Last updated: 2027
Short answer: the majority of scholars — the Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools — hold that you may offer Qurbani on behalf of someone who has passed away, and that its reward reaches them. The relied-upon position of the Shafi’i school is that it is offered for a deceased person only if they left a bequest (wasiyyah) for it.
Why scholars say the reward reaches the deceased
Those who permit it point to the established principle that acts of charity and worship carried out on behalf of a person who has died benefit them — the same basis on which Hajj, fasting and sadaqah may be performed for the dead. They also cite the Prophet’s own practice: when he offered his Qurbani he said, “O Allah, accept from Muhammad, and the family of Muhammad, and the Ummah of Muhammad” (Sahih Muslim 1967). Scholars take the reference to the whole Ummah as showing that a person’s Qurbani may carry others in its intention, including those who have passed — though the hadith itself names the Ummah generally, not the deceased specifically.
How the four schools differ
- Hanafi: permitted. If the deceased left a bequest that Qurbani be done for them, it is carried out from their estate and all of the meat is given to the poor. If there is no bequest, a relative may offer a voluntary Qurbani for them from their own wealth, and that meat is shared in the normal way.
- Hanbali: permitted — and some Hanbali scholars considered sacrificing for the deceased better than for the living, since the deceased can no longer act for themselves and are more in need of the reward.
- Maliki: permitted.
- Shafi’i: the relied-upon position is that Qurbani is not offered for a deceased person unless they left a bequest for it. A minority view within the school (Abu al-Hasan al-‘Abbadi) allowed it as a form of charity.
A safe course if you are unsure
Every school accepts including a deceased loved one in the intention of a Qurbani you are already offering — for example, “for myself and my late mother” — rather than a separate dedicated one. If you follow a particular school or have a local scholar, follow their guidance.
If the person left a will
The Qurbani is carried out from their estate as part of executing the will. In the Hanafi view, none of that meat is eaten by the family — it is all given away.
Arranging it
You can carry out the sacrifice yourself or appoint someone to do it on your behalf (wakalah), which is well established in Islamic practice. Qurbani Easy records the intention — including the name of the deceased — and performs the Qurbani on the day of Eid ul Adha in India, with the meat distributed to families in need. For the method itself see our guide on how to perform Qurbani the Sunnah way; to arrange it online see how to buy Qurbani online in India.
Sources
- The Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools permit Qurbani on behalf of the deceased even without a bequest; the relied-upon Shafi’i view (per Imam an-Nawawi) requires a bequest, with a minority Shafi’i view (Abu al-Hasan al-‘Abbadi) permitting it as charity — IslamQA, “Ruling on Offering an Udhiyah on Behalf of a Deceased Person” (Shafi’i / Darul Iftaa Jordan); IslamQA (Hanafi and Hanbali sections).
- Hanafi detail — bequest Qurbani: all meat to the poor; voluntary Qurbani (no bequest): meat shared normally — IslamQA (Hanafi, “Qurbani for a Deceased Person”).
- The Prophet’s supplication naming “the family of Muhammad and the Ummah of Muhammad” — Sahih Muslim 1967, wording checked against sunnah.com. No other Hadith is quoted; the “whoever of my Ummah did not sacrifice” narration is not used, as it is graded weak.
Conclusion
Offering Qurbani for a loved one who has passed away is, for most Muslims, a permitted and rewarding act — done voluntarily from your own wealth, or from the estate if they left a bequest. If you follow the Shafi’i school, do it only where there was a bequest, or include them in the intention of your own Qurbani.