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Which Animals Can Be Sacrificed and What Are Their Qualifications?
Which Animals Can Be Sacrificed and What Are Their Qualifications?
The following three kinds of animals can be sacrificed:
1 - Sheep and goat.
2 - Cattle. Buffalos are also regarded as cattle.
3 – Camel.
Animals other than those mentioned above cannot be sacrificed.
Both females and males of those three kinds of animals can be sacrificed. However, the males of sheep and goats are preferred.
Sheep and goats that are under age one, cattle that are under age two and camels that are under age five cannot be sacrificed.
However, if a 6-month-old sheep is bulky and good- looking, it is religiously permissible to be slaughtered as a sacrifice. A goat must be at least one year old.
It is obligatory for a sacrificial animal to be plump, good- looking and fat.
A sheep and a goat can be sacrificed on behalf of only one person.
All kinds of cattle, or a camel can be sacrificed by one person or it can be sacrificed jointly by up to 7 people. (7 is included.)
It is obligatory for each of those seven people to have the intention of sacrificing the animal for Allahs pleasure. If one of them participates just for taking some meat without the intention of sacrifice, then none of their sacrifice is sound.
It is not important whether the number of the participants is even or odd.
Participants should separate their share by weighing. Distribution without weighing is not permissible.
What parts of the animals whose meat can be eaten are not allowed to be eaten?
7 parts of the animals whose meat can be eaten are not eaten. They are religiously forbidden (haram).
1) Blood flowing out of animals,
2) Masculinity organ,
3) Femininity organ,
4) Testicle of males,
5) Round glands within meat,
6) Urinary bladder,
7) Gall bladder.
How is the Sacrifice Slaughtered?
Sacrificial animals are killed in compliance with the way and method of slaughtering our religion has determined. Slaughtering in accordance with Sharia is also called tazkiya.
1 - Slaughtering the side of the throat contiguous to the chin, which is called zabh. An animal slaughtered that way is also called zabiha. The word mazbaha (slaughterhouse) comes from the same origin.
2 - Or the part of the throat contiguous to the chest is slaughtered, which is called nahr.
Slaughtering sheep, goats and cattle by zabh method and camels by nahr method is sunnah ( a Practice of the Prophet). Performing the contrary is makrooh (abominable).
It is obligatory to take the following issues from the standpoint of Sharia into consideration while slaughtering the animal:
These 4 parts called awdaj must be slaughtered completely:
1 - Trachea
2 - Esophagus
3, 4 - Two jugular veins on both sides of the neck
The slaughtering process is not regarded to be performed in terms of religion before those 4 parts are cut completely. A sacrifice slaughtered that way is not sound and its meat cannot be eaten.
In case one of those four parts is not cut, the issue is under debate.
According to one opinion, if 3 of those 4 parts including trachea have been cut, then the slaughtering is sound.
According to another opinion, if all of those 4 parts and more than halves of each of them have not been cut, then the slaughtering is not complete and that animals meat is not sound. However, the muftabih (the one fatwa is given by) is the first opinion.
An animal slaughtered in that manner is accepted to be slaughtered according to the procedure of Sharia. It is called real and voluntary tazkiya (slaughtering in accordance with Sharia).
There is also another way of slaughtering called necessary tazkiya. That slaughtering means killing an animal by shedding its blood by making use of any part of its body. When wild animals whose meats can be eaten are killed by that method, they are considered to be slaughtered licitly.
As for domestic animals, in case that they become wild or it is not possible to slaughter them by holding, they can be killed by necessary tazkiya.
What Tools Are Used for Slaughtering of the Sacrifices?
The process of slaughtering a sacrifice is performed by cutting instruments. Cutting instruments are divided into 2 categories as sharp ones and non-sharp ones.
Tazkiya by sharp instruments whether they are made of iron or another material is religiously permissible.
Although tazkiya by blunt cutting instruments whether they are made of iron or another material is religiously permissible, it is abominable.
What are the qualifications that the person who is to perform the slaughtering of the sacrifice must possess?
The following qualifications are necessary:
1- The slaughterer must be a Muslim or someone of the People of the Book like a Jewish or a Christian.
2- He must possess sufficient intelligence to slaughter and sufficient memory to keep the slaughtering process in mind.
3- He must possess sufficient strength and power to slaughter the animal.
4- He must mention Allahs name while slaughtering, that is, saying In the Name of Allah. It is called tasmiya (saying Allahs name).
Sacrificial animal is slaughtered for only Allah. So, the meat of the animal slaughtered without saying the exalted name of Allah cannot be eaten.
Therefore, meat of the animal slaughtered by idolaters, members of other invalid religions and atheists can not be eaten. It is because they do not say Allahs name while slaughtering.
The reason why the meat of an animal slaughtered by a member of the People of the Book can be eaten is their belief in the same Allah with us.
If those People of the Book call the name of something else except Allah, what they slaughter cannot be eaten, either. If saying Allahs name is left by forgetting, there is no harm. The slaughtering is accepted.
Tasmiya means, saying bismillah while slaughtering. If Allahu akbar, Allahu Azam or only Allah is pronounced, then tasmiya is performed.
If tasmiya is left on purpose, then the meat of the slaughtered animal cannot be eaten.
However, having a non-Muslim even if he is from the People of the Book slaughter the sacrificial animal is abominable.
How is a Sacrificial Animal Slaughtered in Accordance with Sunnah?
In order to be able to slaughter the sacrificial animal in conformity with the procedures, easily and without giving much torment to the animal, a big and sharp knife is prepared at first. It is put in a place where the animal cannot see it. Then, the sacrificial animal is taken to the place it will be slaughtered without giving any torment to it. The animal is laid down on its left side in a way that its face and feet face the qiblah. By setting its back right foot free, its remaining three feet are tied and the following verses are recited by the owner of the sacrifice or his representative:
I have turned my face firmly and truly toward Him Who created the heavens and the earth. (al- Anam, 79).
