Qurbani Eid Al Adha 2026: UAE Guide to Meaning, Dua, Prices, Last Day to Cut Hair

Qurbani Eid Al Adha 2026 in the UAE is the ritual animal sacrifice that Muslims across the country will perform on the morning of Eid. Eid Al Adha 2026 falls on Wednesday, 27 May 2026, confirmed by the UAE Council for Fatwa on 17 May 2026 following the official Dhul Hijjah moon sighting.

This guide walks through what Qurbani means, when the sacrifice window opens, the last day to cut your hair, the Qurbani dua, the four IACAD-approved 2026 prices, the three ways UAE residents can fulfil the obligation, and which animals qualify.

Qurbani Eid Al Adha 2026

Here is the at-a-glance view that anchors the rest of this guide — the dates, the window and the starting price.

What is Qurbani? — The Meaning Behind The Act

Qurbani — also called Udhiya in Arabic — is the ritual sacrifice of a sheep, goat, cow or camel that Muslims perform during the days of Eid Al Adha. Crucially, it is the direct re-enactment of one of the most pivotal moments in Islamic faith: the test in which Prophet Ibrahim was commanded to sacrifice his beloved son Ismail.

The act, then, is not about the meat or the blood. Rather, it is the believer’s annual reminder that everything they hold dear is held on trust from Allah, to be surrendered the moment He commands it.

That three-way split is what makes Qurbani an act of worship and an act of social cohesion in one sweep. In effect, the same animal feeds the household, strengthens the social circle, and lifts up someone who could not otherwise afford meat that week.

When is Eid Al Adha 2026 and when does the Qurbani window open?

Eid Al Adha 2026 falls on Wednesday, 27 May. The UAE Council for Fatwa confirmed the date on 17 May 2026 following the official Dhul Hijjah crescent sighting, aligning with the projections from the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy and the Emirates Astronomical Society.

The Qurbani window itself opens immediately after the Eid prayer on the morning of 10 Dhul Hijjah — the 10th day of the final month of the Islamic Hijri calendar. Then, it remains open until just before Maghrib on 13 Dhul Hijjah, covering Eid day plus the three Days of Tashreeq.

What is Tashreeq? The three days following Eid Al Adha — 11, 12 and 13 Dhul Hijjah — are known collectively as the Days of Tashreeq, during which Qurbani remains valid and the Eid Takbir continues to be recited.

A sacrifice performed before the Eid prayer or after Maghrib on the third day of Tashreeq is not counted as a valid Qurbani. Instead, it is treated as Sadaqah — voluntary charity — and does not fulfil the obligation.

Last day to cut hair for Qurbani 2026

There is a last date because the Sunnah — the practice of the Prophet ﷺ — is for anyone who intends to offer Qurbani to refrain from removing hair, nails or skin once the new moon of Dhul Hijjah is sighted. Symbolically, this aligns the donor with the pilgrims in Makkah, who themselves are forbidden from cutting hair while in Ihram (the sacred state of pilgrimage) until the moment of sacrifice.

Specifically, the Sunnah covers anything you might routinely groom or remove. Below is the practical list:

• Hair on the head — haircuts and trims at the salon
• Nails — manicures, pedicures, nail clippers at home
• Beard — trimming, shaping or shaving
• Body hair — waxing, threading, laser sessions
• Skin — peeling or exfoliating treatments that remove skin layers

The math is simple: the Sunnah begins from 1 Dhul Hijjah, which falls 10 days before Eid. With Eid confirmed on Wednesday, 27 May 2026, 1 Dhul Hijjah began on the evening of Sunday, 17 May — making that evening, before Maghrib, the last opportunity to cut hair, nails or skin. If you have not already, the 10-day Sunnah window is already underway.

It depends on which madhhab — school of Islamic jurisprudence — the donor follows. The Hanbali school treats it as haram (religiously forbidden), while the Hanafi, Shafi and Maliki schools treat it as makruh (disliked but not sinful).

Qurbani Dua: What to recite at the moment of sacrifice

Two recitations should be on the lips of the person performing the slaughter. The first is mandatory; the second is the recommended Sunnah.

