Sheikh Saleh Al Uthaimeen رحمه الله
There are six conditions that a
sacrificial offering (udhiyyah) must meet:
The First Condition: The sacrificial offering must be an animal
from among cattle, which include camels and cows, or smaller livestock such as
sheep and goats. This is based on Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى’s statement:
وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ جَعَلْنَا مَنسَكًا
لِيَذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ عَلَى مَا رَزَقَهُم مِّن بَهِيمَةِ الْأَنْعَامِ
فَإِلَهُكُمْ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَلَهُ أَسْلِمُوا وَبَشِّرِ الْمُخْبِتِينَ
“And for
every nation We have appointed religious ceremonies that they may mention the
Name of Allaah over the beasts of cattle that He has given them for food.”
[Surah Al-Hajj 22:34]
The term “beasts of cattle”
refers to camels, cows, sheep and goats. This definition is well known amongst
the Arabs as stated by Al-Hasan, Qataadah, and others.
The Second Condition: It must have reached the required
age that is in accordance with the religious standards such as six-months for
sheep and one-year and up for everything else. The Prophet صلّى
اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said:
“Do not slaughter any animal except for one that is
mature in age unless that is difficult for you, in which case you may slaughter
a premature one from among sheep.”
[Reported by Muslim] [1]
“Mature in age” is the age
at which an animal is considered fully developed as well as any age beyond
that, while “premature” is the age before that. With respect to a camel,
a mature-aged one is one that has completed five years. With respect to a cow,
a mature-aged one is one that has completed two years. A mature-aged sheep is
that which is one-year old while a premature sheep is one that has competed
half a year (up to one year).
So based on this, it is invalid to
slaughter a camel, cow, and goat if it is under its respective “mature”
age as well as a sheep if it is under six months of age.
The Third Condition: The animal must be free of any
defect that would prevent its slaughter from being valid and acceptable. These
defects are of four types:
1. Clear defectiveness of the eye:
This is when the animal’s eye becomes sunken or it sticks out to the point that
it looks like a knob or it becomes a pale white indicating clearly that it is
one-eyed.
2. Clear illness: This is when the
animal exhibits signs of sickness, such as a fever that keeps it from grazing
and causes a loss of appetite, or an obvious scabies infection that will spoil
its meat and harm a person’s health (if he eats it), or a deep wound that
threatens to affect its health and so on.
3. Clear limping: This is when the
animal is unable to step safely (without hurting itself) when walking.
4. Emaciation that causes brain loss: This is based on
what the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم
said when he
was asked about what types of animals one should avoid when sacrificing. He
gestured with his hand and said: “They are four: The lame animal that
clearly walks crookedly; the one-eyed animal that clearly has a defect in the
eye; the sick animal that clearly has signs of illness; and the emaciated
animal that is (usually) not picked.” [2]
This hadeeth was reported by Maalik in al-Muwatta from
Al-Baraa’ bin ‘Aazib. In another version of this report narrated by Al-Baraa’
found in the Sunan collections, he said: “The Messenger of Allaah صلّى
اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم stood up
amongst us and said: ‘Four types (of animals) are not permissible to use as
sacrificial offerings…’ and he went on to mention them.” [3]
So therefore if these four defects
are found in an animal, they prevent its slaughter and sacrifice from being
valid. This goes as well for any other defect that is similar to or worse than
these, which means that it is also not valid to sacrifice the following types
of animals:
1. A blind animal that cannot see
with both its eyes.
2. An animal suffering from nausea
until it releases its load and its harm is removed.
3. An animal that has been assisted
in giving birth if natural delivery is difficult until the threat of danger is
removed.
4. An animal afflicted by something
fatal such as choking, falling from a high place, and so on until the threat of
danger is removed.
5. A crippled animal, which is an
animal that cannot walk due to a physical disability.
6. An animal with one of its front
legs or back legs broken.
So if these last defects are added
to the four mentioned in the narrations, the types of animals that cannot be
slaughtered become ten in total. There are these six types plus the animals
that suffer from the four previously mentioned defects.
The Fourth Condition: The sacrificial offering must be
owned by the one slaughtering it or if not, he must have the right to slaughter
it based on religious grounds or based on the approval of the animal’s owner.
