Dhū ’l-Ḥijjah – from Islamic Months of Muftī Muḥammad Taqī Usmani

The following is an excerpt taken from Islamic Months of Muftī Muḥammad Taqī Usmani.

Dhū ’l-Ḥijjah is the last month of the Islamic calendar. Literally, it means “ḥajj.” Obviously, this name of the month indicates that the great annual worship of “ḥajj” 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 Dhū ’l-Ḥijjah are among the most magnificent days in the Islamic calendar. The Holy Prophet, Ṣall-Allāhu ʿalayh 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 ʿIbādah (acts of worship) to Allāh as he or she can.

The 9th day of Dhū ’l-Ḥijjah

The 9th day of Dhū ’l-Ḥijjah is called ‘Yawm al-ʿArafah’ (The Day of ʿArafah). This is the date when the Ḥujjāj (Ḥajj pilgrims, plural of Ḥājj) assemble on the plain of ʿArafāt, six miles away from Makkah al-Mukarramah, where they perform the most essential part of the prescribed duties of ḥajj, namely, the ‘Wuqūf of ʿArafāt (the stay in ʿArafāt).

The Fast of Yawm al-ʿArafah

For those not performing ḥajj, it is mustaḥabb (desirable) to fast on this day according to their own calendar. It sometimes occurs that 9th Dhū ’l-Ḥijjah falls on different days in different countries according to the sighting of the moon. In such cases, Muslims of each country should observe ‘Yawm al-ʿArafah according to the lunar dates of their own country.

For example, if ‘Yawm al-ʿArafah’ is being observed in Saudi Arabia on Friday, and in Pakistan on Saturday, Pakistani Muslims should treat Saturday as ‘Yawm al-ʿArafah’ and should fast on that day if they desire to benefit from the fast of ‘Yawm al-ʿArafah.

The fast of ‘Yawm al-ʿArafah’ has been emphasized by the Holy Prophet, Ṣall-Allāhu ʿalayh wa sallam, as a mustaḥabb (desirable) act. According to a ḥadīth, the fast of this day becomes a cause, hopefully so, of forgiveness for sins committed in one year.

Takbīr al-Tashrīq

Beginning from the Fajr of the 9th Dhū ’l-Ḥijjah up to the ‘Aṣr prayer of the 13th, it is obligatory on each Muslim to recite the takbīr of Tashrīq after every farḍ prayer in the following words.

Allāhu Akbar, Allāhu Akbar,

Lā Ilāha Illallāhu, Wallāhu Akbar,

Allāhu Akbar wa lillāhi-l-ḥamd.

(There is no god but Allāh and Allāh is the greatest, Allāh is the greatest and to Allāh belongs all praise.)

According to authentic Islamic sources, it is obligatory on each Muslim to recite this takbīr after every farḍ ṣalāh. For women also, it is commendable though not obligatory. Whether you are performing ṣalāh with Jamāʿah (collectively) or on your own (individually) makes no difference. You must recite the takbīr. However, male Muslims should recite it in a loud voice, while females should recite it in a low voice.

On the ʿĪd day

The following acts are sunnah on the day of ʿĪd al-Adḥā:

1. To wake up early in the morning.

2. To clean one’s teeth with a miswāk or brush.

3. To take a bath.

4. To put on one’s best available clothes.

5. To use perfume.

6. Not to eat before the ʿĪd prayer.

7. To recite the takbīr of Tashrīq in a loud voice while going to the ʿĪd prayer.

How to Perform ʿĪd Prayers (Ḥanafi School)

The ʿĪd prayer has two rakʿahs performed in the normal way, with the only addition of six takbīrs, three of them in the beginning of the first rakʿah, and three of them just before rukūʿ in the second rakʿah. The detailed way of performing the ʿĪd prayer is as follows:

The Imām will begin the prayer without Adhān or iqāmah. He will begin the prayer by reciting takbīr al-Tahrīmah (Allāhu Akbar). You should raise your hands up to the ears, and after reciting the takbīr, you should set your hands on your navel. The Imām will give a little pause during which you should recite thanāʾ (Subḥānaka Allāhumma…). After the completion of thanāʾ, the Imām will recite takbīr (Allāhu Akbar) three times. At the first two calls of takbīr you should raise your hands up to the ears, and after reciting takbīr (Allāhu Akbar) in a low voice, should bring your hands down and leave them earthwards. But, after the third takbīr, you should set them on your navel as you do in the normal prayers.