This phrase is the legal minimum required for the meat of the sacrifice to be considered halal — deliberately omitting it makes the slaughter impermissible. The Quran itself states: “And do not eat of that upon which the Name of Allah has not been mentioned” (Surah Al-An’am 6:121, the sixth chapter of the Qur’an).

If the Qurbani is on behalf of someone else, or shared between several donors (as in a cow split between up to seven people), the donor adds at the end: “Allāhumma taqabbal min [name] wa ahli baytihi” — “O Allah, accept it from [name] and his household.”

Once the animal has been slaughtered, the donor begins with Alhamdulillah (“all praise is due to Allah”) and may follow with the dua of acceptance. The dua is: “Allāhumma taqabbalhu minnī kamā taqabbalta min ḥabībika Muḥammadin wa khalīlika Ibrāhīma” — “O Allah, accept this from me as You accepted it from Your beloved Muhammad and Your friend Ibrahim.”

3 Ways To Do Qurbani in UAE: Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Other Emirates

Across all seven emirates, the practical framework for performing Qurbani is the same: donate it through a charity, slaughter it personally at a municipal abattoir, or order it through a commercial home-delivery service. However, each emirate has its own regulating authority and its own approved providers, so the names you encounter will differ depending on where you live.

For donors who want their entire Qurbani delivered to those most in need, the charity route is the simplest path. The charity sources the animal, slaughters it according to Sharia, and distributes the entire carcass to families in the UAE or in a country the donor selects, such as Yemen, Sudan or Somalia.

For donors who want to keep the meat themselves, every emirate runs municipal abattoirs that operate during the Eid window. Notably, slaughtering animals at home or on a farm is not permitted anywhere in the UAE — the abattoir route is the only legally compliant way to handle a personal Qurbani.

Booking is done through approved smart apps so you do not need to physically visit. The most widely used apps in Dubai are listed below:

• Al Mawashi — operated by the National Food Products Company
• Turki — Sharia-compliant livestock app, popular UAE-wide
• Shabab Al Freej — community-led app with English support
• Dhabayih Aldaar, Al Anoud Slaughters, Dhabayeh UAE, Tender Meat — additional Dubai Municipality-approved options

Commercial Qurbani providers are the convenience-first option. Specifically, three providers dominate the UAE market in 2026:

Dubai has approved unified prices of Qurbani for Eid Al Adha 2026

Ahead of every Eid Al Adha, the IACAD — Dubai’s Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department — sets a single price list that all approved Dubai charities must follow. Consequently, donors pay exactly the same per share regardless of which charity they book through, and there is no haggling or shopping around.

The cheapest tier keeps the entire chain inside the destination country. For example, the charity buys a local sheep in Yemen or Sudan, slaughters it there and distributes the meat there — no transport cost, no logistics, lowest price.

The middle tier sources the sheep abroad but air-freights the frozen meat back to the UAE. From there, it is distributed to charities, low-income families and labour camps inside the country.

The premium tier imports live livestock to be slaughtered inside the UAE itself. Naturally, live transport is the costliest logistics chain of the four, which is why this price carries the largest premium.

How to book Qurbani online in 4 steps

Approved charities for Qurbani Eid Al Adha 2026 in the UAE

Every charity below operates under direct IACAD oversight in Dubai, or an emirate-level equivalent in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates. While they all apply the same Dubai-set IACAD pricing, they differ in which countries they distribute to and how easy they make the booking process.

Which animals are eligible for Qurbani for Eid Al Adha 2026 in UAE?

Each species has a minimum age set by Sharia, and a baseline of physical health that disqualifies any animal with serious defects. Notably, only sheep, goat, cow, buffalo and camel qualify — no other species, regardless of size or value, is acceptable.

Beyond age, the animal must be free from defects that would compromise the meat. The list of disqualifying conditions is short but strict:

• Blindness in one or both eyes
• Severe lameness that prevents the animal from walking to slaughter
• Missing limbs, missing horn (more than half) or a severed tail
• Severe illness visible to the eye, or open wounds
• Extreme thinness with no marrow in the bones

Distribution Rules

The defining rule of Qurbani is the three-thirds split — the same animal must feed three different categories of people. In practice, exactly how that split happens depends on the route the donor chose.

