Is it permissible for our company to purchase sacrificial animals on behalf of employees working in the public sector and pensioners who wish to offer the sacrifice? We will be acting as intermediaries, facilitating installment payments between purchasers and specialized breeding and selling companies. The process would involve receiving the cash amount payable to the sellers via banks and paying it in cash to their outlets. The customers would then repay the bank in installments. Would this arrangement have any impact on the validity of the sacrifice?  Is a cow equivalent to seven sheep?

If the case is as mentioned in the question, the arrangement is permissible because an installment-based sale is permissible in Islamic law. Moreover, the financing party, the bank, will receive the funds with an increment, which is also permissible, since a commodity is free from usury when it comes between two transactions. Such an arrangement does not negatively impact the validity of the sacrifice or its reward.

A cow, buffalo, or camel suffices in place of seven sheep for the purpose of sacrifice in ‘Eid, ‘aqiqa[1], and hady[2], though this does not apply cases of invalidating Hajj through sexual intercourse, for which a camel is due.

 

And Allah Almighty knows best.