The Qurbani Calculator splits the cost of a Qurbani animal across its valid shares: choose the animal, enter its price, set the number of participants, and it divides the price into equal shares, enforcing the classical share limits (one share for a sheep or goat, up to seven for a cow or camel) so a family or group can settle contributions before Eid al-Adha.
How It Works
Parameters
| Input | Required | Meaning | |---|---|---| | Animal | Yes | Sheep, goat, cow, or camel | | Price | Yes | Total price of the animal | | Shares | No | 1 for sheep and goats; 1 to 7 for cows and camels |
Worked examples
A cow priced at 300 per share**. A camel priced at 700 per share**. A sheep at 250, and the calculator will reject a request to split it further. Equal splitting is the calculator's model by design: where a group agrees unequal contributions (one member covering another's share as a gift, a common and accepted arrangement), settle the totals outside the tool and let the equal figure be the reference everyone negotiates from.
The share rules and where they come from
The one-share rule for small animals and the maximum of seven shares in a cow or camel come from the practice and statements of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): a sheep or goat suffices for one household's offering from one person, while a camel or cow was shared among seven companions. Two conditions ride along in the classical rules that a cost splitter cannot check but a group should agree before buying: every shareholder in a shared animal must intend Qurbani (if one of seven intends only meat, the majority of scholars hold the shared sacrifice is compromised for all, which is why shares are sold as Qurbani shares specifically), and each share counts as one person's Qurbani, so a participant needing to offer for themselves alone cannot take a fraction of a share. Schools differ on details (for example, whether a sheep can cover a whole household, as many scholars allow for one's family), and those differences are for your scholar, not this page.
Animal eligibility the price does not capture
The animal must meet the age and condition requirements: commonly cited minimum ages are one year for a goat, six months for a sheep that resembles a yearling, two years for a cow, and five years for a camel, and the animal should be free of obvious defects (blindness, evident sickness, a limp that prevents walking to the place of slaughter, emaciation). These rules are why Qurbani animals cost more than meat-market equivalents of the same weight, and why the cheapest animal a search returns may not be a valid one. The sacrifice window is also fixed: after the Eid prayer on 10 Dhul-Hijjah through the days of Tashreeq (most scholars include up to sunset on the 13th), and arrangements with farms, charities, and online Qurbani services should be confirmed against your school's position on the window and on performing the sacrifice by proxy.
Distribution, and planning the whole cost
The customary division of the meat is into thirds: a third for your household, a third for relatives and friends, and a third for the poor, a distribution many families follow while jurists note the proportions are recommended practice with latitude. Budget beyond the animal price: slaughter fees, butchery and packaging, cold storage, and transport are real costs that groups routinely forget to allocate (decide whether they ride on top of the share price or are borne by the organizer), and charitable Qurbani through agencies is priced per share with those logistics included, which makes agency prices and market prices non-comparable until the extras are added to the market side. Whether Qurbani is obligatory for a given person (the schools differ between wajib and sunnah mu'akkadah, tied to owning nisab) is likewise a question this calculator deliberately does not answer.
Limitations
An arithmetic planning aid enforcing share counts only. It does not determine obligation, validate an animal's age or condition, verify a charity, convert currencies, or issue rulings. Confirm eligibility, timing, and school-specific rules with a qualified scholar or trusted local authority.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can seven people share one cow if one person takes two shares?
Yes, in the sense the calculator models: shares are units, and one participant may fund two of the seven shares (intending the second for another person or as an additional offering, per the guidance they follow). What matters is that total shares do not exceed seven and every share carries a Qurbani intention.
Why can a sheep not be split between two people?
Because the classical share unit for small animals is one: a sheep or goat constitutes a single share by the texts the rules rest on. Two people wanting to participate together choose a cow or camel share each, or one offers the sheep and the arrangement between them is a gift, not a fractional share.
We are quoted different prices per share by a charity. Why?
Agency share prices bundle the animal, slaughter, processing, cold chain, and distribution in often another country, plus administration. Compare them against the fully-loaded local cost (animal plus slaughter and butchery), not the bare animal price this calculator splits.