The Sharīah of Animal Sacrifice (4 part video links below) The sharī‘ah regarding animal sacrifice that has reached us through the consensus and perpetual practice of the ummah can be stated thus: 1. All four legged animals which are cattle can be sacrificed. 2. Sacrificial animals should not be flawed and should be of appropriate age. 3. The time of animal sacrifice begins after offering the ‘īd prayer on the 10th of Dhū al-Ḥajj (yawm al-naḥr) 4. The days fixed for animal sacrifice are the same as have been appointed for the stay at Minā once the pilgrims return from Muzdalifah. In Sūrah Ḥajj, the words أَيَّامٍ مَّعْلُومَاتٍ (some appointed days (22:28)) allude to these very days. In religious parlance, they are called “the days of tashrīq”. Besides animal sacrifice in these days, one is also required to declare the takbīr at the end of each congregational prayer. Being an absolute directive, the words of the takbīr have not been fixed. 5. The meat of sacrificial animals can also be eaten without any hesitation by those have had them slaughtered and can also be used to feed others. The words:فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا الْقَانِعَ والْمُعْتَرَّ (So eat from it your selves and also feed those who are content and those who ask (22:37)) explicitly point to this conclusion. This is the sharī‘ah of animal sacrifice. The Prophet (sws) has also explained some of its aspects: i. Animals should be sacrificed in all circumstances after the ‘īd prayer. It will not be regarded as the sacrifice of ‘īd if it is offered before the ‘īd prayer; it will be a mere animal sacrifice that one may offer to eat meet.[1] ii. The appropriate age for a sacrificial sheep or goat is at least one year, for that of a cow, it is at least two years and for camels, male or female, it is at least five years. If these animals are not available, a ram can be sacrificed. It will suffice even if it is six months old.[2] iii. More than one people can share the sacrifice of camels and cows. These share holders can even go up to seven. There are some narratives which mention that at one instance in the presence of the Prophet (sws), ten people shared one camel for sacrifice and he did not stop them.[3] iv. Animal sacrifice can also be offered as an optional act of worship other than on ‘īd. Consequently, when people asked about the ‘aqīqah, the Prophet (sws) replied: “Anyone who wants to offer an animal for sacrifice on the birth of a child can do so.”[4] Author: Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (Translated by Shehzad Saleem) [1]. Bukhārī,Nos: 951, 954, 985; Muslim, Nos: 960, 1961, 1962. [2]. Muslim, No: 1963; Abū Dā’ūd, No: 2799. [3]. Abū Dā’ūd, No: 2808; Tirmadhī, No: 1501. [4]. Mu’aṭṭā’, No: 1066. youtu.be/DsNrPMl2L_w?list=PLE4EC28336B046466 - Part 1 youtu.be/aVpWafOsSsE?list=PLE4EC28336B046466 - Part 2 youtu.be/g-12SCtAMNs?list=PLE4EC28336B046466 - Part 3 youtu.be/kSYcpojWQPU?list=PLE4EC28336B046466 - Part 4
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 19:26:40 +0000