Eid Ul Adha -Sacrifice

Bismillah Hir Rahmaan Nir Raheem

Days of Sacrifice

‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah 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 Rabaah; the imam of the people of Syria, al-Awzaa’i; and the imam of the fuqaha’ of hadeeth, al-Shaafa’i (may Allaah have mercy on him). It was also the view favoured by Ibn al-Mundhir. The three days are specified because they are the days of Mina, the days of stoning (the Jamaraat) and the day of al-Tashreeq. It is forbidden to fast on these days. It was narrated via two isnaads, one of which supports the other, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “All of Mina is the place of sacrifice, and all the days of al-tashreeq are days of sacrifice.”

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.

The days of sacrifice for pilgrims performing qiraan 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.

According to another report: We set out with the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) entering ihraam for Hajj, and the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) told us to share (in sacrificing) camels and cattle, every seven of us sharing an animal.

Abstaining acts for the one who is offering a sacrifice

It was narrated from Umm Salamah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When you see the new moon of Dhu’l-Hijjah, and one of you wants to offer a sacrifice, let him refrain from (removing anything) from his hair or nails.” Narrated by Muslim. According to another version: “Let him not remove anything of his hair or skin.”

.” According to a version narrated by Abu Dawood – which was also narrated by Muslim and al-Nasaa’i – “Whoever has a sacrifice to offer, when the new moon of Dhu’l-Hijjah begins, let him not remove anything from his hair or nails until he has offered the sacrifice.”

whether he is going to slaughter the sacrifice himself or has asked someone else to slaughter it on his behalf. As for the one on whose behalf the sacrifice is being offered, that is not prescribed in his case, because there is no report to that effect. That is not called ihraam, rather ihraam refers to the one who enters ihraam for Hajj or ‘Umrah or both.

Ibn Hazm (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Whoever wants to offer a sacrifice, it is obligatory for him, once the month of Dhu’l-Hijjah begins, not to remove anything from his hair or nails until he has offered the sacrifice, whether that is by shaving, trimming or any other means. Whoever does not plan to offer a sacrifice is not obliged to adhere to that. Al-Muhallah, 6/3

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Once this is established, then he should forego cutting his hair or clipping his nails. If he does that, he should ask Allaah for forgiveness, but he does not have to offer any fidyah, according to scholarly consensus, whether he did that deliberately or out of forgetfulness. Al-Mughni, 9/346

Al-Shawkaani said: The reason behind this prohibition is so that all parts will remain to be ransomed from the Fire, or it was said that it is so that he will resemble the one who is in ihraam. Both views were narrated by al-Nawawi, but he narrated from the companions of al-Shaafa’i that the second view is a mistake, because (the person who wants to offer a sacrifice) does not keep away from women or stop putting on perfume or wearing regular clothes, and other things which the person in ihraam refrains from. Nayl al-Awtaar, 5/133

If the person who wants to offer the sacrifice does remove anything from his hair, nails or skin then he has to repent to Allaah 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.”

Which is best sacrifice

Abu Haneefah, al-Shaafa’i and Ahmad. Maalik said: The best is a young sheep, then a cow, then a camel, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sacrificed two rams, and he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not do anything but that which was best.

The response to that is that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sometimes chose the option that was not the best option out of kindness to his ummah, because they follow his example. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not want to make things difficult for them. He stated that the best is a camel, then a cow, then a sheep, as stated above.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) never failed to point out the easier option to his ummah when it was equal to the more difficult option. There was a famine during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he said, “Whoever among you offers a sacrifice should not keep any of it in his house for more than three days.”

The following year, they said, “O Messenger of Allaah, should we do what we did last year?” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Eat and feed the poor and store some, for last year the people were having a hard time and I wanted you to help them.” Agreed upon.

A sheep is better than sharing in a camel, because the aim of the sacrifice is to shed blood. A ram is better than a sheep (ewe), because that is what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sacrificed and the meat is better. Al-Mughni, 13/366

Although in general the best sacrifice is a camel, then a cow, then a sheep, then to have a share in a cow. This is the view of Abu Haneefah and al-Shaafa’i, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said concerning Jumu’ah: “Whoever comes at the earliest hour, it is as if he sacrificed a camel. Whoever comes in the second hour, it is as if he sacrificed a cow. Whoever comes in the third hour, it is as if he sacrificed a horned ram. Whoever comes in the fourth hour, it is as if he sacrificed a chicken. Whoever comes in the fifth hour, it is as if he sacrificed an egg.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 881; Muslim, 850.

