If we need to do Qurbani as a Canadian in Somalia where one goat is CAD 85. Does it fulfill sharia requirements or it needs to be according to our income or living standards?
Bismillahi Ta’ala
Walaikum Assalam Warahmatullah
In principle, the compulsion (wujoob) is to make udhiya (slaughter) of an animal. This is regardless where it is done.
As a matter of idealism, anyone who is carrying out his religious duty should do the Qurbani physically himself.
For this the one should choose to do it in one’s locality so that he may be able to fulfil all the mustahabbat (preferences) attached to the slaughter.
These include:
- Slaughtering the animal himself with his hand
- if not possible, then witnessing the animal slaughter
- have the family witness their slaughter (as the blood dripping wipes the sins off)
- one gets to divide the meat in three and share in their desired areas (relatives/friends, poor of the locality/ self usage)
- eat from the slaughter as the first morsel on Eid
However, in our times this can become difficult and one may choose to do slaughter in another locality to assist people who maybe in more need than the locals.
Since the principle compulsion of qurbani was slaughtering of an animal, if you arrange it in Somalia where it happens to be $85 per goat, then that compulsion is fulfilled.
However, since the intent is for benefit of the poor, despite the compulsion being fulfilled with one goat, it would behove a Muslim to not side-step the core element of sacrifice, and instead do as many fardh + nafil qurbanis in somalia (or other needy areas) as he would have done with the amount of money here in Canada.
This would be the ideal essence of sacrifice for an individual in favour of the fellow muslim who are factually in need of our assistance in other localities.
Wallahu A’lam
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Faisal al-Mahmudi