So if someone sacrifices an animal that does not belong to him, such as one
that has been confiscated, stolen, or taken under false pretenses, such a
sacrifice is not valid. This is since it is not permissible to draw near to
Allaah by way of disobeying Him.
It is also valid if an orphan’s
guardian sacrifices an animal for him using his (i.e. the orphan’s) money if
this is what the orphan is accustomed to and if his heart will be broken if one
is not sacrificed.[4] It is also permissible for a representative to perform
the sacrifice using the funds of the person commissioning him with his
permission.
The Fifth Condition: No other person’s right should be
associated to the animal being slaughtered. So for example, it is not valid to
sacrifice an animal that is being held as mortgage on a loan.
The Sixth Condition: The animal should be slaughtered
in the specific time-frame legislated in the Religion, which is from the time
after the ‘Eid Prayer on the Day of Sacrifice[5] until the sun sets on the last
of the days of Tashreeq, which is the thirteenth day of Dhul-Hijjah. So
therefore, the days in which the sacrifice is permitted are four: the day of
‘Eid, after prayer, and the three days after that (i.e. the days of Tashreeq).
So whoever performs the sacrifice before the end of the
‘Eid Prayer or after the sun sets on the thirteenth day (of Dhul-Hijjah), his
sacrificial offering is not valid. This is based on what Imaam Al-Bukhaaree
reported from Al-Baraa’ bin ‘Aazib who narrated that the Prophet صلّى
اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said:
“Whoever sacrifice an animal
before the (‘Eid) Prayer), it is just meat that he presents to his family and
not a sacrificial offering at all.” [6]
Al-Bukhaaree also reported that Jundub bin Sufyaan
Al-Bajlee narrated: “I witnessed the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ
عليه وسلّم say:
‘Whoever slaughters an animal
before praying (the ‘Eid Prayer) should slaughter another animal (as sacrifice)
in its place.’” [7]
Nubaishah Al-Hadhlee narrated that Allaah’s Messenger صلّى
اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said:
“The days of Tashreeq are days
of eating, drinking and remembrance of Allaah.”
[Reported by Muslim] [8]
However, if one has a valid excuse
for delaying the slaughter past the days of Tashreeq, such as if the animal
runs away from him, due to negligence on his part, and he only finds it after
the time-frame for slaughtering has passed. Another example is if a person
entrusts someone to slaughter the animal for him but that person forgets to do
it until the time has passed. In situations such as these, there is no sin in
slaughtering after the prescribed time-frame since there is a valid reason for
the delay.
This is also based on the analogy
of it being similar to a person who sleeps passed the time of prayer or forgets
to do it until its time passes, for he may pray it either when he wakes up or
when he remembers.
It is allowed to perform the
sacrifice any time during the days of Tashreeq, whether day or night. However,
slaughtering during the daytime is better, and doing it on the day of ‘Eid
after the two khutbahs is better than that. Each day is better than the day
that comes after it, in terms of performing the sacrifice, since that reflects
one’s quickness and eagerness to carry out good deeds.
Footnotes:
[1] Saheeh Muslim: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (1963)
[2] Al-Muwatta: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (1)
[3] Sunan Abee Dawood: Book of Sacrificial Offerings
(2802); Sunan at-Tirmidhee: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (1497); Sunan
an-Nasaa’ee: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (4369); Sunan Ibn Maajah: Book of
Sacrificial Offerings (3144); and Musnad Ahmad (4/300)
[4] Translator’s Note: Perhaps the orphan is accustomed
to the sacrifice because this was his experience with his parents before he
lost them. So if this tradition that he used to partake in with his family is
not kept, it will cause his heart to be broken.
[5] Translator’s Note: The Day of Sacrifice, i.e.
Yawm-un-Nahr, is the day of ‘Eid, while the days of Tashreeq are the three days
that follow it.
[6] Saheeh al-Bukhaaree: Book of Sacrificial Offerings
(5545) and Saheeh Muslim: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (1961)
[7] Saheeh al-Bukhaaree: Book of Sacrificial Offerings
(5562) and Saheeh Muslim: Book of Sacrificial Offerings (1960)
[8] Saheeh Muslim: Book of Fasting (1141)
Published on: December 8, 2007
Source: Talkhees Ahkaam-ul-Udhiyah
wadh-Dhakaat (pg. 12-16)
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