The charity gives the entire carcass to the needy in the destination country, and the donor’s “family” and “friends” thirds are treated as a donation in kind. Importantly, all four schools of jurisprudence accept this as a valid fulfilment of the obligation provided the donor sets the intention at the time of payment.

The donor receives the full carcass and is responsible for splitting it into the three thirds personally. Typically, the family share goes home, the friends share is delivered to neighbours and relatives, and the poor share is distributed via labour camps, mosques, or a charity that handles cooked or raw distribution on the donor’s behalf.

Are there online Qurbani sites for Eid Al Adha 2026?

Yes — in fact, almost the entire Qurbani process in the UAE is now done online. The platforms fall into three clear categories, each matching one of the three routes above:

All of them let you book end-to-end without visiting an abattoir physically. As such, you can complete a full Qurbani in roughly five minutes from your phone — payment, animal selection, delivery preference, certificate.

Frequently asked questions

What is Qurbani in Eid Al Adha 2026?

Qurbani — also called Udhiya — is the ritual sacrifice of a sheep, goat, cow or camel that Muslims perform during the days of Eid Al Adha. The act commemorates Prophet Ibrahim’s submission to Allah, and the meat is divided into three equal parts for the donor’s family, friends and the poor.

When is Qurbani Eid Al Adha 2026 in the UAE?

Eid Al Adha 2026 falls on Wednesday, 27 May, confirmed by the UAE Council for Fatwa on 17 May 2026 following the official Dhul Hijjah moon sighting. The Qurbani window runs until Maghrib of Saturday, 30 May (the third Day of Tashreeq).

What is the last day to cut hair for Qurbani 2026?

The last day to cut hair, nails or shave for someone intending to perform Qurbani Eid Al Adha 2026 was Sunday, 17 May 2026 — before Maghrib, when the new moon of Dhul Hijjah was sighted. The Sunnah is to refrain until the sacrifice is performed on Wed, 27 May, and the ruling applies only to the person offering the Qurbani.

What is the Qurbani dua?

The mandatory minimum is “Bismīllāhi, wallāhu akbar” — “In the name of Allah, and Allah is the Greatest” — said at the moment the cut is made. The full Sunnah dua, recited just before, is the verses of submission from Surah Al-An’am 6:79 and 162-163, ending with “Allāhumma minka wa laka.”

What is the Qurbani price in UAE 2026?

For the charity route, IACAD-approved Dubai 2026 prices are AED 350 (local-abroad), AED 490 (Kenyan or Ethiopian, distributed in UAE) and AED 800 (Somali, slaughtered and distributed in UAE). For the commercial route, prices start at around AED 1,200 for a sheep and rise above AED 6,500 for a full cow.

Where can I do Qurbani in Dubai or other emirates?

UAE residents can choose between three routes: an approved charity (Beit Al Khair, Dar Al Ber, ERC, Sharjah Charity, Khalifa Bin Zayed Foundation); a municipal abattoir (Dubai’s Al Quoz, Al Qusais, Lisaili and Hatta; Abu Dhabi’s Mussafah; Al Ain’s 11 facilities) booked via apps; or a commercial home-delivery service (Meat One, Careem Udhiya, MeatnMore). Notably, slaughtering at home or on a farm is not permitted anywhere in the UAE.

Can one Qurbani be shared between multiple donors?

Yes for cattle and camels: a cow or camel can be shared between up to seven donors, with each contributing one share. However, a sheep or goat counts as one whole animal per donor and cannot be split.

Is Qurbani obligatory in Islam?

The Hanafi school rules Qurbani as wajib (obligatory) on every adult Muslim of means. In contrast, the Shafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools rule it as Sunnah Muakkadah (strongly recommended), and donors typically follow the school of their family or community.

Sources: UAE Council for Fatwa moon sighting confirmation 17 May 2026; Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department (IACAD) Dubai 2026 Qurbani price approval; Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology; Emirates Astronomical Society; Sahih Muslim, Hadith of Umm Salamah (RA). Last reviewed: 18 May 2026.