What is the goal of Udhiyyah (Sacrifice)?

 

The Goal of the Udhiyyah (Sacrifice) according to Allaah is the Sincerity and Taqwa of His Servant

لَن يَنَالَ اللَّهَ لُحُومُهَا وَلَا دِمَاؤُهَا وَلَكِن يَنَالُهُ التَّقْوَى مِنكُمْ كَذَلِكَ سَخَّرَهَا لَكُمْ لِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

  

“It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allaah, but it is Taqwa from you that reaches Him. Thus have We made them subject to you that you may proclaim Allaah’s greatness for His guidance to you. And give glad tidings to the doers of good.”

(Al-Hajj 22:37)

Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى says: this sacrifice is prescribed for you so that you will remember Him at the time of slaughter, for He is the Creator and Provider. Nothing of its flesh or blood reaches Him, for He has no need of anything other than Himself. During the time of Jahiliyyah, when they offered sacrifices to their gods, they would put some of the meat of their sacrifices on their idols, and sprinkle the blood over them. But Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى says:

(It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allaah): Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn Jurayj said, “The people of the Jahiliyyah used to put the meat of their sacrifices and sprinkle the blood on the House, and the companions of the Messenger of Allaah said, “We have more right to do that.” Then Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى revealed the words:

(It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allaah, but it is Taqwa from you that reaches Him.) That is what He will accept and reward for, as mentioned in the Sahih:

The Etiquettes of Slaughtering

By:  Imaam Muhammad bin Saalih Al-‘Uthaimeen

There are certain etiquettes one must abide by when slaughtering an animal for a sacrificial offering. However, these etiquettes are not conditional for the validity of a sacrifice. So the sacrifice is still valid even in their absence. Among these etiquette are:

1. He should face the Qiblah with the animal at the time of slaughtering.

2. He must slaughter the animal in a good manner, which is by quickly and firmly passing a sharpened blade over the neck area.

Some scholars hold the view that this etiquette is obligatory based on the implication found in the Prophet’s saying: 

“Verily Allaah has prescribed proficiency in everything. So when you kill, kill proficiently. And when you sacrifice, sacrifice proficiently. Each of you should sharpen his blade and lessen the pain inflicted on his sacrificial offering.” 

(Muslim)

This opinion is the correct view.

3. The slaughter of a camel must be done by cutting the area just below the neck and above the chest. This is known as nahr. As for all other types of animals, their necks should be sliced.

FASTING THE DAY OF ’ARAFAH

 

The ninth day of Dhul-Hijjah is the day of ’Arafah which will fall on the 23^rd of September 2015 inshaAllaah, since it is on this day that the pilgrims gather at the mountain plain of ’Arafah, praying and supplicating to Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى.

It is mustahabb (highly recommended) for those who are not pilgrims to fast on this day, since the Prophet (صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم) was asked about fasting on the day of ’Arafah, so he said, “It expiates the sins of the past year and the coming year.” [4]

DO NOT CUT HAIR OR NAILS FOR THE ONE DOING THE SACRIFICE

From what is considered as righteous actions on these ten days is that the one who wants to do the Udhiyyah (sacrificial slaughter) should NOT cut his hair or nails during these ten days. As such, it is desired that he commits himself before these ten days by cutting his hair and nails. 

The Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said:

"When any one of you intending to sacrifice the animal enters in the month (of Dhul-Hijjah) he should not get his hair or nails touched (cut)."

[Muslim]

The Era of Gentleness

 

Sheikh Abdul Azeez ibn Bâz (رحمه الله) said:

“This era is the era of gentleness, patience and wisdom. It is not the era of harshness. The majority of the people are in a state of ignorance, heedlessness, and giving precedence to the worldly matters. So it is a must that there be patience and gentleness so that the da’wah spreads and reaches the people in order that they come to know (the correct religion). And we ask Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى to guide all of us.”

{Source: Majmū’ Fatāwa ibn Bâz, vol.8, pg.376}

The Knowledge is Provisions from Allaah

 

A precious benefit from the Noble Sheikh ibn Baaz (رحمه الله):

Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى stated:

ومن يتق الله يجعل له مخرجا ـ ويرزقه من حيث لا يحتسب

“And whoever fears Allaah, He will make a way out for him (from every difficulty) and provide for him from where he didn’t perceive.”

