What is the wisdom behind sacrificing (Qurban)?

The act of sacrificing (Qurban) brings a person great reward and blessings in the Hereafter.

Our Prophet (ﷺ) said:

ما عمل ابن آدم يوم النحر أحب إلى الله من إهراق الدم، وإنه ليؤتى يوم القيامة بقرونها وأشعارها وأظلافها، وإن الدم ليقع من الله بمكان قبل أن يقع بالأرض، فطيبوا بها نفسا

“On the Day of Eid al-Adha, no deed of the son of Adam is more beloved to Allah than the shedding of blood (sacrificing an animal). The sacrificed animal will come on the Day of Judgment with its horns, hair, and hooves. The blood reaches a high status with Allah before it even falls to the ground. So, offer your sacrifice with a content heart.” [1]

In another hadith:

بكل شعرة حسنة

It is mentioned that for every strand of hair on the sacrificial animal, a reward is recorded. [2]

Offering a sacrifice is a way of showing gratitude for the blessings Allah has given. Allah’s blessings are countless; we cannot enumerate them. Allah says in the Qur’an:

وَإِنْ تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لا تُحْصُوهَا

“If you try to count Allah’s blessings, you will never be able to number them.” [3] Faith, worship, hearing, sight, wealth, children—all are blessings from Allah. To ensure these blessings continue, we must show gratitude. One way to do this is by spending from our wealth in Allah’s cause. Sacrificing an animal is one such expression of gratitude.

Through Qurban, we learn obedience and patience in fulfilling Allah’s commands. When we remember the story of Ibrahim and Ismail (peace be upon them) and their unwavering submission to Allah’s command, we see that their love and obedience to Allah was above all else. This inspires us to be obedient and patient as well.

Distributing the meat of the sacrifice to family, relatives, neighbors, friends, and those in need increases love and compassion among Muslims. By giving up something valuable and helping the poor and needy, we replace negative traits with good ones like brotherhood, generosity, and humility. Such actions are encouraged and considered virtuous in our Shariah.

• [1] Narrated by Tirmidhi.

• [2] Ibn Majah, No. 3118.

• [3] Surah Ibrahim, verse 34.