1# The Meaning Of Qurban And Aqiqah
I believe most of us have heard of these two terms, but how many of us truly understand what ‘qurban’ and ‘aqiqah’ mean? Both have a similar meaning in relation to the act of sacrificing livestock for the sake of Allah. However, qurban is not the same as aqiqah, and some people frequently confuse of the two terms.
Qurban
Qurban is an act that occur during Eid-ul-Adha in the month of Zulhijjah where it is a celebration to commemorate the devotion of the Prophet Ibrahim in obeying the command of Allah to sacrifice his own son, Ismail. Allah SWT test His prophet to see whether he is willing or not and without a doubt, the Prophet Ibrahim succeeded.
As mentioned in the Quran;
Then when they submitted ˹to Allah’s Will˺, and Abraham laid him(Ismail) on the side of his forehead ˹for sacrifice, (As-Saffat: 103)
For Prophet Ibrahim, he is bestowed by Allah a first son only when he is at the age of 86 and Allah orders him to sacrifice his son, whom he had longed for and loved dearly for years. But he still obey the Lord’s command without question.
Aqiqah
Aqiqah, on the other hand, is done to express gratitude (shukur) to Allah SWT for the birth of a child. It is a sunnah which is the practice of the Prophet Muhammad SAW and his companions.
It is not compulsory for Muslims to perform aqiqah, but strongly recommended by Islam. It is classified as sunnat muakkad.
2# Do Qurban and Aqiqah Sacrifice The Same Animals?
Yes. As previously stated, they both refer to the sacrifice of livestock. While the livestock animals are the same, the practises behind them differ.
Livestock animals in qurban include cows, sheeps goats, and camels. They must be in good health and in a good condition with no defection. Furthermore, the qurban livestock animals must be of a certain age. And various livestock animals for qurban account for a different share. A person may have as many qurbans as he would like.
Aqiqah also sacrifice the same livestock animals with a certain age. Two goats are sacrificed for a boy child and one goat for a girl child in aqiqah. Our prophet Muhammad SAW practised this when he sacrificed two goats for each of his grandchildren, Hassan and Hussin.
There might be a slight different that people often confused of between qurban and aqiqah.
3# Is the distribution of qurban and aqiqah the same?
Qurban and aqiqah both can be distribute but in different ways. For qurban, it’s better to distribute the meat into three parts.
- 1/3 to the one doing the qurban
- 1/3 to family and friends
- 1/3 to the less fortunate
Furthermore, it’s more ‘afdhal’ for the person doing the qurban to consume a small portion of the meat and give the rest of the meat to the poor.
When it comes to aqiqah, it is best to cook the meat and serve it to the guests as a banquet.. While we can also distribute raw meat of the aqiqah to the faqir.
Qurban can only be performed on the 10th to 13th of Zulhijjah during Eid-ul-Adha. However, there is no set time for aqiqah, as it can be performed at any time after the child is born. Aqiqah is perform once-in-a-lifetime for a child.
Both qurban and aqiqah are performed for the sake of Allah, so there isn’t much difference between them. Now that we know what differs them, I hope we have a better understanding of qurban and aqiqah.
As we all know, there’s about a month or so before the Eid-ul-Adha. So, I like to take this opportunity to invite you in doing qurban with MyFundAction as we can shine a new ray of hope for the less fortunate people.
If you have any questions regarding qurban in MyFundAction, do reach out to us.
