The tenth of Dhul-Hijjah is `Eid ul- Ad-ha or the day of an-Nahr (slaughtering). It marks the conclusion of the major rites of Hajj, and commemorates Allah�s bounty on His Messenger Ibraheem, when He gave him a ram to sacrifice as ransom for his son Ismaa`eel, (peace be upon them both).
"The day of al-Fitr [i.e. `Eid ul-Fitr], the day of an-Nahr, and the days of Tashreeq are `Eid days for us Muslims. They are days of eating and drinking." [Ahmad, an-Nasaa�ee, Saheeh ul-Jaami` #8192]
On these days, the pilgrims complete their rites, Muslims continue with their `Eid celebrations, and are prohibited to fast. "The days of tashreeq are days of eating, drinking and mentioning Allah." [Muslim]
The word Udhiyah means an animal of the �An�aam class (i.e., camel, cow, sheep or goat) that is slaughtered during the days of Eid al-Adha because of the Eid and as an act of worship, intending to draw closer to Allah thereby.
This is one of the rituals of Islam prescribed in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and according to the consensus of the Muslims.
In the Quran:
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
�Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only)�
[Noble Quran 108:2]
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
�Say (O Muhammad): Verily, my Salah (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the �Aalamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists). He has no partner. And of this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims�
[Noble Quran 6:162]
The word Nusuk means sacrifice; this is the view of Sa�eed ibn Jubayr. And it was said that it means all acts of worship, including sacrifice, which is more comprehensive.
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
�And for every nation We have appointed religious ceremonies, that they may mention the Name of Allah over the beast of cattle that He has given them for food. And your Ilah (God) is One Ilah (God Allah), so you must submit to Him Alone (in Islam). And (O Muhammad) give glad tidings to the Mukhbitun [those who obey Allah with humility and are humble from among the true believers of Islamic Monotheism]�
[Noble Quran 22:34]
In the Sunnah:
It was narrated in
[Sahih al-Bukhari (5558) and Sahih Muslim (1966)]
that Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: �The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sacrificed two white rams speckled with black. He slaughtered them with his own hand, said �Allahu akbar� and put his foot on their necks.�
It was narrated that �Abd-Allah ibn �Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)
said: �The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stayed in Madinah
for ten years, offering sacrifice (every year on Eid).�
[Narrated by Ahmad, 4935; al-Tirmithi, 1507; classed as hasan by al-Albani in Mishkat al-Masabih, 1475]
.
It was narrated from �Uqbah ibn �Aamir (may Allah be pleased with him) that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) shared out sacrificial
animals amongst his companions, and �Uqbah got a sheep that was six months
old. He said, �O Messenger of Allah, I got a sheep that is six months old.�
He said, �Offer it as a sacrifice.�
[Narrated by al-Bukhari, 5547]
.
It was narrated from al-Bara� ibn �Aazib (may Allah be pleased with him) that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: �Whoever offers
a sacrifice after the prayer has completed his rituals (of Eid) and has followed
the way of the Muslims.�
[Narrated by al-Bukhari, 5545]
.The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) offered sacrifices, as did his companions (may Allah be pleased with them). And he said that sacrifice is the way of the Muslims.
Hence the Muslims are unanimously agreed that it is prescribed in Islam, as was narrated by more than one of the scholars.
But they differed as to whether it is Sunnah mu�akkadah (a confirmed Sunnah) or it is obligatory and it is not permissible to omit it.
The majority of scholars are of the view that it is Sunnah mu�akkadah. This is the view of al-Shafa�i, Malik and Ahmad according to his most well-known view.
Others were of the view that it is obligatory. This is the view of Abu Hanifah and one of the views narrated from Ahmad. This was also the view favored by Ibn Taymiyah who said: �This is one of the views narrated in the madhhab of Malik, or it appears to be the view of Malik.�
From Risalat Ahkam al-Udhiyah wa�l-Dhakah by Ibn �Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him).
