MUI States President's Use of State Budget for Sacrificial Animals Permissible Under Islamic Law

The Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) has stated that President Prabowo Subianto’s use of state budget funds to purchase sacrificial animals is permissible under Islamic law.

“In the current national context, the state budget functions as a modern Baitul Mal, meaning the government’s sacrificial offerings are solely for the welfare of the broader community. There is no issue under Islamic law,” said MUI’s Fatwa Commission Chairman KH Asrorun Niam Sholeh in a statement on Wednesday (27 May).

He explained that this procurement model has strong fiqh foundations in Islamic history. Citing a Hadith from Imam Bukhari, Niam noted that leaders or imams are encouraged to purchase sacrificial animals through Baitul Mal or state funds. In modern governance, he argued, the state budget serves as a public treasury managed for societal benefit.

Additionally, he said the mechanism is bureaucratically logical, similar to other government social assistance programs. “Just like the presidential social assistance budget allocated for staple food distribution, the logic is the same—these sacrificial animals are not consumed personally by the President but directly distributed to regions,” he added.

This year’s Eid al-Adha (1447 AH) saw Prabowo distributing 1,098 cattle. Deputy Minister of the State Secretariat Juri Ardiantoro confirmed the funding came from the state budget via a presidential social assistance budget worth approximately Rp100 billion. All cattle were sourced from local farmers, featuring premium breeds weighing between 800 kilograms and 1.3 tonnes. The breeds included Simmental, Limousin, Peranakan Ongole, Brahman, Angus, Bali cattle, FH, Belgian Blue, and Charolais.

Prices were adjusted based on weight and regional factors. “The budget source is the state budget through the presidential social assistance program. Cattle prices vary due to differing weights and regional costs, so we adjust prices per location. Total expenditure is around Rp100 billion,” Ardiantoro stated during a press conference at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Tuesday (26 May).