Last updated: 14 October 2026 | Written for Eid ul Adha 2027
Qurbani Easy Editorial Team • Advised by our panel of Islamic scholars
Quick Answer: The butcher’s wage should be paid in money from your own pocket, not with a part of the Qurbani animal. This follows a clear hadith (Sahih Muslim 1317a, Sahih al-Bukhari 1717), and the Hanafi and Shafi’i answers we opened apply it to meat, skin and other parts. A voluntary gift is treated differently from a wage; your scholar can apply this to your case.
In many towns the butcher or the slaughterhouse owner expects the skin or some meat as part of the deal. The question is old, and the sources are direct. This guide gives the hadith, then the two fatwa answers, and keeps wages and gifts apart.
The hadith
Ali reported: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) put me in charge of his sacrificial animals, that I should give their flesh, skins and saddle cloths as sadaqa, but not to give anything to the butcher, saying: We would pay him ourselves.
Sahih Muslim 1317a
The report in Sahih al-Bukhari 1717 has the same instruction: nothing of the animal is to be given to the butcher as wages for slaughtering.
Wage, gift and sale: how the sources separate them
| Case | Hanafi (Daruliftaa.com) | Shafi’i (Darul Iftaa Jordan) |
|---|---|---|
| Part of the animal as wages | Not allowed; in essence it is a sale. If it was given to compensate him, the price of the skin must be paid in charity. | Not allowed as a price for slaughtering and skinning. |
| Voluntary gift to the butcher | Allowed if purely voluntary and it does not affect the price. | Allowed as sadaqa, if it is not given as a price. |
| The butcher selling a gifted skin | Allowed after it was gifted as charity; the receiver may use the money. | Not addressed in the answer we opened. |
A simple way to keep them apart
- Agree the wage in rupees before the day, and pay it in money.
- If you wish to give the butcher meat as charity, give it after the wage is settled, as you would to any person in need.
- Do not tell him the skin is “his share for the work”.
For what happens if the skin or meat is sold, see selling Qurbani meat or skin. For the three-part practice for dividing the meat, see dividing Qurbani meat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I pay the butcher in money?
Yes. In Muslim 1317a Ali reports the Prophet (ﷺ) saying “We would pay him ourselves”, that is, the wage came from the owner’s own money, not from the animal.
Can I give the butcher some meat?
Both fatwa answers we opened separate a gift from a wage. A voluntary gift or charity is not the issue; giving a part as a price or as part of the pay is not allowed. Keep the two clearly apart, and ask your scholar about your case.
Can the butcher keep the skin?
The Hanafi answer allows leaving the skin with the butcher or slaughterhouse only as a purely voluntary gift that does not affect the price in any way. The Shafi’i answer allows giving a part as charity to the butcher, if it is not the price for slaughtering and skinning.
What if the butcher asks for the skin as part of the deal?
Then it is part of the payment, which these sources do not allow. Pay him in money and give the skin separately, or agree a clear wage.
Does this apply to Aqeeqah?
The Darul Iftaa Jordan answer on Aqeeqah applies the same rule: nothing from it may be given to the butcher as a wage.
Related guides: selling Qurbani meat or skin; dividing Qurbani meat.
If you would rather not arrange a slaughterer yourself, you can book Qurbani online on our website.
Citation Sources
• Sahih Muslim 1317a (Ali) — nothing to the butcher; “We would pay him ourselves”; checked on sunnah.com.
• Sahih al-Bukhari 1717 (Ali) — the same, in the chapter on the Hadi; checked on sunnah.com.
• Daruliftaa.com (Hanafi) — islamqa.org — no part as wages; a voluntary gift is separate.
• Darul Iftaa Jordan (Shafi’i) — islamqa.org — no part as a price for slaughtering; a gift as sadaqa is allowed.
• Darul Iftaa Jordan (Shafi’i) — islamqa.org — the same for the Aqeeqah.
Madhab note: Hanafi and Shafi’i answers are shown side by side. We did not open a separate Maliki or Hanbali answer; the Darul Iftaa Jordan answer quotes texts from those schools for the same rule.