Who Is Eligible for Qurbani? Requirements and Rules

Qurbani is due on every adult, sane Muslim who owns wealth above the nisab threshold, beyond their essential needs and debts, during the days of Eid al-Adha. Anyone may offer it; the question of who is required to is where the schools differ.

• The Hanafi school holds Qurbani to be wajib, necessary, on a Muslim who is adult, sane, resident rather than travelling, and in possession of the nisab during the days of sacrifice (SeekersGuidance on who must offer it).
• The Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools hold it to be a confirmed sunnah, sunnah mu'akkadah, strongly encouraged for anyone who can afford it rather than strictly required (SeekersGuidance on the difference of opinion).

On every view, someone below the threshold is not obliged, and may still offer Qurbani if they wish. The rest of this guide sets out how the threshold is worked out, who is counted within a household, which animals qualify, when the sacrifice may be made, and where scholars differ.

Qurbani, called udhiyah in Arabic, is the sacrifice of a permitted animal during the days of Eid al-Adha as an act of worship. The word comes from the root qurb, meaning nearness. It recalls the willingness of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to sacrifice his son at God's command, and the ram given in his place.

The Quran is explicit that the point is not the animal:

لَن يَنَالَ ٱللَّهَ لُحُومُهَا وَلَا دِمَآؤُهَا وَلَٰكِن يَنَالُهُ ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ مِنكُمْ

“Neither their meat nor blood reaches Allah. Rather, it is your piety that reaches Him.” (Quran 22:37)

A sacrifice made outside the days of Eid al-Adha, however sincere, is an ordinary slaughter or a charitable gift rather than Qurbani.

The threshold used is the same nisab as Zakat: the value of 612.36 grams of silver or 87.48 grams of gold. What matters is the monetary value of that weight of metal on the day, which changes constantly, so no fixed pound or dollar figure stays valid. Take the current market price per gram from a reputable bullion source and multiply.

In practice most people are assessed against the silver figure, because it is the lower of the two and therefore captures more people. Some scholars and charities use gold instead, which produces a much higher threshold, so it is worth knowing which your mosque or scholar applies.

What counts. Wealth surplus to your essential needs: housing, clothing, food, tools of your trade and so on are not counted. Debts that are due are deducted before you compare what is left against the nisab.

Three things that are often confused, and should not be.

• Paying Zakat requires holding wealth above the nisab for a full lunar year, the hawl.
• Qurbani has no lunar-year condition. What matters is whether you hold the nisab during the days of sacrifice themselves. Someone who came into money the week before Eid can be liable for Qurbani while owing no Zakat on it.
• Receiving Zakat is a third question, and not simply the mirror image of the other two. In the Hanafi framework a person may receive Zakat on grounds of need when they do not own surplus wealth reaching the nisab, and that is the same financial test that leaves them under no obligation to offer Qurbani. The Quran also names recipients whose entitlement is not a simple wealth line, such as those burdened by debt and travellers stranded away from their means, so “entitled to receive Zakat” is not one single threshold. What holds in every case is the narrower point: someone who does not hold surplus wealth reaching the nisab during the days of sacrifice is not obliged to offer Qurbani.

Our guide to Zakat and how it is calculated covers the lunar-year rule in more detail.

The obligation is personal, not per household. In the Hanafi school each adult who independently holds the nisab is liable for their own Qurbani, so a husband and wife who each meet the threshold owe one each. In the other schools, where it is a confirmed sunnah, one sacrifice offered by the head of a household is generally taken to cover the family.

Children below puberty are not liable. A parent may offer on a child's behalf if they wish, as a voluntary act.

Travellers. The Hanafi school treats being resident as one of the conditions, so a traveller is not obliged, though they may still offer one. The other schools do not make residence a condition in the same way, since they do not treat it as obligatory to begin with.

Age, illness and capacity. Liability depends on being an adult of sound mind who holds the nisab. It does not depend on physical fitness. Someone elderly, unwell or disabled who meets the financial condition is still liable, and simply appoints someone to slaughter on their behalf. Personal slaughter is preferred where a person is able and competent, but it has never been a condition of the obligation, and no one is exempted from Qurbani because of ill health or age alone.

Only livestock of the an'am class may be used: sheep, goats, cattle including buffalo, and camels. Minimum ages differ between the schools, so there is no single table that is correct for everyone. The figures below are the Hanafi minimums, which are the ones most commonly quoted in Britain and by international charities:

Where the schools differ. On three of the four they do not agree (Islam Question and Answer on the age of the animal):

• Sheep. The Hanafi and Hanbali schools accept a jadha'ah, a well-grown sheep of about six months. The Maliki and Shafi'i schools require a full year. The concession is often explained by the report instructing a musinnah unless that is difficult to find, in which case a jadha'ah of sheep may be offered. Either way it applies to sheep only, never to goats.
• Goats. One year in the Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools; the Shafi'i school requires two.
• Cattle. Two years in the Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools; the Maliki school requires three.