Sheikh Muhammad ibn �Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) said: �Udhiyah is Sunnah mu�akkadah for the one who is able to do it, so a person should offer the sacrifice on behalf of himself and the members of his household.�
There are six conditions for the Udhiyah:�
It should be one of the An�am class of animals, which are: camels, cattle, sheep and goats, because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):�
�And for every nation We have appointed religious ceremonies, that they may mention the Name of Allah over the beast of cattle that He has given them for food�
[Noble Quran 22:34]
�Bahimat al-An�am (translated here as �beast of cattle�) includes camels, cattle and sheep. This is what is well known among the Arabs, and this was the view of al-Hasan, Qatadah and others.�
It should have reached the age stipulated in Shari�ah, which is six months
for a sheep and the age at which the animal is considered to be an adult for
any other animal, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said: �Do not sacrifice anything but an adult animal, unless it is difficult
for you, in which case you may slaughter a six-month old lamb (Jadh�ah).�
[Narrated by Muslim]
.�A mature animal means one that is considered to be an adult.
In the case of camels it means one that is five years old.�
For cattle, it means one that is two years old.�
For sheep it means one that is a year old.�
The Jadh�ah is that which is half a year old. So it is not correct to sacrifice a camel, cow or goat that has not yet reached maturity, or a sheep that is less than six months old.�
It should be free of any faults that would render it unsuitable for sacrifice,
of which there are four:�
An obvious defect in one eye, such as when the eye is sunken in its socket, or when it sticks out like a
button, or is white and obviously defective.�
Obvious sickness, whose symptoms are clearly apparent in the animal, such as fever that prevents
it from grazing and causes loss of appetite; mange
that obviously affects its flesh or its health; deep
wounds that affect its health, and so on.�
Obvious lameness, which prevents the animal from walking normally.�
Emaciation that leaves no marrow in the bones, when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) was asked about what should be avoided in
Udhiyah, he gestured with his hand and said: �Four: a
lame animal which is obviously lame, a one-eyed
animal whose defect is obvious, a sick animal whose
sickness is obvious, and an emaciated animal that no
one would choose.�
[Narrated by Malik in al-Muwatta�
from the Hadith of al-Bara� ibn �Aazib]
. According to a Hadith narrated from him in al-Sunan, he said:
�The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) stood up among us and said:
�There are four which are not permissible for
sacrifice,�� and he mentioned something similar.
[Classed as Sahih by al-Albani in Irwa� al-Ghalil, 1148]
.�These four faults render an animal unsuitable for sacrifice, and they include similar faults or more severe faults. So the following animals are also unsuitable for sacrifice:�
One that is blind in both eyes.
One that has eaten more than it can stand, until the danger has passed.
One that has encountered difficulty in giving birth, until all danger has passed.
One that has suffered something that could kill it, such as strangulation or a fall from a high place, until
the danger has passed.
One that is unable to walk because of a defect.
One that has had one of its forelegs or hind legs cut off.�
If these are added to the four defects mentioned in the text, the number of those that cannot be offered as sacrifices reaches ten � these six and the four mentioned above.�
The animal should belong to the person who is offering the sacrifice, or he
should have permission for that either on the grounds of Shari�ah or from
the owner. The sacrifice is not valid if the animal slaughtered does not belong
to the person who is sacrificing it, such as one that has been taken by force,
stolen, or taken on the basis of a false claim, etc, because it is not permissible
to draw closer to Allah by means of sin. A sacrifice offered by the guardian
of an orphan from the orphan�s property is valid if that is customary and
if he feels sad about not offering a sacrifice.� A sacrifice offered by a guardian from the property of the person under his care is valid, if done with permission.�
No one else should have any rights to the sacrificial animal; the sacrifice
of an animal that is held in pledge is not valid.�
It should be slaughtered at the time specified in Shari�ah, which is from
after the Eid prayer on the Day of Sacrifice until sunset on the last of the
days of al-Tashriq, which is the 13th of Dhu�l-Hijjah. So the days when the
sacrificed may be offered are four: the day of Eid after the prayer, and the
three days after that. Whoever slaughters it before the Eid prayer is over,
or after sun sets on the 13th of Dhu�l-Hijjah, his sacrifice is not valid,
because of the Hadith narrated by al-Bukhari from al-Bara� ibn �Aazib (may
Allah be pleased with him), according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: �Whoever slaughters (his sacrifice) before the
prayer, it is meat that he has brought to his family, but that is not the
sacrifice.� And he narrated that Jundub ibn Sufyan al-Bajali (may Allah be
pleased with him) said: �I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) saying, �Whoever slaughters the sacrifice before he
prays, let him replace it with another.�� And it was narrated that Nubayshah
al-Hadhali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: �The Messenger of Allah (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: �The days of al-Tashriq are the
days of eating, drinking and remembering Allah.��
[Narrated by Muslim]
.�But if he has an excuse for delaying it beyond the days of Tashriq, such as if the animal ran away, without there being any negligence on his part, and he could not find it until after the time was over, or he appointed someone else to slaughter it and that person forgot until the time was over, then there is nothing wrong with slaughtering it after the appointed time. This is by analogy with the one who sleeps and misses a prayer, or forgets it � he should pray it as soon as he wakes up or remember it.�
It is permissible to slaughter the Udhiyah at any time, night or day, but it is better to slaughter it during the day, and it is better to slaughter on the day of Eid after the two khutbahs. Each day is better than the day that follows it, because that means that one is hastening to do good.
