How is the fresh meat of the qurbani / udhiyah sacrifice to be distributed by Muslims?
Six basics for context
Once a year, in the Islamic month named Dhul-Hijjah Muslims offer sacrifice of designated types of cattle on specific days and distribute and eat of their fresh meat.
Dhul-Hijjah is the last of the Islamic Hijri Calendar’s 12 repeating, true “synodic” lunar months, measured from visible new crescent to visible new crescent, whether 29 or 30 days.
Its name means the month “Possessing the Hajj-Pilgrimage” of humanity to the Ka‘bah, the First House of God on Earth.
The angels, at Allah’s command, originally prepared the Ka‘bah’s Foundations in the Vale of Tears, Bakkah, later known as Makkah. Then Adam delimited the Sacred House’s Foundations for his children as the Inviolable Sanctuary of worship, Al-Haram — “inviolable” in that Allah made forbidden all desecration of His Holiness and violation of the sanctity of all His creation in its precincts.
The Hajj is an at least once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage of ritual worship that each Muslim must make when first possible to the Ka‘bah and its waymarks. In Hajj, Muslims are to retrace, in pilgrim sanctity (ihram) the footsteps of the “People of the House” — Father of Prophets, Abraham (Ibrahim), his first son Ishmael (Isma‘il), and his wife, Hajar, Isma‘il’s mother, in their family’s journey and mission to re-establish the Ka‘bah and monotheistic religion for latter day humanity.
“Qurbani” in Persianate languages and vocabulary signifies the sacrifice of lawful cattle for the sake of Allah alone with the intention of “drawing nearer” to Him. It is based on the Arabic origin word “qurb,” meaning “closeness” or “nearness.” The word for this sacrifice in the Arabic Quran is “udhiyah.”
(For a detailed explanation of the rite and rules of the qurbani act of worship see What Is the Qurbani Sacrifice?)
How should you distribute the meat of your qurbani / udhiyah sacrifice?
In all things, and especially in matters of ritual worship – like daily Salat-prayers, fasting Ramadan and other times, and obligatory Zakat-alms and voluntary charity – we should follow the established way of the Prophet Muhammad, Allah’s prayers of blessings and peace be upon him. This is called his Sunnah.
The Prophet’s Sunnah has three major categories for the udhiyah / qurbani sacrifice – slaughter, eating, and distribution.
SLAUGHTERING: The Prophet, on him be peace, did his own slaughtering. This is preferred, but it is not a requirement. If you do not do your own slaughtering, it is recommended for you to be present during the slaughter, if possible.
EATING: The Prophet, on him be peace, did not eat anything on the Day of Sacrifice until he slaughtered and made the first thing he ate that day from his own slaughter. Again, this is not an obligation, but it is a preferred prophetic practice because of his statement:
“Let each one eat of one’s own sacrifice” (Suyuti, Saḥiḥ Al-Jami‘).
Also, the Companion of the Prophet (on him be peace) Buraydah, Allah be pleased with him, said:
“The Prophet, Allah’s prayers of blessings and peace be upon him, would not go out on the Day of Fitr [Eid Al-Fitr, after the Ramadan fast] until he had eaten. And he would not eat on the Day of Adhah [Eid Al-Aadhah] until he had slaughtered [his sacrifice].” (Al-Mishkat)
DISTRIBUTION: The prophetic practice is to divide the meat of the sacrifice into thirds:
a. One-third to give to the people of your own household to eat
b. One-third for gifts for your relatives, neighbors, and friends
c. One-third to give in charity to the poor and needful
What can you NOT do with the product of your sacrifice?
It is forbidden to sell anything of your udhiyah / qurbani sacrifice, not only the meat, but the hide, wool or hair, horns, or any part of it. The Prophet, on him be peace, said:
Whoever sells the skin of his udhiyah (sacrifice), there is no udhiyah (sacrifice) for him.” (Jami).
This means that sale of anything of it invalidates it as a qurbani sacrifice. This includes getting someone to butcher it for you and paying him or her with a portion of the sacrifice, though you can give such a person a portion just as a gift.
‘Ali, Allah be pleased with him, said:
The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s prayers of blessings and peace be upon him, commanded me to safeguard the sacrifice; to give its meat, skin, and coat in charity; and not to give anything of it as recompense to the butcher. He said: ‘We will give him something from what we have [as a gift].’” (Bukhari).
(For more on the significance of the udhiyah / qurbani animal sacrifice, see Why Is the Qurbani Sacrifice Important in Islam?)
What animals are valid to offer as udhiyah / qurbani sacrifice?
The sacrifice must be of animals, either male or female, normally considered livestock, such as cows, buffaloes, bison (bovine); sheep (ovine), goats (caprine), camels, and the like.
The Companions of the Prophet, on him be peace, and on them Allah’s pleasure, were never reported to have slaughtered anything for Eid Al-Adhah other than the animals listed just. So slaughtering of fowl, for example – even if you slaughter whole flocks of chickens, turkeys, or ducks – does not count for udhiyah.
So all the animals of sacrifice you listed have the same sacrificial value before Allah?
No, A sheep or goat counts for one person. Up to seven people may share in a camel or cow. The Companion Jabir, Allah be pleased with him, said:
We performed Hajj along with Allah’s Messenger, Allah’s prayers of blessings and peace be upon him, and we sacrificed a camel on behalf of seven, and a cow on behalf of seven” (Muslim, vol. 7, hadith #3024).
A note on the timing of the sacrifice?
Your sacrifice must be made AFTER the Eid Prayer and NOT BEFORE, or on one of the two days (the Shafi‘i school of Law says three) days after the first day of Eid Al-Adhah.
The time of sacrifice ends, according to the Hanafi, Maliki, and Hanbali schools of Law, with sunset of the third day of Eid. That is, Eid Day occurs on the 10th of Dhu’l-Ḥijjah, the 12th month of Islam’s Hijri lunar calendar. Sacrifice may then proceed through Ayyâm Al-Nahr, the Days of Slaughter, which they hold as the 11th and 12th of Dhu’l-Ḥijjah.
The Shafi‘i position, however, is that the Days of Slaughter are four, including Eid Day. Other scholars join in this ruling, including Hasan Al-Basri and Al-Awza‘i. Their proof is that Ali, Allah be pleased with him, said:
The days of sacrifice are the Day of Adhah and the three days after it.” (Albani).
And the reliable statement of the Prophet, on him be peace:
All of Mina [the area of gathering for Hajj] is a place of sacrifice, and the days of tashrîq (of laying out meat for drying preservation, jerking) are days of sacrifice,” (Al-Silsilah Al-Sahiha)
Any sacrifice outside these times is not an udhiyah / qurbani.
(For a more examination of legal points about qurbani / udhiyah see Is the Qurbani Sacrifice (Udhiyah) Mandatory on Muslims?)