on the plain
of 'Arafat, six miles away from Makkah
al-Mukarramah, where
they perform the most essential part of the prescribed duties of
hajj,
namely, the
'Wuqoof
of'Arafat (the stay in
'Arafat).
The Fast of Youmul
'Arafah
For those not performing
hajj, it is
mustahabb (desirable)
to fast on
this day according to their own calendar. It sometimes occurs that 9th
Zuihijjah falls on
different days in different countries according to the sighting of the
moon. In such
cases, Muslims of each country should observe
'Youmul 'Arafah according
to the
lunar dates of their own country.
For example, if
'Youmul 'Arafah' is being observed in Saudi
Arabia on Friday,
and in Pakistan on Saturday, Pakistani Muslims should treat Saturday as
'Youmul
'Arafah'
and should fast on that day if they desire to benefit from the fast
of
'Youmul'Arafah'.
The fast of
'Youmul 'Arafah' has been emphasized by the Holy
Prophet,
Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, as a
mustahabb (desirable) act.
According to a
hadith,
the fast of this day becomes a cause, hopefully so, of forgiveness
for sins committed
in one year.
Takbir-ut-tashriq
Beginning from the
Fajr of the 9th Zulhijjah up to the
'Asr
prayer of the
13th, it is obligatory on each Muslim to recite the
Takbir of
Tashriq
after
every fard prayer in the following words.
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar,
La Ilaha Illallahu, Wallahu Akbar,
Allahu Akbar wa lillahilhamd.
(There is no god but Allah and Allah is the greatest, Allah is the
greatest and to
Allah belongs all praise.)
According to authentic Islamic sources, it is obligatory on each
Muslim, to recite this
Takbir after every
fard salah. For women also, it is
commendable though not
obligatory. Whether you are performing
salah with Jama'ah
(collectively) or on your
own (individually) makes no difference. You must recite the
Takbir. However,
male
Muslims should recite it in a loud voice, while females should recite it
in a low voice.
On the Eid day
The following acts are
sunnah on the day of
Eidul- adha:
1. To wake up early in the morning.
2. To clean one's teeth with a
miswak or brush
3. To take bath.
4. To put on one's best available clothes.
5. To use perfume.
6. Not to eat before the
Eid prayer.
7. To recite the
Takbir of
Tashriq in a loud voice
while going to the
Eid
prayer.
How to Perform Eid
Prayers
(Hanafi School)
The
Eid prayer has two
raka'at performed in the normal
way, with the only
addition of six
Takbirs, three of them in the beginning of the
first
raka'ah, and
three of them just before
ruku' in the second
raka'ah. The
detailed way of
performing the
Eid prayer is as follows:
The Imam will begin the prayer without
Adhan or
iqamah. He
will begin the
prayer by reciting
Takbir of
Tahrimah (Allahu Akbar). You
should raise your
hands up to the ears, and after reciting the
Takbir, you should
set your hands on
your navel. The Imam will give a little pause during which you should
recite
Thana'
(Subhanakallahumma .:.). After the completion of
Thana', the
Imam
will
recite
Takbir (Allahu Akbar) three times. At the first two calls
of
Takbir you
should raise your hands up to the ears, and
after reciting
Takbir
(Allahu Akbar)
in a low voice, should bring your hands down and leave them
earthwards. But, after the
third
Takbir, you should set them on your navel as you do in the
normal prayers.
After these three
Takbirs, the Imam will recite the Holy
Qur'an, which you
should listen calmly and quietly. The rest of the
raka'ah will be
performed in the
normal way.
After rising for the second
raka'ah, the Imam will begin the
recitations from
the Holy
Qur'an during which you should remain calm and quiet.
When the Imam
finishes his recitation, he will recite three
Takbirs once again,
but this time it
will be just before bowing down for
ruku'. At each
Takbir you
should raise
your hands up to the ears, and after saying
'Allahu Akbar', bring
them down and
leave them earthwards. After these three
takbirs have been called
and completed,
the Imam will say another
takbir for bowing down into the
ruku'
position. At
this
takbir you need not raise your hands. You just bow down for
your
ruku' saying,
'Allahu Akbar'. The rest of the
salah will be performed in
its usual way.
In this
salah of
Eid, Khutbah is a
sunnah and is
delivered after
the
salah, unlike the
salah of
Jumu'ah where it is
fard
and is
delivered before the
salah. However, listening to the
khutbah of
Eid
salah is
wajib or necessary and must be listened to in
perfect peace and
silence.