Sheikh �Abd al-�Aziz ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:�
If anyone wants to offer a sacrifice, and the month of Dhu�l-Hijjah has begun, either because the new moon has been sighted or because thirty days of Dhu�l-Qa�dah have passed, then it is Haram for him to remove anything of his hair or nails or skin until he has slaughtered the sacrifice, because of the Hadith of Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: �When you see the new moon of Dhu�l-Hijjah � according to another version, When the ten days (of Dhu�l-Hijjah) begin � and any one of you wants to offer a sacrifice, let him refrain (from cutting) his hair and nails.� Narrated by Ahmad and Muslim. According to another version, �Let him not remove anything from his hair and nails until he has offered the sacrifice.� And according to yet another version, � He should not touch his hair or skin.��
If he forms the intention to offer the sacrifice during the first ten days of Dhu�l-Hijjah, then he should refrain from that from the moment he forms that intention, and there is no sin on him for anything he may have done before forming the intention. �
The reason for this prohibition is that when the person who wants to offer the sacrifice joins the pilgrims in some of the rituals of Hajj � namely drawing closer to Allah by slaughtering the sacrifice � he also joins him in some of the features of ihram, namely refraining from cutting his hair etc.
�This ruling applies only to the one who is going to slaughter the sacrifice. It does not apply to the one on whose behalf a sacrifice is offered, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, �If any one of you wants to offer a sacrifice.� He did not say, �� is going to have a sacrifice offered on his behalf.� And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to offer the sacrifice on behalf of the members of his household, and it is not narrated that he told them to refrain from that (cutting their hair and nails etc).�
Based on this, it is permissible for the family of the person who is going to offer the sacrifice to remove things from their hair, nails and skin during the first ten days of Dhu�l-Hijjah.�
If the person who wants to offer the sacrifice does remove anything from his hair, nails or skin then he has to repent to Allah and not do it again, but he does not have to offer any expiation, and that does not prevent him from offering the sacrifice as some of the common people think. If he does any of those things out of forgetfulness or ignorance, or some hair falls unintentionally, then there is no sin on him. If he needs to remove it then he may do so, and there is no blame on him, such as if a nail breaks and it annoys him, so he cuts it, or if a hair gets in his eye and he removes it, or he needs to cut his hair in order to treat a wound and the like.��
The time for offering the sacrifice begins after the Eid prayer on Eid al-Adha and ends when the sun sets on the thirteenth of Dhu�l-Hijjah. So there are four days of sacrifice: the day of Eid al-Adha and the three days after it.�
It is better to hasten to offer the sacrifice after the Eid prayer, as the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to do, then the first thing he would eat on the day of Eid would be meat from his sacrifice.�
Ahmad (22475) narrated that Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not go out on the day of (Eid) al-Fitr until he had eaten, and he did not eat on the day of (Eid) al-Adha until he came back, then he would eat from his sacrifice.�
[Al-Zayla�i narrated in Nasb al-Rayah (2/221) that Ibn al-Qattan classed it as Sahih]
.�Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Zad al-Ma�ad (2/319):�
�Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah have mercy on him) said: �The days of sacrifice are the Day of Sacrifice (yawm al-nahr) and the three days after it.� This is the view of the imam of the people of Basra, al-Hasan; the imam of the people of Makkah, �Ata� ibn Abi Rabah; the imam of the people of Syria, al-Awza�i; and the imam of the fuqaha� of Hadith, al-Shafi`i (may Allah have mercy on him). It was also the view favored by Ibn al-Mundthir. The three days are specified because they are the days of Mina, the days of stoning (the Jamarat) and the day of al-Tashriq. It is forbidden to fast on these days. It was narrated via two isnads, one of which supports the other, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: �All of Mina is the place of sacrifice, and all the days of al-Tashriq are days of sacrifice.� End quote.�
[The Hadith was classed as Sahih by al-Albani in al-Silsilah al-Sahihah, 2476]
.Sheikh Ibn �Uthaymin said in Ahkam al-Udhiyah, concerning the time for offering the sacrifice:�
It is from after the Eid prayer on the Day of Sacrifice until the sun sets on the last of the days of al-Tashriq, which is the thirteenth of Dhu�l-Hijjah. So there are four days of sacrifice: the day of Eid after the prayer, and three days after that. Whoever slaughters his sacrifice before the Eid prayer is over, or after the sun sets on the thirteenth, his sacrifice is not valid � but if he has an excuse for delaying it until after the days of al-Tashriq, such as if the animal ran away with no negligence on his part, and he did not find it until after the time was over, or if he delegated someone to do it on his behalf and his deputy forgot until the time was over, then there is nothing wrong with offering the sacrifice after the time has ended, because there is an excuse, by analogy with the fact that one who sleeps and misses a prayer or forgets it should offer the prayer as soon as he wakes up or remembers it.�
It is permissible to offer the sacrifice during that time by night or by day, but it is better during the day, and the day of Eid after the two khutbahs is the best time. Each day is better than the following day, because that is hastening to do good. End quote.�
It says in Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Da�imah (11/406):�
The days of sacrifice for pilgrims performing qiran or tamattu�, and for offering the sacrifice (Udhiyah) are four: the day of Eid and the three days after that. The time for sacrifice ends when the sun sets on the fourth day, according to the soundest scholarly opinion. End quote.
The Sunnah for one who wants to slaughter the udhiyah is to say when slaughtering it:�
Bismillah, wa Allahu akbar, Allahumma hadtha minka wa laka, hadtha �anni (or
if it is being offered on behalf of someone else, hadtha �an [fulan]), Allahumma
taqabbal min [fulan] wa aali [fulan].� (In the name of Allah, Allah is most great. O Allah, this is from You and to You. This is on my behalf (or if it is being offered on behalf of someone else, This is on behalf of [So and so]). O Allah, accept (this sacrifice) from [So and so] and the family of [So and so]) � here he should mention his name instead of [fulan] or [So and so].�
What is obligatory here is to say Bismillah; the rest is favored but is not obligatory.�
Al-Bukhari (5565) and Muslim (1966) narrated that Anas said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sacrificed two horned rams that were white speckled with black. He slaughtered them with his own hand, said Bismillah and Allahu akbar, and put his foot on their necks.�
Muslim (1967) narrated from �A�ishah that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ordered that a horned ram be brought to him so that he could sacrifice it. He said, �O �A�ishah, give me the knife.� Then he said, �Sharpen it on a stone.� So she did that, then he took it and took the ram, and he lay it down and prepared to slaughter it. He said, �In the name of Allah, O Allah accept (this sacrifice) from Muhammad and the family of Muhammad and the Ummah of Muhammad,� then he sacrificed it.�
Al-Tirmithi (1521) narrated that Jabir ibn �Abd-Allah said: I was present with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on the day of al-Adha at the prayer place. When he had finished his khutbah he came down from his minbar and a ram was brought which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) slaughtered with his own hand. He said, �In the name of Allah, Allah is Most Great. This is on behalf of myself and on behalf of those of my Ummah who have not offered a sacrifice.� Classed as Sahih by al-Albani in Sahih al-Tirmithi.
�In some reports the words �O Allah, this is from You and to You� are added.
[See Irwa� al-Ghalil, 1138, 1152]
.�Allahumma minka (O Allah, from You) means this sacrifice is a gift and provision that has reached me from You. Laka (to You) means, it is sincerely for You alone.
