Qurbani is a financial worship to be performed by every Muslim who is mentally healthy, has reached the age of puberty, has enough wealth to be considered wealthy according to Islam, and is a resident (Marghinani, al-Hidayah, VII, 148). Those who have 80.18 grams of gold or the same value of money or property other than basic needs and debts should perform qurbani (Mawsili, al-Ikhtiyar, IV, 252-256; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, IX, 452-453). In addition, a year does not need to pass over the nisab (the minimum limit to be accepted as wealthy in Islam) required for the duty of qurbani, unlike zakat.
What is the nature and the ruling of the worship of qurbani?
Qurbani lexically means to approach the thing that leads to getting close to Allah (swt). As a religious term, qurbani refers to sacrificing an animal that meets certain criteria for the purpose of worship in order to get close to Allah (swt) and to obtain His contentedness, and to the animal that has been sacrificed for this purpose (Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, IX, 452). Qurbani sacrificed in Eid al-Adha is called udhiyya and the one sacrificed in hajj is called hady. The believer, who is mentally healthy, free, resident and considered wealthy according to Islam, gets close to Allah (swt) by sacrificing qurbani in order to gain divine consent, and helps those who cannot sacrifice qurbani due to insufficient financial means (Sarakhsi, al-Mabsut, XII, 8; Ibn Nujaym, al-Bahr, VIII, 197). In the spirit of this worship, there is an understanding of closeness to Allah and self-sacrifice to the people. Qurbani is a sign of a Muslim’s readiness to sacrifice all of his/her possessions in the way of Allah (swt) when necessary.
For whom hajj is a fardh?
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and a worship which has both physical and financial aspects. It is fardh upon Muslims who are free (Ibn Abi Shaybah, al-Musannaf V, 518), are sane and have reached puberty, and possess the means to perform hajj (Kasani, Bada’i, II, 120) in terms of health, wealth, and road security (Tirmidhi, Hajj, 4) (Marghinani, al-Hidayah, II, 296; Kasani, Bada’i, II, 120; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, III, 456). Those who have these features need to perform this obligation without delay when they have the opportunity. A Muslim who has performed hajj once in his/her life does not need to perform hajj once again (Muslim, Hajj, 412); yet one may perform hajj again as nafl (Abu Dawud, Manasik, 1).
In order for a person upon whom hajj is a fardh to be responsible for performing hajj himself, he must be healthy, not imprisoned or not charged with an international travel ban, and should have road security (Mawsili, al-Ikhtiyar, I, 435-438). The sick, who are unable to endure the travel for Hajj or physically perform it, and the elderly are not obliged to perform Hajj, even though it is obligatory upon them. Those who are in this condition perform hajj in person if possible. If such persons do not have the required conditions, they may send another person on their behalf and have that person perform hajj (Marghinani, al-Hidayah, II, 482).
What are hajj al-wada (farewell pilgrimage) and khutbah al-wada (farewell sermon)?
The Farewell hajj is the first and last hajj performed by the Prophet Muhammad (saw) in the tenth year of Hijrah to Medina (632). The Prophet Muhammad (saw) did a farewell with the speech he made during this hajj to Companions of over a hundred thousand, and taught them how to perform hajj, which is one of the basic acts of worship in Islam. The historic speech made by the Prophet Muhammad (saw) to the Companions during hajj is called the “farewell sermon.” As an important sermon in terms of basic rights and liberties, it is recorded in hadith books under special chapters (Bukhari, Hajj, 132; Muslim, Hajj, 147; Tirmidhi, Buyu, 39, Wasaya, 5; Ibn Majah, Wasaya, 6; Ibn Hanbal, al-Musnad, VIII, 285). Sources of Islamic history cite these narratives from hadith sources as a single text (Ibn Hisham, as-Sira, II, 601, 604). The Prophet Muhammad (saw) demolished all malice customs and doings of the Jahiliyya (age of ignorance) with this sermon he preached as the summary of Islam. He stated the judgments regarding basic rights and liberties. Stating that all humans are the children of Adam, he referred to universal human rights. He recorded in history an epitomic sense of equality as a guide to all humanity by rejecting the superiority of race, color, and social classes. He informed us that adultery and anything to harm family life were all forbidden. He explained that women and men had rights and duties to one another and that one must treat women with kindness and affection. He announced that interest, which harmed economic and social life, was rendered as haram; and that blood feuds were abolished. He also expressed the malice in affiliating the lineage to someone other than his biological father. He stated that the life, property, and honor of every one were protected against all kinds of violence, any act of injustice was forbidden and punishment was individual. In short, advising on significant religious rules, basic rights and responsibilities to Companions who were present there in an emotional, effective, and poetical form, the Prophet Muhammad (saw) heralded that as long as they hold tight to the Qur’an and Sunnah he entrusted to them, they will not go astray. Finally, he wanted those who were listening to his message there deliver it to those who were not present (Ibn Hisham, as-Sira, II, 602- 604).