(Surah at-Talaq 65:2-3)

The Noble Sheikh ibn Baaz (رحمه الله) commented: That which is known, is that the attainment of the knowledge is from the best of the provisions. It is leaving from the restrictions of ignorance and its darkness into the vastness of knowledge and its light. Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى stated: “And whoever fears Allaah, He makes for him ease in his affair.” 

Virtues Of The 10 Days of Dhul Hijjah And Proof Of Fasting On These Days

– From the writings of Sheikh ul-Islaam ibn Taymiyyah, Sheikh Bin Baz, and Sheikh ibn Uthaimeen -

Sheikh-ul-Islaam ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) was asked as is mentioned by Ibnul Qayyim, “Which is more virtuous & beneficial, the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah or the last 10 days of Ramadhan?”

So he answered by saying that “the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah are more virtuous than the last 10 days of Ramadhan, and the last 10 nights of Ramadhan are more virtuous than the last 10 nights of Dhul Hijjah.” Then his Illustrious student and great scholar Ibnul Qayyim (رحمه الله) commented on this verdict and said: 

“… And if the intelligent and noble one was to reflect upon this answer, he would find it satisfactory and sufficient. For indeed, there are no days (in the year) more beloved to Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى that righteous actions are done within them than the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah, since within them are the days of Ara’faah (9th day of Dhul Hijjah) and the day of Nahr (10th day) and the day of Tarwiyah (8th day). As for the 10 nights of Ramadhan, they are the nights of revitalization which the Messenger صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم used to be up in awakening within them all, and within it is a night which is better than 1000 months. So whoever answers without such an elaboration, then he is incapable to prove his statement with authentic evidences.”

(Taken from the book bada’ee Al-Fawaaid of ibnul Qayyim – under the chapter ‘the preference between Aa’isha & Fatimah.’)

The validity of fasting the Day Of Arafah & the first 9 days Of Dhul-Hijjah

 

Please note before reading:

The fasting of the first nine days of Dhul-Hijjah is often referred to as the fasting of the first 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah. The intended meaning is still the first 9 days as Eid is the 10th day of Dhul-Hijjah and it is impermissible to fast on the day of Eid.

Day of Arafah

1)     Is fasting the Day of Arafah legislated?

The answer is Yes. It is Mustahab (recommended) as it comes in the hadith of Abu Qatadah al-Ansari reported by Muslim that the Messenger of صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم was asked concerning fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah. He صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم replied:

(Fasting on the day of Arafah is an expiation of last year’s and next year’s sins.)

The First 9 days of Dhul-Hijjah

2)     Is fasting the first 9 days of Dhul-Hijjah legislated?

We begin by mentioning that there does not exist any authentic ahadith which specify the fasting of the first 9 days of Dhul-Hijjah. Likewise, there does not exist any authentic ahadith which state that the Messenger صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم fasted these first nine days of the month either.

One may then feel compelled to ask where has the tradition of fasting the first 9 days come from?

The answer is that it is taken from the generality of the hadith of Ibn Abbasرضي اللّه عنـه that the Messenger صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said:

Virtues of The First 10 Days of Dhul-Hijjah

This is a brief lecture by Sheikh Khawlani حفظه الله’s on the virtues and its rulings on the first ten days of the month of Dhul Hijjah. We ask Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى to place in it barakah for the listeners. Baarakallaahu Feekum.

Click on player below to listen.

History of Hajj

 

 Hajj literally means ‘to set out for a place’. Islaamically however it refers to the annual pilgrimage that Muslims make to Makkah with the intention of performing certain religious rites in accordance with the method prescribed by the Prophet Muhammad صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم.

Hajj and its rites were first ordained by Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى in the time of the Prophet lbraaheem عليه السلام and he was the one who was entrusted by Allaah to build the Ka'aba – the House of Allaah – along with his son Ismaa’eel at Makkah.

Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى described the Ka'aba and its building as follows:

وَإِذْ بَوَّأْنَا لِإِبْرَاهِيمَ مَكَانَ الْبَيْتِ أَن لَّا تُشْرِكْ بِي شَيْئًا وَطَهِّرْ بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْقَائِمِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ

“And remember when We showed Ibraaheem the site of the [Sacred] House [saying]: Associate not anything [in worship] with Me and purify My House for those who circumambulate it [i.e. perform tawaaf] and those who stand up for prayer and those who bow down and make prostration [in prayer etc.].”

[Al-Hajj 22:26]

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