Question
Please provide a masnun du’a to recite before slaughtering a Qurbani animal.
Answer
Sayyiduna Jabir (radiyallahu ‘anhu) reports that when Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) faced the animal he was slaughtering towards the qiblah, he recited the following du’a and then slaughtered the animal:
إِنِّي وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِيَ لِلَّذِي فَطَرَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ عَلَى مِلَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ إِنَّ صَلاَتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَاىَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَبِذَلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ اللَّهُمَّ مِنْكَ وَلَكَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدٍ وَأُمَّتِهِ بِاسْمِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ
‘Inni Wajjahtu Wajhiya lilladhi fataras samawati wal arda, ‘ala millati Ibrahima hanifaw wa ma ana minal mushrikin. Inna Salati wa nusuki wa mahyaya wa mamati lillahi Rabbil ‘Alamin. La sharika lahu wa bidhalika umirtu wa ana minal Muslimin. Allahumma minka wa laka ‘an Muhammadiw wa ummatih, Bismillahi wallahu akbar’
Translation: Verily, I have turned my face [devotion and worship] to Him Who has created the heavens and the earth, upon the creed of Ibrahim the upright [inclining to the truth] and I am not from the polytheists. My Salah, my rites of sacrifice, my life and death are all for Allah, the Rabb of the worlds. He has no partner, with this have I been commanded and I am among the Muslims. O Allah, from You and to You, from Muhammad and his Ummah. In the name of Allah, and Allah is Most Great
(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith: 2788, Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith: 3121, Musnad Ahmad, vol. 3 pg. 375. Declared authentic by Imam Ibn Khuzaymah, Hadith: 2899 and Imam Hakim, vol. 1 pg. 467. Hafiz Dhahabi concurs. Also see Al Ajwibatul Mardiyyah, vol. 2 pgs. 803-805 and Hashiyatus Sindhi ‘Ala Musnadil Imam Ahmad)
Note
1) The du’a has been reported with variation in the wordings. I have cited the version recorded in Sunan Abi Dawud.
2) The text in bold, translates as ‘From Muhammad and his Ummah’. A person may use his own name instead and omit the words ‘wa ummatih.’
And Allah Ta’ala Knows best.
Answered by: Moulana Suhail Motala
Approved by: Moulana Muhammad Abasoomar
Checked by: Moulana Haroon Abasoomar