Age of sheep that qualify for Qurbani
Question:-
From my limited understanding, the minimum age of a sheep for qurbani is 1 year-old, but, if younger sheep are big in size and cannot be distinguished from other adult sheep in the flock, then such a sheep will be permissible for qurbani, despite it being less than a year old. I also understand that the sheep must have a tail.
There is a breed of sheep known as “Ile de France” that normally grows much bigger than the usual Merino’s and Dorpers that are slaughtered for qurbani. A 6 month-old lamb (male) can weigh in at 60kg and a 12 month-old male is on average, 75kg. So, in essence, a 6 month-old of this breed is bigger than most adults of other breeds, but still smaller than a 1 year-old of the same breed. A 6 month-old ewe is on average, 35kg, and 50kg at 12 months-old.
Also the sheep, naturally, has a very short tail hence, there is no “docking” of the tails by the farmers.
Since we dealing with white farmers, it is not always possible to explain to them the detailed Masaa’il regarding the size necessary for Qurbani and, therefore, we need to work on average weight and size, until we can get to the farm to see for ourselves, which may only be a day or two before Qurbani.
My questions:
1. would it be permissible to slaughter a 6 month-old lamb that weighs around 60kg for qurbani since it is bigger than most 1 year-old adults of other breeds?
2. Would it be permissible to slaughter a 1 year-old ewe that weighs in at 50kg?
https://iledefrance.co.za/breed-standards/
https://iledefrance.co.za/breed-information/
Answer:-
1. The Kitaabs of Fiqh state that a lamb older than 6 months but looks like a one year-old, can be slaughtered for Qurbani. Hence, in the queried scenario, if the Ile de France sheep that is older than six months looks like a one-year-old in size (and cannot be distinguished from a one year-old sheep when grazing), it may be slaughtered for Qurbani.
(وصَحَّ الجَذَعُ مِنَ الضَّأنِ) وهو عند الفقهاء ما تم له ستة أشهر (شرح النقاية ص242 ج5)
(وصح الجذع) ذو ستة أشهر(من الضأن) إن كان بحيث لو خلط بالثنايا لا يمكن التمييز من بعد. (در مختار ص204 ج5)
2. There is no problem in slaughtering an ewe that is a year old even though it weighs 50kg, since the age for Qurbani has been reached.
ويجوز من جميع هذه الأقسام الثني وهو المراد من المسنة —ومن الغنم الخ ما استكمل سنة (حاشية : مشكاة المصابيح ص127 ج1)
ALLAH TA’ALA KNOWS BEST!
ANSWERED BY:
Mufti Mohammed Desai
Date: 26 Shawwal 1444 / 17 May 2023