It is a sacrifice by means of which one draws closer to Allaah, so the best (to be offered) is a camel, as in the case of the hadiy (sacrifice offered by the pilgrim on Hajj).

Single sacrifice for whole family

Al-Qurtubi said: There is no report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ordered each of his wives to offer a separate sacrifice, even though the sacrifice was repeated every year and his wives were numerous. This would have been narrated if it has happened, as other minor issues were narrated. This is supported by the report narrated by Maalik, Ibn Maajah and al-Tirmidhi, who classed it as saheeh via ‘Ata’ ibn Yasaar: I asked Abu Ayyoob: How was the sacrifice done at the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? He said: A man would offer a sheep on behalf of himself and the members of his family, and they would eat some and feed others with some.” End quote from Fath al-Baari. The hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.

Al-Bukhaari (7210) narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Hishaam (may Allaah be pleased with him), that he met the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when his mother Zaynab bint Humayd took him to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and said: “O Messenger of Allaah, accept his oath of allegiance.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “He is too young.” He patted him on the head and made du’aa’ for him, and he used to sacrifice a single sheep on behalf of his whole family.

Al-Haafiz said: The phrase “and he used to sacrifice a single sheep on behalf of his whole family” refers to ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Hishaam.

Al-Tirmidhi (1505) narrated that ‘Ata’ ibn Yassaar said: I asked Abu Ayyoob: How was the sacrifice done at the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? He said: A man would offer a sheep on behalf of himself and the members of his family, and they would eat some and feed others with some.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.

Al-Haafiz ibn al-Qayyim said in Zaad al-Ma’aad: The teaching of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was that a sheep is sufficient on behalf of a man and the members of his household, even if they are many in number.

Al-Shawkaani said in Nayl al-Awtaar: In fact a single sheep is sufficient on behalf of the members of a household, even if there are one hundred or more, as is indicated by the Sunnah.

Eating after sacrifice

Ahmad (22475) narrated that Buraydah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah 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. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Zaad al-Ma’aad (2/319):

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his commentary: The words “It is Sunnah to eat one third, give one third as gifts, and give one third in charity” mean it is prescribed, not in the sense that it is obligatory, but that it is mustahabb to divide it into thirds and eat one third, give one third as gifts, and give one third in charity.

Eating it oneself is mentioned first because Allah mentioned it first in the verse in which He said (interpretation of the meaning): “Then eat thereof and feed therewith the poor having a hard time” [al-Hajj 22:28].

Some of the scholars said: Rather eating from it is obligatory and he is sinning if he does not do that, because Allah has enjoined it and given it precedence over charity; and because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), during the Farewell Pilgrimage, enjoined that a piece be taken from each sacrificial animal and placed in a pot and cooked, then he ate some of its meat and drank some of its broth. They said: To go to the effort of taking one hundred pieces from one hundred camels and cooking them in a pot and eating from that indicates that the command in the verse is given in the sense of it being obligatory. And because this comes under the heading of enjoying the blessings of Allah, so it is included in the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “The days of al-Tashreeq (the 11th, 12th and 13th of Dhu’l-Hijjah) are days of eating, drinking and remembering Allah, may He be glorified and exalted.”

Whatever the case, the individual should not refrain from eating from his sacrifice. Al-Sharh al-Mumti‘, 7/481

1. It is essential to set aside some of the meat of each cow for charity and it should not all be distributed to those who are offering the sacrifice, whether it is slaughtered on the first day or after that.

2. It is essential to specify who has shared in the sacrifice at the time of slaughter, so it should be intended that this cow is offered on behalf of So and so, mentioning each of them by name. It is not sufficient to slaughter all the cows on behalf of all the participants; rather it is essential to identify exactly on whose behalf each cow is being sacrificed.

Optional sacrifice


Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only)” [al-Kawthar 108:2]:

Ibn Qudaamah said: other than the wedding feast (waleemah) and ‘aqeeqah – are something good, but they are like invitations that are given for no reason; if the person who does them intends thereby to give thanks to Allaah for His blessing and to feed his brothers and offer food, then he will have the reward for that in sha Allaah.