It is a
sunnah that the
Imam begins the first
Khutbah
by reciting
takbir
(
Allahu Akbar) nine times and the second
Khutbah with
reciting it seven
times.
Note:
The way of Eid prayer described above is
according to the Hanafi
school of Muslim jurists. Some other jurists, like Imam Shafi'i,
have some other ways
to perform it. They recite Takbir twelve times before beginning
the recitations of
the Holy Qur'an in both the raka'at. This way is also
permissible. If the Imam,
being of the Shafi'i school, follows this way, you can also follow him.
Both ways are
based on the practice of the Holy Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam.
Sacrifice or Qurbani:
Philosophy
and Rules
The Urdu and persian word
Qurbani (Sacrificial slaughter) is
derived from the
Arabic word
Qurban. Lexically, it means an act performed to seek
Allah's pleasure.
Originally, the word
Qurban included all acts of charity because
the purpose of
charity is nothing but to seek Allah's pleasure. But, in precise
religious
terminology,
the word was later confined to the sacrifice of an animal
slaughtered for the sake of
Allah.
The sacrifice of an animal has always been treated as a recognized
form of worship in
all religious orders originating from a divine book. Even in pagan
societies, the
sacrifice of an animal is recognized as a form of worship, but it is
done in the name of
some idols and not in the name of Allah, a practice totally rejected by
Islam.
In the Shari'ah of our beloved Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam,
the sacrifice of
an animal has been recognized as a form of worship only during three
days of Zulhijjah,
namely, the 10th, 1lth and 12th of the month. This is to commemorate the
unparalleled
sacrifice offered by the Prophet Sayyidna Ibrahim, Alayhi Salam, when
he, in pursuance to
a command of Allah conveyed to him in a dream, prepared himself to
slaughter his beloved
son, Sayyidna Isma'il, Alayhi Salam, and actually did so but, Allah
Almighty, after
testing his submission, sent down a sheep and saved his son from the
logical fate of
slaughter. It is from that time onwards that the sacrifice of an animal
became an
obligatory duty to be performed by every well to do Muslim.
Qurbani is a demonstration of total submission to Allah and a proof
of complete
obedience to Allah's will or command. When a Muslim offers a
Qurbani,
this is
exactly what he intends to prove. Thus, the
Qurbani offered by a
Muslim signifies
that he is a slave of Allah at his best and that he would not hesitate
even for a moment,
once he receives an absolute command from his Creator, to surrender
before it, to obey it
willingly, even if it be at the price of his life and possessions. When a
true and perfect
Muslim receives a command from Allah, he does not make his obedience
dependent upon the
command's reasonability' as perceived through his limited understanding.
He knows that
Allah is All-knowing, All-Wise and that his own reason cannot encompass
the knowledge and
wisdom underlying the divine command. He, therefore, submits to the
divine command, even
if he cannot grasp the reason or wisdom behind it.
This is exactly what the Prophet Ibrahim, Alayhi Salam, did.
Apparently, there was no
reason why a father should slaughter his innocent son. But, when came
the command from
Allah, he never asked about the reason for that command, nor did he
hesitate to follow it.
Even his minor son when asked by his father about the dream he had seen,
never questioned
the legitimacy of the command, nor did he pine or whine about it, nor
did he ask for one
good reason why he was being slaughtered. The one and only response he
made was:
'Father, do what you have been ordered to do. You shall find me, God
willing, among the
patient".
The present-day
Qurbani is offered in memory of this great
model of submission
set before us by the great father and the great son. So
Qurbani must
be offered in
our time emulating the same ideal and attitude of submission.
This, then, is the true philosophy of
Qurbani. With this in
mind, one can easily
unveil the fallacy of those who raise objections against
Qurbani on
the basis of
economic calculations and depict it to be a wastage of money, resources
and livestock.
Unable to see beyond mundane benefits, they cannot understand the spirit
Islam wants to
plant and nourish among its followers, the spirit of total submission to
Allah's will
which equips man with most superior qualities so necessary to keep
humanity in a state of
lasting peace and welfare.
Qurbani is nothing but a powerful symbol of the required human
conduct
vis-a-vis the
divine commands, however "irrational" or "uneconomic" they may seem to
be in their appearance. Thus, the distrustful quest for mundane economic
benefits behind
Qurbani
is, in fact, the negation of its real philosophy and the very spirit
underlying it.
