Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalam allaikum,

I humbly request your answers to the following (assuming that one can afford and Allah swt has bestowed his great blessings):-

1. Is it mandatory to give qurbani for our prophet pbuH?
2. Is it mandatory to give qurbani for our dead parents?

Which of the two are more essential?

Best Regards,

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

sacrifice for prophet(saws) and parents

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Beloved brother in Islam, sacrifice is only obligatory upon a believer when one is himself/herself on the pilgrimage of Hajj. For all the other believers who are not themselves on the Hajj pilgrimage, the sacrifice or ‘qurbani’ on the Day of Adha is a preferred Sunnah, and thus voluntary and supererogatory.

If one who is not on the pilgrimage of Hajj offers a sacrifice on the Day of Adha, he/she will receive a huge reward for their worship from their Lord Most Gracious; and if for any reason one does not offer a sacrifice, there is absolutely no obligation or sin upon them. The most that can be said of one who is not a pilgrim and does not offer a sacrifice on the Day of Adha is that he/she missed a great opportunity to earn huge rewards from Allah Subhanah.

Q-1: Is it mandatory to give qurbani for our prophet pbuH?

Firstly, the rite or worship of sacrifice is mandatory or obligatory only upon the one who is on the Hajj pilgrimage; for one who is not performing the Hajj pilgrimage, a sacrifice is not mandatory or obligatory, but rather a preferred Sunnah and thus voluntary.

Dear and Beloved brother, the principle in Islam is that whoever starts the process of good will have a share of the reward of what he started, regardless of who follows his example and does the good; and whoever starts an evil will have a share of the punishment of what he started, regardless of who follows his example of doing the evil.

Every good deed in Islam was initiated, taught, and encouraged by Prophet Mohamed (saws); thus whatever good deed a believer does in Islam in accordance with the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws), Allah Subhanah will assign a full reward of the deed in the account of the Prophet (saws) without reducing the reward of the person who actually performed the good deed.

When a believers offers a sacrifice to earn the Pleasure and Good Will of Allah Subhanah, he in fact is following the example of the Prophet (saws); thus the Prophet of Allah (saws) will be accorded an equal and full share in this good deed of the believer, without any reduction in the reward of the believer.

There is absolutely nothing in the authentic Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) whereby he exhorted or encouraged the believers to offer a sacrifice for him; neither is there any precedent in the History of Islam that his noble companions or even his noble family ever sacrificed for him after his death. Thus, in light of the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, it would be best for the believers to abstain from doing any act of worship which is not endorsed by the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzab verse 21:

There is indeed the best example for you to follow, in the Messenger of Allah, for every such person looks forward to Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.

We are commanded by Allah Subhanah to obey and follow the Prophet (saws), and the absolute best thing one, who sincerely loves the Prophet of Allah (saws), can and must do is to recite the ‘durood’ on the Noble Prophet (saws) as often as one can, and strive their utmost in the doing of good deeds.

Abdullah bin Amr bin Al-'As reported that he heard the Prophet (saws) saying, "If anyone invokes blessings upon me once, Allah will bestow blessings upon him ten times over."

Related by Muslim.

Ibn Mas'ud reported that the Prophet (saws) said, "The people nearest to me on the Day of Judgment will be the ones most conscientious in invoking blessings upon me." Related by Tirmidhi.

Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (saws) said, "Do not turn my grave into a site of festivities, but send greetings to me for your greetings are raised to me wherever you might be."

Related by Abu Daw'ud.

Aus reported that the Prophet (saws) said, "The best of your days is Friday, so send more and more greetings to me on it, for your greetings are presented to me."

Related by Abu Daw'ud and Nasa'i.

Abu Dharr reported that the Prophet, (saws) said, 'The most miserly among people is the one who fails to invoke blessings upon me when my name is mentioned in his or her presence'."

Q-2: Is it mandatory to give qurbani for our dead parents?

It is not mandatory or obligatory to offer a sacrifice for one’s dead parents, but if one wishes to offer a voluntary sacrifice for their deceased parents or loved ones, there is absolutely no harm.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan