Scholars’ Statements on the Permissibility of Buffalo Sacrifice
Along with the cow, the buffalo is included in its species, and a large group of scholars and jurists of the Ummah have explicitly stated the permissibility of sacrificing a buffalo. For example, some statements are as follows:
(1) Allama Marghinani says:
ويدخل فى البقر الخاموس لأنه من جنسه
The buffalo is included in the cow because it belongs to its species.
(2) Allama Ahmad bin Muhammad Halabi says:
الجاموس يجوز فى الصحايا والهدايا استحسانا ثم الإبل أفضل من البقر ثم الغنم أفضل من المعز
Sacrifice and Hadiyah of buffalo is not disliked; then the camel is superior to the cow, and then the bull is superior to the goat.
(3) Allama Ibn al-Najim Hanafi says:
(والجاموس) معرب كواميش (كالبقر) فى الزكاة والأضحية والربا لأن اسم البقر يتناولها
Gawmesh, the Arabicized form of Jamus (buffalo), is like the cow in Zakat, sacrifice, and usury because it is included under the name of cow.
(4) Allama Kamaluddin Ibn Al-Humam says:
والتني منها ومن المعز سنة ، ومن البقر ابن سنتين ، ومن الإبل ابن خمس سنين ، ويدخل فى البقر الجاموس لأنه من جنسه
Its age is one year for a female goat and a goat, two years for a cow, five years for a camel, and buffalo is included in the cow category because it is of the same species.
(5) Allama Abu Bakr Zubaidi Yamani says:
والجواميس والبقر سواء يعني فى الزكاة والأضحية واعتبار الربا
Buffaloes and cows are the same, meaning in terms of zakat, sacrifice, and usury.
(6) Hafiz Al-Andalus Allama Ibn Al-Barr Qurtubi says:
جمله مذهب مالك فى هذا الباب أن الأزواج الثمانية وهى الإبل والبقر والضان والمعر وكذلك الجواميس
The summary of Imam Malik’s school of thought in this chapter is that the eight pairs are camel, cow, bull, and goat, and similarly buffaloes.
(7) Allama Abu al-Waleed Suleiman bin Khalaf Baji Andalusi says:
أن أنواع الإبل كلها تخرى فى الهدايا البحت ، والنحب والعراب وسائر أنواع الإبل وكذلك سائر أنواع البقر من الجواميس والبقر وكذلك سائر أنواع الغنم من الضأن والماعر وإنما تختلف فى الأسنان والله أعلم
All types of camels are sufficient for sacrifice: Bakhti, Najaib, Arabs, and other types. Similarly, all types of cows, buffaloes, and ordinary cows are sufficient. Likewise, all types of goats; whether a wether or a horned goat, they differ only in age. And Allah knows best.
(8) Allama Muhammad Arabi Qarwi writes:
Q: من أى الأصناف تخرج الأضحية
A: تخرج الأضحية من الغنم ضأن أو معز؛ ومن البقر ومن الإبل ويشمل البقر الجواميس وتشمل الإبل البحت
Question: Which types of livestock are valid for sacrifice?
Answer: Sacrifice can be made from a goat, whether a wether or a horned goat; similarly from a cow and a camel, including buffalo in cows and Bakhti in camels.
(9) Imam Ibn Abi Hatim, may Allah have mercy on him, narrated from Laith bin Abi Sulaym that he said:
الجاموس والبختي من الأزواج الثمانية
The buffalo and Bakhti (Khorasani camel) are among the eight types of male and female animals.
(10) Muhammad Ahmad Hashmi, may Allah have mercy on him, states:
الجواميس فى الأضاحي كالبقر
Buffaloes are like cows in sacrifice.
(11) Imam Ahmad and Imam Ishaq bin Rahwayh, may Allah have mercy on them, also agreed on the sacrifice of buffalo and the permissibility of seven people sharing it:
Imam Ishaq bin Mansur Al-Kaw Saj says:
الجواميس تجزئ عن سبعة ؟ قال : لا أعرف خلاف هذا
Question: Can seven people share in the sacrifice of a buffalo?
Answer: (Imam Ahmad said) I do not know anything against it.
Similarly, he says:
قال سفيان . . . والجواميس تجزئ عن سبعة ؟ قال أحمد كما قال قال إسحاق : كما قال
Sufyan al-Thawri says: Are buffaloes sufficient for seven people? (Is this correct?) Imam Ahmad said what they said is correct. And Imam Ishaq said what they said is exactly right.
(12) Allama Musa Tajawi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
الجواميس فيهما كالبقر
The ruling for buffaloes in both Udhiya (sacrifice) and Qurbani (ritual sacrifice) is the same as for cows.
(13) And in its explanation, Allama Bahuti, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
والجواميس فيهما) أى : فى الهدي والأضحية (كالبقر) فى الإجزاءوالسن ، وإجزاء الواحدة عن سبعة؛ لأنهانوع منها
That is, in terms of sufficiency for both Hadi and Qurbani, the participation of seven people in one animal, etc., buffaloes are like cows because they are a type of cow.
(13) Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Salman, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
الجواميس فى الهدي والأضحية كالبقرة فى الإجزاء والسن وإجزاء الواحدة عن سبعة لأنها نوع منها
In terms of guidance and sacrifice, sufficiency, age, and the participation of seven people in one, etc., they are like cows, because they are a type of cows.
(15) Allama Ahmad bin Abdul Rahman Al-Sa’ati says:
نقل جماعة من العلماء الإجماع على التضحية لا تصح إلا ببهيمة الأنعام ، الإبل بجمیع أنواعہا والبقر ومثلہ الجاموس
A group of scholars has transmitted consensus on the fact that sacrifice is only valid for the category of animals known as “An’am” (cattle), which includes camels of all kinds, cows, and buffaloes similar to cows.
(16) Ustadh Dr. Wahbah Al-Zuhayli says:
نوع الحيوان المضحى به : اتفق العلماء على أن الأضحية لا تصح إلا من نعم إبل و بقر (ومنها الجاموس) وغنم (ومنها المعز) بسائر أنواعها
Scholars agree that the type of sacrificial animal must be from the category of An’am for the sacrifice to be valid: that is, camels and cows, and buffaloes are also included in this category, as well as goats with horns and all their kinds.
