Can a husband do qurbani for his wife, or a child for his parents?

Explanation

In the Hanafi school the duty of qurbani is personal. A wife whose gold, savings or other surplus property reaches the nisab owes her own, and so does a father or mother with their own wealth (see per person or per household). Someone else may fulfil it for them, as the Prophet ﷺ did for his wives, but a wajib act of worship needs the owner's intention, which comes through their permission.

• Wife: ask her, even briefly: "Shall I do your qurbani for you this year?" Her yes is enough. If she owns the nisab and nobody does it for her, it stays on her.
• Living parents who owe it: the same. Tell them and get their agreement, then buy the animal or share in their name.
• Parents who do not owe it: you may give a voluntary qurbani on their behalf as a gift of reward. No permission is needed for that.
• Grown children: a daughter or son with their own nisab owes their own. Young children do not owe it in the relied-upon Hanafi view, though a parent may do a voluntary one for them.
• Whose money: it does not matter. Your money spent on her qurbani with her consent counts as her qurbani.

Some Hanafi scholars accept a settled family custom, where everyone knows the husband always does the wife's qurbani, as permission in itself. Asking each year removes any doubt. Count each person who owes it separately with our share calculator. For a parent who has died, see qurbani for the deceased.

The evidence

Where the ruling is recorded

• al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Udhiyah, chapter on who it is wajib on. Sacrificing for a wife or adult child counts only with their permission.
• Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Udhiyah. Qurbani is a personal duty on each person with the nisab.
• al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Udhiyah. One sheep suffices for a man and his household in the Hanbali school.
• Mukhtasar Khalil with al-Sharh al-Kabir, Bab al-Dahaya. Including household members who live with him and whom he supports in the reward.

Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.