After these three takbīrs, the Imām will recite the Holy Qurʾān, which you should listen calmly and quietly. The rest of the rakʿah will be performed in the normal way.

After rising for the second rakʿah, the Imām will begin the recitations from the Holy Qurʾān during which you should remain calm and quiet. When the Imām finishes his recitation, he will recite three takbīrs once again, but this time it will be just before bowing down for rukūʿ. At each takbīr you should raise your hands up to the ears, and after saying ‘Allāhu Akbar’, bring them down and leave them earthwards. After these three takbīrs have been called and completed, the Imām will say another takbīr for bowing down into the rukūʿ position. At this takbīr you need not raise your hands. You just bow down for your rukūʿ saying, ‘Allāhu Akbar.’ The rest of the ṣalāh will be performed in its usual way.

Khutbah: The Address of ʿĪd al-Adḥā

In this ṣalāh of ʿĪd, khutbah is a sunnah and is delivered after the ṣalāh, unlike the ṣalāh of Jumʿah where it is farḍ and is delivered before the ṣalāh. However, listening to the khutbah of ʿĪd ṣalāh is wājib or necessary and must be listened to in perfect peace and silence.

It is a sunnah that the Imām begins the first khutbah by reciting takbīr (Allāhu Akbar) nine times and the second khutbah with reciting it seven times.

Note:

The way of ʿĪd prayer described above is according to the Ḥanafi school of Muslim jurists. Some other jurists, like Imām Shāfiʿī, have some other ways to perform it. They recite takbīr twelve times before beginning the recitations of the Holy Qurʾān in both the rakʿahs. This way is also permissible. If the Imām, being of the Shāfiʿī school, follows this way, you can also follow him. Both ways are based on the practice of the Holy Prophet Ṣall-Allāhu ʿalayh wa sallam.

Sacrifice or Qurbānī: Philosophy and Rules

The Urdu and Persian word Qurbānī (Sacrificial slaughter) is derived from the Arabic word Qurbān. Lexically, it means an act performed to seek Allāh’s pleasure. Originally, the word Qurbān included all acts of charity because the purpose of charity is nothing but to seek Allāh’s pleasure. But, in precise religious terminology, the word was later confined to the sacrifice of an animal slaughtered for the sake of Allāh.

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 Allāh, a practice totally rejected by Islam.

In the Sharīʿah of our beloved Prophet, Ṣall-Allāhu ʿalayh wa sallam, the sacrifice of an animal has been recognized as a form of worship only during three days of Dhū ’l-Ḥijjah, namely, the 10th, 11th and 12th of the month. This is to commemorate the unparalleled sacrifice offered by the Prophet Sayyidnā Ibrāhīm, ʿAlayh al-Salām, when he, in pursuance of a command of Allāh conveyed to him in a dream, prepared himself to slaughter his beloved son, Sayyidnā Ismāʿīl, ʿAlayh al-Salām, and actually did so but, Allāh 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.

Qurbānī is a demonstration of total submission to Allāh and a proof of complete obedience to Allāh’s will or command. When a Muslim offers a Qurbānī, this is exactly what he intends to prove. Thus, the Qurbānī offered by a Muslim signifies that he is a slave of Allāh 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 Allāh, he does not make his obedience dependent upon the command’s reasonability as perceived through his limited understanding. He knows that Allāh 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 Ibrāhīm, ʿAlayh al-Salām, did. Apparently, there was no reason why a father should slaughter his innocent son. But, when came the command from Allāh, 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 Qurbānī is offered in memory of this great model of submission set before us by the great father and the great son. So Qurbānī must be offered in our time emulating the same ideal and attitude of submission.

This, then, is the true philosophy of Qurbānī. With this in mind, one can easily unveil the fallacy of those who raise objections against Qurbānī 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 Allāh’s will which equips man with most superior qualities so necessary to keep humanity in a state of lasting peace and welfare.

Qurbānī is nothing but a powerful symbol of the required human conduct vis-à-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 Qurbānī 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 Allāh, certain worldly benefits too, but they are not the main purpose of these prescribed duties, nor should they be treated as a precondition to submission and obedience. All acts of worship, including Qurbānī, must be carried out with a spirit of total submission to Allāh, irrespective of their economic, social or political benefits. This is what Ibrāhīm, ʿAlayh al-Salām, 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 Qurbānī in our Sharīʿah according to the Ḥanafi School.

