Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, p. 592
❖ Question:
What is the Islamic ruling regarding the sacrifice (qurbānī) of a buffalo (bhains)?
✿ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd!
✿ Qur’ānic Basis:
From the apparent wording of the Qur’an, it seems that animals suitable for sacrifice are camels, goats, sheep, and cows.
Allah Almighty says:
﴿لِّيَذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّـهِ عَلَىٰ مَا رَزَقَهُم مِّن بَهِيمَةِ الْأَنْعَامِ﴾
“…So that they may mention the Name of Allah over the livestock He has provided for them…”
(Surah al-Ḥajj: 34)
Although the buffalo seems, outwardly, to be a species distinct from the cow, linguistically it is considered a subcategory of cattle (baqar).
✿ Lexical Evidence:
In Al-Munjid (Arabic lexicon), it is stated:
الجاموس جمعه جواميس صنف من كِبار البقر يكون داجنًا منذ أصناف وحشية. (ص 100)
“Buffalo (jāmūs, plural jawāmīs) is a kind of large cow, which became domesticated after being a wild animal in ancient times.”
Hence, buffalo is considered a type of cow, not a distinct species.
✿ Scholarly Opinions:
① According to the Shāfiʿī and Ḥanafī Schools:
Both Shāfiʿī and Ḥanafī scholars hold that the sacrifice of a buffalo is valid, since it is included within the broad classification of cattle (baqar).
② Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله said:
وَجَمِيعِ أَنْوَاعِ الْبَقَرِ مِنْ الْجَوَامِيسِ وَالْعِرَابِ وَالدَّرْبَانِيَّةِ.
“All kinds of cattle are included in sacrificial animals — whether they are buffaloes, Arabian cows, or Persian cows.”
(Al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab, 8/308)
③ According to the Ḥanafī Scholars:
In Al-Hidāyah and other Ḥanafī sources, the permissibility of buffalo sacrifice is also mentioned.
It is stated that:
“Although the buffalo is not explicitly mentioned under the term ‘bahīmat al-anʿām’ in the Qur’an, it is a halāl domesticated animal and, by the consensus of linguists, a subtype of the cow.
Therefore, its sacrifice is valid and permissible.”
✿ Conclusion:
- The sacrifice of a buffalo is permissible (jāʾiz) in Islam.
- It is included under the general category of cattle (baqar).
- However, it should be noted that neither the Prophet ﷺ nor the Companions (ṣaḥābah) are reported to have offered a buffalo in sacrifice.
Hence, while permissible, it is not a Sunnah practice.
هٰذَا مَا عِندِي وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
This is what I hold to be correct, and Allah knows best what is right.
