55.1. CHAPTER ON AL-HADYI
The best is a camel, a cow and then a sheep.
“Chapter: Al-Hadyi, al-Udhiyyah and al-Aqiqah”: The author proceeds to explain the three types of qurbani (sacrifice):
“Al-hadyi’’: The animal that is sacrificed during Hajj or ‘Umrah, for the wajib and the mustahabb. (See al-Mutla (p. 204) and al-Dar al-Naqi (1/412) (3/790).)
“Al-udhiyyah”: The animal that is sacrificed on the day of Eid al-Adha. (Ibid.)
“Al-‘aqiqah”: The animal that is sacrificed on the birth of a child. (See al-Misbah al-Munir (p. 577).)
“The best is a camel, cow and then a sheep”: The best of animals slaughtered for these three types of sacrifice in the order of merit are: a camel, a cow and then a sheep.
It is not permissible to slaughter except a young sheep or a thani of everything else, thus: a five-year old camel, a two-year old cow and a year-old goat. A sheep may be half as young.
“It is not permissible to slaughter except a young sheep or a thani of everything else, thus: a five-year old camel, a two-year old cow and a year-old goat. A sheep may be half as young”: It is not permissible to slaughter an animal as hadyi, udahiyah or for ‘aqiqah except the following:
– A young sheep which is at least six-months old.
Or thani from other than a sheep, which refers to the following ages of these animals:
– A goat which has reached one year of age.
– A camel which has reached five years of age.
– A cow which has reached two years of age.
A single person sacrifices a sheep while a group of seven people may sacrifice a camel or a cow.
“A single person sacrifices a sheep while a group of seven people may sacrifice a camel or a cow”: The sacrifice of a sheep is accepted from a single person and he is not permitted to share with another in purchasing the sheep. Whereas the sacrifice of a cow or a camel is accepted from seven people who share it as hadyi or udhiyah.
It is not permissible to offer as sacrifice a one-eyed animal, a gaunt animal, a lame animal, a toothless animal, an animal with dry udders, a sick animal, a mutilated animal or a hornless and ear-less animal but not the animal which was born without ears and horns, an animal born without both ears, an animal which has had its testicles removed but its penis remains intact nor an animal which has less than half its ear or horn clipped.
“It is not permissible to offer as sacrifice”: Animals with defects and shortcomings are not permitted as sacrifice. They are:
“A one-eyed animal”: Al-‘awra’u refers to blindness in one of its eyes.
“A gaunt animal”: Without much flesh.
“A lame animal”: That has a defect on one leg which causes it to limp.
“A toothless animal”: Teeth having been removed from their roots.
“An animal with dry udders”: I.e. as a result of old age.
“A sick animal”: Where the sickness is evident. Minor illness that does not affect the flesh of the animal is inconsequential.
“A mutilated animal”: I.e. with a clipped ear or horn.
“A hornless and ear-less animal”: This is an animal that has lost most of its horn and ears.
“But not the animal which was born without ears and horns, an animal born without both ears, an animal which naturally does not have testicles (not the castrated animal) nor an animal which has less than half its ear or horn clipped”: An animal that is born with little to no horn or ears is permissible for sacrifice.
An animal that has had its testicles removed is permitted for sacrifice as the Prophet(pbuh) offered two sheep that were castrated as udhiyah. (Reported by Ahmad (6/220,225), Ibn Majah (3122) and al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubra (9/267) from the narration of ‘Aishah.) Perhaps the meat from a castrated animal is better than others.
It is also permissible to offer as sacrifice a sheep, goat or cow with less than half its ear or horn clipped. If its ears or horns are clipped by half or more than that, it is not permissible to be offered as a sacrifice.
It is Sunnah to slaughter (nahr) the camel while it is in a standing position with her left foreleg bound. It is stabbed with a spear at the depression which lies between the base of the neck and chest. Slaughtering any other animal is called dabh. The opposite can also be true. He then says: “Bismillahi, wallahu akbar, allahumma hatha minka wa laka.” (In the name of Allah, and Allah is the greatest. O Allah this from You and for You.) The owner may sacrifice the animal himself or get it sacrificed on his behalf while he witnesses it.