The Time of Qurbānī

Qurbānī can only be performed during the three days of ʿĪd, namely the 10th, 11th and 12th of Dhū ’l-Ḥijjah. It is only in these days that slaughtering of an animal is recognized as an act of worship. No Qurbānī can be performed in any other days of the year.

Although Qurbānī 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 Dhū ’l-Ḥijjah.

No Qurbānī is allowed before the ʿĪd prayer is over. However, in small villages where the ʿĪd prayer is not to be performed, Qurbānī can be offered any time after the break of dawn on the 10th of Dhū ’l-Ḥijjah.

Qurbānī can also be performed in the two nights following the ʿĪd day, but it is more advisable to perform it during daytime.

Who is Required to Perform Qurbānī?

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 Qurbānī. Each adult member of a family who owns the above-mentioned amount must perform his own Qurbānī separately. If the husband owns the required quantity, but the wife does not, the Qurbānī obligatory on the husband only and vice-versa. If both of them have the prescribed amount of wealth, both should perform Qurbānī separately.

If the adult children live with their parents, Qurbānī is obligatory on each one of them possessing the prescribed amount. The Qurbānī offered by a husband for himself does not fulfill the obligation of his wife, nor can the Qurbānī 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 Qurbānī, gives another Qurbānī on behalf of his wife or his son, he can do so with their permission.

No Alternate for Qurbānī

Some people think that instead of offering a Qurbānī 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 ṣalāh instead of fasting in Ramadan, nor is it permissible for him to give some charity instead of observing the obligatory ṣalāh. Similarly, Qurbānī 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 Qurbānī on the three prescribed days (10th, 11th and 12th Dhū ’l-Ḥijjah) then, in that case only, he can give the price of a Qurbānī as ṣadaqah to those entitled to receive zakāh. But during the days of Qurbānī no ṣadaqah can discharge the obligation.

The Animals of Qurbānī

The following animals can be slaughtered to offer a Qurbānī:

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 Qurbānī. 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 Qurbānī jointly in one such animal.

If the seller of the 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 Qurbānī:

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 Qurbānī:

1. A castrated he-goat. (Rather, its Qurbānī 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 Qurbānī 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 Qurbānī unlawful.

The Sunnah Method of Qurbānī

It is more preferable for a Muslim to slaughter the animal of his Qurbānī 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 Qurbānī 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 Qurʾān:

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 Allāh. (Al-Anʿām, 6:79)

But the most essential recitation when slaughtering an animal is: Bismillāh, Allāhu Akbar. (In the name of Allāh, Allāh is the greatest). If somebody intentionally avoids to recite it when slaughtering an animal, it does not only make his Qurbānī unlawful, but also renders the animal ḥarām, 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 Qurbānī and the slaughter are lawful.

If somebody is unable to recite “Bismillāh Allāhu Akbar” in the Arabic language, he can recite the name of Allāh in his own language by saying, “In the name of Allāh.”

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 Sharīʿah.

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 Qurbānī 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 Qurbānī or its skin, he must give the accrued price as ṣadaqah to a poor man who can receive zakāh.

Ḥajj

The most important way of worship performed in this month is “ḥajj”, 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. Ḥajj is a worship, which requires at least five days to be performed in its proper way. There are detailed rules for different acts of ḥajj 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. Ḥajj is obligatory on every adult Muslim who can afford to go to Makkah during the ḥajj season, whether on foot or by any other carriage.

2. If a person can travel to Makkah to perform ḥajj, but he cannot travel to Madīnah, ḥajj is obligatory on him also. He can perform ḥajj without visiting Madīnah.

3. A Muslim woman cannot travel for ḥajj unless she is accompanied by a maḥram (i.e. husband or relative of a prohibited degree like son, father, brother etc.) If she does not find any maḥram to accompany her, ḥajj is not obligatory on her until she finds one. However, she must make a will that in case she dies before performing ḥajj, her heirs should arrange for her ḥajj-e-badal out of her left-over property.

4. Ḥajj is obligated only once in one’s life. After performing the obligatory ḥajj; one is not required to perform it again. However, one can perform the nafl (optional ḥajj) as many times as he or she wishes.