Camels are five years on all four. If you are buying through a charity or an agent, it is worth asking which standard they apply, particularly for sheep.

Shares. A camel or a cow may be shared by up to seven people, on the report from Jabir (RA) that at Hudaybiyah they sacrificed a camel for seven and a cow for seven (Sahih Muslim 1318). Fewer than seven may share, provided no share falls below a seventh. A sheep or goat cannot be split into shares: two people cannot each buy half of one and count it as their own separate sacrifice. That is a different matter from whose reward it carries, and the two are easily confused. One sheep offered by one person is widely held to suffice for him and his household, so a family does not need one animal per member; what it cannot do is serve as two people's separate obligations (Islam Question and Answer on how many people one animal covers) (Islam Question and Answer on sharing a sacrifice).

Disqualifying defects. The Prophet (peace be upon him) named four that make an animal unacceptable: one that is obviously lame, one blind in one eye where the defect is obvious, one obviously sick, and one so emaciated that no one would choose it. Minor blemishes do not disqualify an animal.

Counting an animal's teeth is a livestock trader's rule of thumb for guessing age, not a religious criterion, and no particular tooth count is prescribed anywhere in the sources. Establish the age from the seller, paperwork or an informed assessment.

Timing. The window opens after the Eid prayer on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah. Anything slaughtered before that prayer is ordinary meat, not Qurbani. On when it closes, the schools differ, and this is worth knowing before you book a slot:

• The Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools give three days, the 10th, 11th and 12th of Dhul Hijjah (SeekersGuidance on the difference of opinion).
• The Shafi'i school gives four days, adding the 13th, on the report that all the days of Tashriq are for sacrifice. A number of contemporary scholars take the same view (Islam Question and Answer on the time for udhiyah).

The safest course, if you follow a three-day position, is not to leave it until the 13th.

Appointing an agent. You may authorise someone else, a butcher, a relative or a charity, to slaughter on your behalf, and this is entirely normal for people living where home slaughter is impractical. The intention is what attaches the act to you, so make it clear whose Qurbani it is. Personal slaughter is better where you are able and competent to do it properly.

On behalf of others. Offering for a living person is done with their knowledge and agreement, since the act is theirs. There is no rule that they must pay for it themselves: a gift is a gift. Offering on behalf of someone who has died is regarded as permissible and meritorious by the majority, with scholars differing on the details. It is not automatically sadaqah jariyah, which is a distinct category of ongoing charity, and describing it that way overstates the case.

The meat. Dividing it into three, for yourself, for family and friends, and for those in need, is a well-established and recommended practice. It is not a compulsory split, and there is no requirement that the portions be exactly equal. Keeping more or giving more away is permitted (SeekersGuidance on meat distribution).

Hair and nails. Umm Salamah (RA) reported the Prophet (peace be upon him) saying that whoever intends to sacrifice should not remove anything from their hair or nails once Dhul Hijjah begins, until the sacrifice is made (Sahih Muslim 1977). Scholars read this differently: some treat it as prohibited, while others, including the Hanafi and Maliki positions, treat it as a recommended abstention rather than a binding restriction (SeekersGuidance on hair and nails). It applies to the person offering, not to the whole household.

Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah, so it moves about eleven days earlier each year against the Gregorian calendar.

On the Umm al-Qura calendar, the tabular calendar used in Saudi Arabia, 10 Dhul Hijjah 1448 corresponds to Sunday 16 May 2027, with the days of Tashriq following on 17, 18 and 19 May. Treat that as provisional. The confirmed date depends on the moon-sighting announcement where you live and can fall a day either side, so check with your local mosque before making arrangements.

The rulings above were checked against the following published sources, which are linked so you can read the reasoning and see where the schools differ. This page is general information and has not been reviewed by a named scholar; for your own circumstances, ask a qualified local scholar.

• Quran 22:37, Quran.com
• Islam Question and Answer, conditions of udhiyah, and Islam Question and Answer on the age of the animal
• Islam Question and Answer on sharing a sacrifice, and Islam Question and Answer on the time for udhiyah
• SeekersGuidance on who must offer it, and SeekersGuidance on the difference of opinion
• SeekersGuidance on meat distribution, and SeekersGuidance on hair and nails
• Umm al-Qura calendar, for the projected Eid al-Adha date

For the wider context of the month, see our guides to the importance of Hajj and Zakat, or study the topic properly through our Islamic teachings course.