Qurbani means sacrifice. Every year during the Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah, Muslims around the world slaughter an animal – a goat, sheep, cow or camel – to reflect the Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of Allah.
This sacrifice commemorates the actions of the Prophet Ibrahim (as), when he was prepared to sacrifice his beloved son Ismail (as) after seeing in a dream that Allah (swt) wanted him to do so. However, the dream was a test from Allah, and He sent down a ram from heaven to be sacrificed in Ismail’s place.
According to the Hanafi school of thought, Qurbani is wajib and is considered compulsory.
The Hanafi school states that any adult, sane Muslim who possesses the Nisab value (the threshold for the obligation of zakat) must give a Qurbani. So if you are eligible to pay Zakat, you need to offer a Qurbani.
According to the Shafi’i school of thought, Qurbani is sunnah mu’akadah. This means that it is highly recommended as a confirmed Sunnah, but it is not compulsory.
The most well-known Maliki and Hanbali opinion is that Qurbani is a sunnah mu’akadah; however, in some views they have said it is compulsory.
No matter which school you follow, performing the Qurbani carries a great reward as this is something the Prophet (saw) did personally and encouraged his followers to do too.
