Can one offer a sacrifice (qurbani) on behalf of a deceased person?

An Indonesian Ahmadi asked Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih V^aa whether it was possible to sacrifice an animal on behalf of the deceased on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. Huzoor-e-Anwar^aa, in his letter dated 8 June 2021, provided the following reply to this question:

“There is nothing wrong with offering sacrifices on behalf of the deceased, rather it is a sunnah of the Holy Prophet^sa. Hence, it is mentioned in the ahadith that on the occasion of Eid al-Adha the Holy Prophet^sa used to offer one sacrifice on behalf of himself and his family and one sacrifice on behalf of his ummah. And in the ummah of the Holy Prophet^sa, there were also many companions who had been martyred during his blessed life. They were also included in that sacrifice offered by him [i.e. the sacrifice was also on their behalf]. (Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-adahi & Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, musnad al-ansar min musnad al-qabaail, hadith abi rafi‘, hadith no. 25937)

“Apart from this, there is also a tradition recorded among the ahadith according to which a person saw Hazrat Ali^ra sacrificing two animals and asked the reason for it. Hazrat Ali^ra responded, ‘The Holy Prophet^sa instructed me that I should also sacrifice on his behalf [after his demise]. Therefore, I sacrifice one animal on his behalf too.’ (Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab ad-dahaya, babu l-udhiyyati ‘ani l-mayyit)

“Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud^ra, while describing the special place and status that Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I^ra held in his heart and the love he had for him, once said: 

“‘Forty-two years have passed since the demise of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I^ra. However, I still sacrifice [an animal] on his behalf whenever it is the occasion to offer qurbani […]  Later, when I went on Hajj, I offered qurbani on his behalf on that occasion too and I have continued to offer qurbani on his behalf on the occasion of every Eid till today.’ (Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 25, p. 468)

“Thus, it is a sunnah of Allah’s Messenger^sa to offer a sacrifice on the occasion of Eid al-Adha on behalf of the deceased relatives and loved ones.”