Is It Obligatory to Perform Udhiya If One Hasn’t Maintained Nisab for over a Lunar Year?


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

Is it obligatory for a person to perform udhiya if one hasn’t maintained nisab for over a lunar year?

My question is regarding the obligation of making qurbani (udhiya) on Eid ul-Adha according to the Hanafi fiqh. If a person possesses nisab on the day of Eid but hasn’t held it for more than a lunar year, is he still obligated to perform udhiya, or is it only bound upon him if he has possessed the nisab for more than a lunar year?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are well.

As long as one possesses nisab in the Days of Sacrifice, i.e., the 10th, 11th, and 12th of Dhu’l-Hijja, ritual sacrifice (Udhiya) will be mandatory; one does not have to possess it throughout the lunar calendar year.

The ritual sacrifice (Udhiya) is mandatory (wajib) for every Muslim, with the condition of being a resident; it is not mandatory for a traveler. He is wealthy based on the criterion for paying sadaqat al-Fitr in the Days of Sacrifice.

[’Ala’uddin ‘Ibn ’Abidin, Al-Hadiyyah al-’Ala’iyyah]

I pray this helps with your questions.

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.

He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.

He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.

He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.