Ask for your Qurbani label which shows Date & Time
Qurbani 2024 season is fast approaching. As well as the blessings that come from the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah it’s important that consumers are aware of how to ensure the validity of their Qurbani. HFIC takes this opportunity to remind consumers of the key Qurbani criteria, the biggest issue that invalidates UK Qurbani and what you can do to safeguard your act of ibadah.
Criteria
- Age: Animal must be healthy and of the right age & size (i.e. it must be postpubescent and six months of age or older). Underage animals are not allowed.
- Welfare: Animal must be handled compassionately throughout its life and zabiha
- TIMING: Qurbani zabiha must not take place BEFORE performing Eid salah (mandatory for the slaughterer). Animals slaughtered before Eid salah are NORMAL HALAL MEAT and NOT Qurbani. This is the biggest issue that invalidates UK Qurbani.
- Charity: Any sales proceeds from the Qurbani (such as skin & offal) must be donated to charity. In addition it is a sunnah to gift a portion of Qurbani meat to charity (such as UK Halal food banks) but the cold chain must always be maintained for food safety purposes.
See our Qurbani resources here: https://hfic.org.uk/resources/#resources_tax-qurbani
The Problem
Due to the growth of the UK Muslim community, there is huge demand in urban areas to receive Qurbani meat as soon as possible after Eid salah. Many consumers want to receive their Qurbani meat on the first day of Eid to follow in the footsteps of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). Some even request the meat before midday so they can partake in their family feast. However, since Qurbani cannot be performed before Eid salah at the slaughterhouse location, which is predominately in the rural countryside, this huge demand leads to many traders supplying normal halal meat as Qurbani meat. This supply of meat is NOT a valid Qurbani and selling it as Qurbani is fraud.
According to the 2024 calendar, the sunrise time in England on the 1st possible day of Eid (10th Dhul Hijjah 1443) is 4.27am in the north (up to Newcastle) and 5.06am in the south (upto Cornwall). To allow sufficient time for Eid salah, and the slaughterers’ arrival at the zabiha station, will take at least 45 minutes from the sunrise. Therefore, no Qurbani zabiha can be performed:
⌧ before 5.15 am in slaughterhouses located in the north
⌧ before 5.30am in slaughterhouses located in the midlands
⌧ before 5.50 am in slaughterhouses located in the south
Given the time it takes to slaughter the animal, route it to the correct delivery truck and then deliver to the butcher shops, and then for the butcher to cut the carcass to consumer’s requirement, no collection or delivery of Qurbani meat is logistically possible until much later in the day. However, many butchers still sell normal halal meat slaughtered and even delivered to them BEFORE Eid salah as Qurbani meat, because they say the customers want it. This must STOP!
What you can do
Slaughterhouses are required to have Food Standards Agency (FSA) inspectors onsite at all times during production and must adhere to labelling regulation. Those that supply Qurbani quickly on the first day of Qurbani, under procedures agreed with the FSA (see further reading below), are required to attach a Qurbani label (see example below) to the carcass with the following details:
- Date & Time of the Qurbani
- A unique four digit code of the slaughterhouse performing Zabiha (for example, GB 1234)
When you place your order, ask your butcher to keep your Qurbani label from the carcass (otherwise they will throw it away)
Example of the Qurbani Label
The Qurbani label will have Date & Time on it, along with the four-digit code GB 1234 of the slaughterhouse that performed it.
Check your Qurbani was performed at least 45 minutes after sunrise at the slaughterhouse’s location.
Contact us at hello@hfic.org.uk if you have any queries or concerns.
Further Reading
- For more information about Qurbani, please visit Resources page of our website.
- AHDB Handling and cooking your Qurbani safely (unrefrigerated carcasses): See Qurbani Consumer Leaflet
- Abattoir Qurbani Operating procedure (agreed by meat industry representatives in partnership with the Food Standards Agency): See EID01 QOP Qurbani operating procedure
- AHDB Qurbani video featuring Mufti Amjad (an example of the Qurbani label is at 1:46 and the 4-digit slaughterhouse number, stamped on the carcass, is at 1:36): Watch www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD0mpt_PqK8.
- AHDB Understanding the Qurbani market booklet: See Qurbani booklet