No doubt, there are in every form of worship ordained by Allah,
certain worldly
benefits too, but they are not the main purpose of these prescribed
duties, nor should
they be treated as a pre-condition to submission and
obedience. All
acts of
worship, including
Qurbani, must be carried out with a spirit of
total submission
to Allah, irrespective of their economic, social or political benefits.
This is what
Ibrahim, Alayhi Salam, did, and this is what every true Muslim is
required to do,
Keeping this in view, we are giving here some rules governing the
worship of
Qurbani
in our Shari'ah according to the Hanafi School.
Back to Top
Qurbani can only be performed during the three days of
Eid, namely
the 10th,
Ilth and 12th of Zulhijjah. It is only in these days that slaughtering
of an animal is
recognized as an act of worship. No
Qurbani can be performed in
any other days of
the year.
Although
Qurbani is permissible on each of the three aforesaid
days, yet it is
preferable to perform it on the first day i.e. the 10th of Zulhijjah.
No
Qurbani is allowed before the
Eid prayer is over.
However, in small
villages where the
Eid prayer is not to be performed,
Qurbani can
be
offered' any time after the break of dawn on the 10th of Zulhijjah.
Qurbani can also be performed in the two nights following the
Eid day,
but it is
more advisable to perform it during daytime.
Who is
Required to
Perform Qurbani?
Every adult Muslim, male or female, who owns 613.35 grams of silver
or its equivalent
in money, personal ornaments, stock-in-trade or any other form of wealth
which is surplus
to his basic needs, is under an obligation to offer a
Qurbani. Each
adult member of
a family who owns the above mentioned amount must perform his own
Qurbani
separately.
If the husband owns the required quantity, but the wife does not, the
Qurbani
obligatory on the husband only and vice-versa. If both of them have the
prescribed amount
of wealth, both should perform
Qurbani separately.
If the adult children live with their parents,
Qurbani is
obligatory on each one
of them possessing the prescribed amount. The
Qurbani offered by a
husband for
himself does not fulfil the obligation of his wife, nor can the
Qurbani
offered by
a father discharge his son or daughter from their obligation. Each one
of them should care
for his own.
However, if a husband or a father, apart from offering his own
Qurbani,
gives
another
Qurbani on behalf of his wife or his son, he can do so
with their
permission.
No Alternate for Qurbani
Some people think that instead of offering a
Qurbani they
should give its amount
to some poor people as charity. This attitude is totally wrong.
Actually, there are
different forms of worship obligatory on Muslims. Each one of them has
its own importance
and none of them can stand for the other. It is not permissible for a
Muslim to perform
salah
instead of fasting in Ramadan, nor is it permissible for him to give
some charity
instead of observing the obligatory
Salah. Similarly,
Qurbani
is an
independent form of worship and this obligation cannot be discharged by
spending money in
charity.
However, if somebody, out of his ignorance or negligence, could not
offer
Qurbani on
the three prescribed days (10th, 1lth and 12th Zulhijjah) then, in that
case only, he can
give the price of a
Qurbani as
sadaqah to those entitled
to receive
Zakah.
But during the days of
Qurbani no
Sadaqah can discharge
the obligation.
The Animals of Qurbani
The following animals can be slaughtered to offer a
Qurbani:
1. Goat, either male or female, of at least one year of age.
2. Sheep, either male or female, of at least six months of age.
3. Cow, ox buffalo of at least two years of age.
4. Camel, male or female, of at least five years of age.
One head of goat or sheep is enough only for one person's
Qurbani.
But as for
all other animals like cow, buffalo or camel, one head of each is equal
to seven offerings
thus allowing seven persons to offer
Qurbani jointly in one such
animal.
If the seller of animal claims that the animal is of the recognized
age and there is no
apparent evidence to the contrary; one can trust his statement and the
sacrifice of such
an animal is lawful.
Rules about
Defective Animals
The following defective animals are not acceptable in
Qurbani:
1. Blind, one eyed or lame animal.
2. An animal so emaciated that it cannot walk to its slaughtering
place.
3. An animal with one-third part of the ear or the nose or the tail
missing.
4. An animal that has no teeth at all, or the major number of its
teeth are missing.
5. An animal born without ears.
The following animals are acceptable in
Qurbani:
1. A castrated he - goat. (Rather, its
Qurbani is more
preferable).