“It is Sunnah to slaughter {nahr) the camel”: That is, slaughtering it at the nahr (which is the depression which lies between the base of the neck and the chest). The camel is slaughtered while it is standing, not lying down as slaughtering it in this position is much easier and the blood flows from the camel much faster.
“With her left foreleg bound”: This is in accordance to Allah mentioning: {So mention the name of Allah upon them when lined up [for sacrifice.]} (Hajj: 36)
“It is stabbed with a spear at the depression which lies between the base of the neck and chest”: This is the spot called nahr which is only found in a camel.
“Slaughtering any other animal is called dabh”: I.e. animals like cows and sheep.
“The opposite can also be true”: That is, terming the slaughter of cows and sheep as nahr and the slaughter of camels as dhabh. However, the opposite is more accurate.
He then says: “Bismillahi, wallahu akbar, allahumma hatha minka wa laka (In the name of Allah and Allah is the greatest. O Allah this is from You and for You): Mentioning Allah’s name while sacrificing is wajib as per Allah’s command: {So mention the name of Allah upon them when lined up [for sacrifice.]} (Hajj: 36) And the ayah: {And do not eat of that upon which the name of Allah has not been mentioned.} (Al-An’am: 121) As for saying “Allahu akbar,” this is a Sunnah.
“The owner may sacrifice the animal himself or get it sacrificed on his behalf while he witnesses it”: It is best that the owner does the slaughtering himself and then distributes its meat. However, if he is unable to do so or he is unable to do it properly, he may appoint another to do it on his behalf. The Prophet slaughtered sixty-three of his sacrificial animals and appointed ‘Ali to sacrifice the rest of the animals. They sacrificed a total of one hundred animals. (Reported by Muslim (4/42), Ahmad (3/331), Abu Dawud (1905), Ibn Majah (3074) from the narration of Jabir ibn Abdillah.) This incident proves that to slaughter one’s own sacrificial animal is better. If one grows tired doing it or he has an excuse for not doing it, then he may appoint another to do the slaughtering on his behalf.
The time for sacrifice is from after the conclusion of the ‘Eid prayer or an equal time onwards until two days thereafter. Doing so during the nights of these days is disliked. If sacrifice is missed [on the aforementioned days,] then it must be made up if it was wajib upon him.
“The time for sacrifice is from after the conclusion of the ‘Eid prayer or an equal time onwards until two days thereafter”: The time for sacrifice begins after the ‘Eid prayers or approximately around that time if no ‘Eid prayer is conducted—in the desert areas for example—or if they are travellers (who need not attend ‘Eid prayers). They may estimate the duration o f ‘Eid prayer, if it was actually performed, after the sun has risen to the approximate length of a lance above the horizon and then proceed to begin the sacrifice. Once the time has passed in which the prayer could be performed, they proceed to perform the sacrifice.
Hadi and udhiyah is not accepted if the animal is sacrificed before ‘Eid prayer as it constitutes discharging an act of worship before the entry of its designated time. Sacrifice of animals can be done throughout until the third and last day of al-tashriq (which are the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth of Dhul Hijjah).
Hence there are four days allotted for the sacrifice of hadi and udhiyah. The day of ‘Eid and the three days thereafter. This is the correct opinion even if it differs with what the author mentions.
“Doing so during the nights of these days is disliked”: Sacrificing hadi and udhiyah at night is disliked. It is mustahabb to do so during the day. Although disliked, sacrifice done at night is still permissible.“If sacrifice is missed [on the aforementioned days,] then it must be made up if it was wajib upon him”: If one missed sacrificing on the days of tashriq, he may do so on other days as a deferred act (qadd). Supererogatory sacrifice on the other hand must not be undertaken if the designated days are missed. This is what the author means by, “If it was wajib upon him.” There are two types of udhiyah. Udhiyah which is a will disposed towards oneself (wasiyah) is wajib. Hence it must be fulfilled as a deferred act even if the designated days are missed. However, the udhiyah which a Muslim performs voluntarily should not be undertaken if the designated days are missed as it is a supererogatory act.
By Shaykh Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan
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