Fatwas on Udhiyah (Qurbani)

• Slaughtering the sacrifice is better than giving its price in charity If there are poor people in my country who need money, can I give them the price of the sacrifice in charity, or should I offer the sacrifice?.

Answer: Slaughtering the sacrifice is better than giving its price in charity, because that was what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the Muslims with him did. And because the sacrifice is one of the ritual of Islam; if the people turn away from it and give charity instead, that symbol will die out. If giving the price of the sacrifice in charity was better than slaughtering the sacrifice, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would have explained that to his ummah in word and deed, because he did not omit to explain anything that was good for the ummah. Indeed, if giving charity was equal to offering the sacrifice he would have explained that too, because it is easier than going to the trouble of offering the sacrifice. 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.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sacrifice when prescribed is better than giving its price in charity. He said, Hence even if you give many times more the value of the sacrifice for tamattu’ and qiraan, it will never take its place, and the same applies to udhiyah.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen

• He has two wives; should he offer two sacrifices?

Question: I have two wives, each of whom lives in her own house. Is it sufficient for me to offer one sacrifice or do I have to offer two?.

Answer: It is sufficient for you to offer one sacrifice. One sacrifice is sufficient for a man and the members of his family even if they are one hundred strong, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to offer a single sheep on behalf of himself and his family, and when he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died he left behind nine wives. 

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 Allah 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. End quote. 

The Standing Committee was asked: 

I have two households which are about fifteen kilometers apart, and I want to offer the sacrifice. Should I offer a sacrifice at each house, or at one house? 

They replied: 

It is sufficient for you to offer one sacrifice on behalf of your two households, so long as the head of both is one person. But if you offer a separate sacrifice at each house, that is better. End quote. 

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 11/407.

• What should be avoided by the one who wants to offer a sacrifice?

Question: Is it permissible for the one who wants to offer a sacrifice to cut his hair or nails?.

Answer: 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 haraam for him to remove anything of his hair or nails or skin until he has slaughtered the sacrifice, because of the hadeeth of Umm Salamah (may Allaah 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.

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 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.”

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz

• Sharing in a sacrifice Is it permissible to share in a sacrifice, and how many Muslims can share in a sacrifice?.

Question: It is permissible to share in a sacrifice if it is a camel or a cow, but it is not permissible to share in a sheep. It is permissible for seven people to share one camel or cow. 

Answer: It is narrated that the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) shared sacrifices: seven people would share a camel or a cow in Hajj and ‘Umrah. 

Muslim (1318) narrated that Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “On the day of al-Hudaybiyah we offered the sacrifice with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), a camel on behalf of seven and a cow on behalf of seven. 

According to another report, it was narrated that Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We performed Hajj with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and we sacrificed a camel on behalf of seven and a cow on behalf of seven. 

Abu Dawood (2808) narrated from Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A cow on behalf of seven and a camel on behalf of seven.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood. 

Al-Nawawi said in Sharh Muslim: 

These ahaadeeth indicate that it is permissible to share in the sacrifice, but they are unanimously agreed that it not permissible to share in a sheep. These ahaadeeth indicate that a camel is sufficient on behalf of seven people, and a cow is sufficient on behalf of seven people, and each of them takes the place of seven sheep. So if a muhrim is required to offer seven sacrifices –except in the case of the penalty for hunting – and he slaughters a camel or a cow, that is equivalent to them all. End quote.

The Standing Committee was asked about sharing in the sacrifice and they replied: 

A camel or a cow is sufficient on behalf of seven people, whether they are all from one family or are from different families, and whether they are related to one another or not, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) gave permission to the Sahaabah to share a camel or a cow, one animal for every seven people, and he did not say anything more specific than that. End quote. 

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 11/401

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Ahkaam al-Udhiyah: 

One sheep is sufficient for one person, and one-seventh of a camel or cow is sufficient for what one sheep is sufficient for. End quote

• A father’s sacrifice on behalf of his son does not count if he lives in a separate house Does my father’s sacrifice on behalf of himself and his family count for me, knowing that I live in a separate house?.

Answer: What is prescribed is for each household to offer its own sacrifice. 

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about a married man who lived in a different city than his father – would his father’s sacrifice count on behalf of him and his children? 

He replied: 

If you live in a separate house, then it is prescribed for you to offer a sacrifice on behalf of yourself and the members of your household, and your father’s sacrifice does not count for you, which is on behalf of him and the members of his household, because you do not live in the same house with them, rather you live in a separate house. End quote. 

The Standing Committee was asked: 

I have two families, each living in a separate house, and the houses are 200m apart. They are my family and my father’s family, and my father is still alive. My question is: is it permissible for my father and me to offer one goat as a sacrifice on behalf of the two households, or not? 

They replied: 

What is prescribed is for each household to offer its own sacrifice. End quote. 

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 11/406.

Question: A few days before Eid, I bought a lamb which was sound and healthy, to offer it as a sacrifice on Eid. When it was being brought down the stairs on the way to be sacrificed, it suffered an injury to its leg (one hour before being sacrificed)… is this considered to be a flaw in the sacrifice?

Answer: The author of Zaad al-Mustaqni’ said: “If it (the sacrifice) gets injured (develops a flaw), it may still be slaughtered and this will do…” 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said: an example of that is when a man buys a sheep to sacrifice it, then it breaks its leg and is unable to walk and keep up with the rest of the flock, after he has selected it for sacrifice. In this case it may be slaughtered and this will do, because when it was selected it became a trust, like something that was entrusted to him. Because it is something entrusted and the injury was not the result of his action or his negligence, so he is not obliged to offer any guarantee, and it will do.