|
1. What is ‘Udhiyah’ / ‘Qurbani’?
‘Udhiyah’ is an Arabic word which refers to the animal (camel, cattle, goat or sheep) that is sacrificed as an act of worship to Allah.
‘Qurbani’ is an Urdu and Persian word derived from the Arabic word ‘Qurban’ which literally means an act performed to seek Allah’s pleasure.
2. How are Qurbani’s performed at Islamic Relief?
Qurbani’s are performed through Islamic Relief field offices in Asia, Africa and Europe.
Islamic Relief field offices purchase and slaughter animals locally.
3. Why can i only select a group and not a country?
In order to ensure that Qurbani meat is distributed to those most in need, Islamic Relief encourages donors to give their Qurbani to a group and not an individual country. In previous years, situations have occurred whereby some counties have received a very high proportion of Qurbani's and other countries, although the need may be greater, have received a far less proportion.
4. What types of Qurbani meat does Islamic Relief provide?
Islamic relief distributes fresh qurbani meat. Animals are purchased and slaughtered locally.
5. Who needs to perform Qurbani?
According to most Muslims qurbani is obligatory upon every sane male/female that has wealth in excess to his/her needs. Normally those who are eligible to pay zakat have to give a qurbani.
6. Until how long can we make our Qurbani payments?
It is advisable that Qurbani payments should be given as early as possible, however, they can be only taken up until the third day after Eid [13th of Dhu’l-Hijjah] before Maghrib.
7. What day will my Qurbani be performed?
The slaughtering will take place on one of the days of Eid.
If you give a Qurbani on the second or third day of Eid, the Qurbani will still be carried out on one of the days of Eid, as Islamic Relief has already purchased the animals to be slaughtered beforehand.
Qurbanis are carried out on the basis of forecasts drawn. If necessary, modifications are made, and additional funds are transferred to the relevant country. In effect donors are paying towards Qurbanis which are already allocated.
8. Will my Qurbani be a sheep or a cow?
This varies from country to country.
9. Why can’t we have an animal of our choice sacrificed?
Animals chosen in a country depend upon:
The suitability of the meat to the local diet
The quality of the meat
The cost of the animal
The location and the availability of animals
10. How are Qurbani shares calculated?
1 Sheep or Goat = 1 Qurbani
1/7th of a cow = 1 Qurbani
1 Cow = 7 Qurbani’s (7 shares)
11. Are all the costs included in the price?
Yes, all the various expenses such as the cost of the animal, slaughter, transportation, storage, selection of the beneficiaries, and distribution are included in the price.
12. Why are prices higher this year?
o Higher prices worldwide for livestock
o Lack of availability of livestock
o Political situation of countries
13. Why are there differences in the prices between the countries?
Price is affected by a number of factors, this includes the local market conditions of demand and supply which affect the price of livestock.
14. What are your admin charges?
Our average admin charge is 9p for every £1.
15. Why do you take admin charges?
Admin charges are necessary in order to perform the Qurbanis as it covers the cost of transportation, slaughtering, packing, distribution, hire of staff as well as organisational support costs.
16. If I make a Qurbani will the names be called out at the time of slaughter?
No, as Islamic Relief is conducting around 100,000 Qurbanis across 28 countries hence this is practically not possible. It is also not necessary to give the name of the person, even if you are making a Qurbani on behalf of someone else. As long as you have made the intention that you are giving this qurbani on behalf of a certain person that should be sufficient.
17. Who is Qurbani obligatory upon / Do I have to perform Qurbani on behalf of my children?
This depends on the school of thought that one follows. Please consult your local Imam/Sheikh.
According to the Hanafi school of thought it is obligatory on:
every sane, mature (one who has reached puberty) Muslim
who is not a traveller,
who owns wealth which is beyond one's need equal to (or more than) nisab = 72 grams of gold or 100 grams of silver)
If a child has wealth in excess of the nisab, then it’s the guardians responsibility to give qurbani on his behalf.
18. How can we be really sure that the Qurbani’s we are paying for in some of the poorest countries ARE really taking place?
Islamic Relief has been performing Qurbani’s since 1986. As with our other projects, Islamic Relief’s work is constantly monitored and audited. Reports are also produced each year showing what happened in each country.
19. Can Qurbani meat be sent to my Village in a particular country?
No.
20. Can I visit the place where the Qurbani's take place, as I will be in the country at the time?
It would be better if people did not visit, as on the day our teams on the ground are extremely busy with slaughtering the animals, dividing them, packing the meat, transporting it to villages and distributing them. Therefore, our teams will not have the capacity or time to host individuals. However, if individuals are present at the locations where the Qurbani is being distributed then they are welcome to observe
21. How does Islamic Relief decide who is most needy when distributing Qurbani meat?
The Selection criteria for beneficiaries
It is the policy of Islamic Relief that the selected beneficiaries of the Qurbani Project are made eligible based on a scoring system, which ranks families according to their needs.
The scoring system is based on the following objective criteria:
|
Criteria
|
Points |
|
Families who live on less than the minimum income for that particular country
|
40 |
|
Female headed households
|
20 |
|
Families having disabled and/or elderly persons
|
10 |
|
Children under five years old
|
5 |
|
Pregnant women
|
5 |
|
Lactating mothers
|
5 |
|
Families with little or no access to the market
|
5 |
It is the policy of Islamic Relief to distribute only ONE Qurbani meat packet to each family regardless of family size.
22. Can Aqiqah/Sadaqah Qurbani go to any other country?
Yes. During the qurbani period if someone calls to make a donation for an Aqiqah or Sadaqah qurbani they have the option of donating it to any of the countries/groups we are offering qurbani in that year.
Aqiqah/sadaqah qurbani is only restricted to Pakistan outside the qurbani period.
23. Can I make my Qurbani donation towards the orphan I’m sponsoring?
No. We are not able to carry out qurbanis for specific orphans because the scale of the operation would make this logistically impossible. However orphans do represent a category of high priority in all our programmes; therefore they not only benefit from donors’ sponsorship, but also benefit from receiving other support and aid in Ramadan and Qurbani.
24. When should I stop clipping my nails etc?
It is prescribed for the one who wants to offer a sacrifice, once the new moon of Dhu’l-Hijjah appears [i.e.1st of Dhul-Hijjah], not to remove anything from his hair, nails or skin, until he has offered the sacrifice.
25. When can I resume clipping my nails etc?
As long as the person has paid their money for Qurbani, they can cut their nails on the day of Eid.
Qurbani is a practise performed at Eid ul Adha, a celebration in recognition of the belief, humility and devotion shown to Allah by his Prophets, Ibrahim (pbuh) and only son, Ismail (pbuh). When Ibrahim (pbuh) received a revelation through his dream that he is to sacrifice Ismail, a treasured blessing to him at such an elderly age, he informed him of his dilemma and they both entrusted themselves to Allah.
Find out more about Islamic Relief's Qurbani Programme
Watch the Qurbani Documentary
|