2. An animal that has no horns, or its horns are broken. However, if
the horns of an
animal are uprooted totally so as to create a defect in the brain, its
Qurbani
is
not lawful.
3. An animal the missing part of whose ear, nose or tail is less than
one third.
4. A sick or injured animal, unless it has some above mentioned
defects rendering its
Qurbani
unlawful.
The Sunnah
Method of Qurbani
It is more preferable for a Muslim to slaughter the animal of his
Qurbani
with
his own hands. However, if he is unable to slaughter the animal himself,
or does not want
to do so for some reason, he can request another person to slaughter it
on his behalf. In
this case also, it is more preferable that he, at least, be present at
the time of
slaughter. However, his absence at the time of slaughter does not render
the
Qurbani invalid,
if he has authorized the person who slaughtered the animal on his
behalf. It is a
Sunnah
to lay the animal with its face towards the Qiblah, and to recite
the following verse
of the Holy Quran:
I, being upright, turn my face
towards the One who has created
the heavens and
the earth, and I am not among those who associate partners with Allah. (
Al-An'am, 6:79)
But the most essential recitation when
slaughtering an animal
is: Bismillah, Allahu Akbar. (In the name of Allah, Allah is the
greatest). If somebody
intentionally avoids to recite it when slaughtering an animal, it does
not only make his Qurbani
unlawful, but also renders the animal haram, and it is not
permissible to eat
the meat of that animal. However, if a person did not avoid this
recitation intentionally,
but he forgot to recite it when slaughtering the animal, this mistake is
forgiven and both
the Qurbani and the slaughter are lawful.
If somebody is unable to recite "Bismillah Allahu Akbar" in the
Arabic
language, he can recite the name of Allah in his own language by saying,
"In the name
of Allah".
Distribution of
the Meat
If an animal is sacrificed by more than one person, like cow or
camel, its meat should
be distributed equally among its owners by weighing the meat strictly
and not at random or
by mere guess. Even if all the partners agree on its distribution
without weighing, it is
still not permissible according to
shari'ah.
However, if the actual weighing is not practicable due to some
reason, and all the
partners agree to distribute the meat without weighing, distribution by
guess can be done
with the condition that each share necessarily contains either a leg of
the animal or some
quantity of its liver.
Although the person offering a
Qurbani can keep all its meat
for his own use,
yet, it is preferable to distribute one-third among the poor, another
one-third among his
relatives and then, keep the rest for his personal consumption.
All parts of the sacrificed animal can be used for personal benefit,
but none can be
sold, nor can be given to the butcher as a part of his wages. If
somebody has
sold the
meat of the
Qurbani or its skin, he must give the accrued price
as
sadaqah to
a poor man who can receive
Zakah.
Hajj
The most important way of worship performed in this month is "
hajj",
one
of the five pillars of Islam. The Muslims from every part of the world
assemble in
Arabia to perform this unique way of worship.
Hajj is a worship,
which requires at
least five days to be performed in its proper way. There are detailed
rules for different
acts of
hajj for which separate books are available, and the
present article does
not aim at explaining all these details. However, some basic information
about its
obligation is being given here:
1.
Hajj is obligatory on every adult Muslim who can afford to
go to Makkah
during the
hajj season, whether on foot or by any other carriage.
2. If a person can travel to Makkah to perform
hajj, but he
cannot travel to
Madinah,
hajj is obligatory on him also. He can perform
hajj
without
visiting Madinah.
3. A Muslim woman cannot travel for
hajj unless she is
accompanied by a
mahram
(i.e. husband or relative of a prohibited degree like son, father,
brother etc.) If
she does not find any
mahram to accompany her,
hajj is not
obligatory on her
until she finds one. However, she must make a will that in case she dies
before performing
hajj, his heirs should arrange for her
hajj-e-badal out of
her left over
property.
4.
Hajj is obligated only once in one's life. After performing
the obligatory
hajj;
one is not required to perform it again. However, he can perform the
nafl
(optional
hajj as many times as he or she wishes.)
source:http://www.albalagh.net/general/zulhijjah.shtml
ne Ameer ka lafz badal waya tha ke ameer na likho zimmedar
likho..ke khali ye lafz hi maar deta hai..ye mehnat to karni hai ..
lekin aise alfaz se bachna hai..jo alfaz takabbur aur ujub ki taraf
lejayen..hum kaam wale hain..hum kaam wale hain..
arussalam
masjid,Thoncliff