The month of Zulhijjah is the last month of the Islamic
calender. Literally it means "the month of Hajj." Obviously this name of
the month indicates that the great annual worship of "hajj" is
performed in this month, for this reason it has a peculiar significance
as compared to other months of the year. Some specific merits and rules
relevant to this month are mentioned below:
The first ten days of the month of Zulhijjah are among the
most magnificent days in Islamic calendar. The Holy Prophet صلى الله
عليه وسلّم 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 offering during this period as much 'Iba'dah (acts of worship) to Allah as he or she can.
The 9th day of the month of Zulhijjah is called 'Youmul - "Arafah' (The Day of 'Arafah). This is the date when the Hujjaj (Hajj 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).
For those not performing Hajj, it is mustahabb (desirable)
to fast on this day according to their own Calendar. It sometimes
occurs that the date of 9th Zulhijjah 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 صلى الله عليه وسلّم 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.
As from the Fajr of the 9th Zulhijjah upto the 'Asr prayer of the 13th, it is obligatory on each Muslim to recite the Takbir of Tashriq in the following words.
الله أَكْبَر الله اكبر لا اله الا الله والله اكبر الله اكبر ولله الحمد
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, La Ilaha Illallahu, Wallahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar wa lillahilhamd.
There is no god but Allah and Allah is great, Allah is great and to Allah belongs all praise.
According to authentic Islamic sources, it is obligatory on each Muslim, to recite this Takbir after every obligatory (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.
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 have a 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.
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 upto the ears, and reciting the Takbir, you should set your hands on your navel. The Imam will give a little pause during which you should recite Tha-na (Tubhanakallahumma...). 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 upto 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 upto 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 ruku1 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 heard in perfect peace and silence.
It is a sunnah that the imam begins the first Khutbah by reciting takbir (الله اكبر) nine times and the second Khutbah with reciting it seven times.
Note
The way of Eid prayer described above is according to the Hanfi 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 e.
The Urdu and persian word 'Qurbani' is derived from the Arabic word 'Qurban'. Lexically, it means an act performed to seek Allah's good 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 e the sacrifice of
an animal has been recognized as a form of worship only during three
days of the month of Zulhij-jah, namely, the 10th, llth and 12th of the
month. This is to commemorate the unparalleled sacrifice offered by the
Prophet Sayyidna Ibrahim u 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 u. and actually did so - but, Allah Almighty,
after testing the quantum of 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 such a command from Allah, his natural
instinct stops him from indulging in the futile search for the
reasonability behind the command; nor does he 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 find out any reason or wisdom behind it.
This is exactly what the Prophet Ibrahim u 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
of that command, nor did he hesitate to obey 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:
يَا اَبَتِ افْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرْ سَتَجِدُنِيْ اِنْ شَاءَ اللهُ مِنَ الصّٰبِرِيْنَ
"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 statistics and make it out to be
a wastage of money, resource 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 u 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.
Qurbani can only be performed during the three days of Eid, namely
the 10th, llth and 12th of the month 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 day time.
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 is obligatory on the husband only and vice-versa. If both of them have the prescribed quantum of wealth, both should perform Qurbani separately.
If the adult children live with their parents, Qurbani is incumbent on each one of them possessing the prescribed quantum. The Qurbani offered by a husband for himself does not fulfill 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.
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 some money in charity.
However, if somebody, out of his ignorance or negligence, could not offer Qurbani on the three prescribed days (10th, llth 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 following animals can be slaughtered to offer a Qurbani:
- Goat, either male or female, of at least one year of age.
- Sheep, either male or female, of at least six months of age.
- Cow, ox buffalo of at least two years of age.
- 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 an 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.
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.
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.
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 authorised 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:
اِنِّیۡ وَجَّہۡتُ وَجۡہِیَ لِلَّذِیۡ فَطَرَ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الۡاَرۡضَ حَنِیۡفًا وَّ مَآ اَنَا مِنَ الۡمُشۡرِکِیۡنَ ﴿ۚ۷۹﴾
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. (6:79)
But the most essential recitation when slaughtering an
animal is: بِسْمِ الله الله أَكْبَر “In the name of Allah, Allah is
great”. 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 بِسم الله الله اكبر in the
Arabic language, he can recite the name of Allah in his own language by
saying, "In the name of Allah".
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.
The most important way of worship performed in this month
is "Hajj", one of the four 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 book 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, her 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.
courtesy: The book on Islamic Months by Taqi Uthmani.
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