My worship and my sacrifice and my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the Worlds. (al-Anam, 162).
After those verses, exalting is performed by reciting Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar. La ilaha illallahu vallahu akbar. Allahu akbar wa lillahil hamd. (Allah is most great, Allah is most great. There is no god but He and Allah is most great. Allah is most great and praise is unique to Allah), and then the neck of the animal is cut by the sharp knife by reciting Bismillahi, Allahu akbar (in the name of Allah, Allah is most great). The blood is let flow by cutting the vein and the pipes completely.
It is necessary to wait till the animal dies completely after slaughtering the animal. Then, the head is torn away and the animal is skinned in accordance with the principles. Its abdomen is cut, its viscera are taken out and the body and the meats are cut into parts.
It is abominable to tear away the head and feet of the animal, to try to skin its fur, to turn it away from the qiblah or to give torment to before it has died completely.
Slaughtering of the sacrifice by its owner is mandub (recommended). It is also possible to have someone else slaughter it.
Tasmiya is performed by the person slaughtering the animal. If the owner of the sacrifice puts his hand on the hand of the person slaughtering and they slaughter together, then it is obligatory for both of them to perform the tasmiya.
What Should Be Done with the Meat and the Hide of the Sacrificial Animal?
The meat of the slaughtered animal is divided into three groups approximately. One third of it is kept for the household, one third of it is distributed to relatives and neighbors. The remaining one third of it is given away to the poor and needy people. Dividing the meat like that is mandub.
If the person having the sacrifice is rich, he can give away all or most of the meat to the needy. If he is not so rich or if his family is crowded, he can also leave all or most of the meat at home for himself.
Shedding the blood is fundamental at sacrificing. Without performing it, the duty of sacrificing is not regarded to be performed. For this reason, the duty of sacrificing will not have been carried through buying a sacrificial sheep and donating it alive without slaughtering.
It is essential to have Muslims eat from the meat of the sacrifice. It is abominable to have an unbeliever eat it from it. However, if an unbeliever has just come while it is being slaughtered or while it is being eaten, then it is not abominable to have that person eat from it.
It is also abominable to sell the meat and the hide of the sacrifice and take the money.
If it is sold, the money taken must be donated. The hide of the sacrifice can be donated to various charitable foundations or it can be left at home to make a prayer rug from it.
Issues Concerning Sacrifice
If a sacrificial animal bought by a rich person obliged to slaughter a sacrifice by supposing that that animal is sound turns out to have a defect that is considered to be a great defect on the eid day, then that animal cannot be sacrificed. It is obligatory for him to buy another animal and sacrifice it.
According to Shafii, it is not necessary to buy a new sacrificial animal.
If a sacrificial animal bought by a rich person dies before slaughtering it, then it is compulsory to buy a new one in place of it.
The deadline of sacrifice is taken into account for the sacrifice to be wajib (compulsory). Therefore, sacrificing is compulsory for someone who becomes rich on the third day of the eid before the sunset.
It is not religiously permissible to donate sacrificial animals without slaughtering it. However, if somehow sacrifice slaughtering days go by before the sacrificial animal purchased is slaughtered, then that animal is not slaughtered but donated alive. Shedding blood is not obligatory anymore and it is transformed into donating. Its owner cannot eat from the meat of that animal anymore.
Turkish citizens working abroad can have their religiously compulsory sacrifice slaughtered in Turkey by informing that they appointed one of their relatives as a representative and by sending the price of the sacrificial animal to that person in time if the circumstances of the country they are in are not suitable.
Can a Sacrifice Be Slaughtered on Behalf of a Dead Person?
The sacrificial animal we will slaughter for the purpose of donating its reward to the spirit of a relative of us who died or the spirit of a person we love is not different from the other animals we sacrifice in the eid of sacrifice. Sacrificing on behalf of a dead person is not an obligation if it was not bequeathed.
A person can eat the meat of a sacrificial animal which he has bought by his own money and he has slaughtered for the purpose of donating its reward to one of his relatives and he can also have some other persons eat from it. It is not necessary to slaughter such an animal on the eid days. It can be slaughtered any time. It is even more appropriate to slaughter the animal and give away te meat to the needy on the day of Arafa (the eve of the Eid of Sacrifice) because on the days of the Eid of Sacrifice, the needy will get their shares from the meat anyway. If it is slaughtered and distributed on the day of Arafa, their meat for the meals will have been supplied for that day.
If one person bequeathed a sacrifice to be slaughtered after his death, that sacrifice must be slaughtered on the days of the eid. The person slaughtering such an animal cannot eat the meat of that sacrifice. All of it must be donated. If there is no will of the dead person and the sacrificial animal is purchased by that dead persons money, that sacrifice is also subject to the decrees of the sacrifice slaughtered due to a will.
What Are the Other Kinds of Sacrifice?
Sacrifices are divided into two as wajib (obligatory) ones and nafila (optional) ones.
The obligatory sacrifices are as follows:
1- Sacrifices obligatory for the person possessing the quorum (nisab) and regarded to be rich (the sacrifice of Udhhiyah).
2- Sacrifices that are vowed (the sacrifice of Nazir).
3- Sacrifices of thanks (hady sacrifices) obligatory for a person performing Qiran Hajj and Tamattu Hajj.
4- Penalty sacrifices obligatory for a person who commits a fault that that necessitates a sacrifice at hajj.
5- It is also obligatory for a poor person to sacrifice the animal he has bought with the intention of sacrificing it.
Optional sacrifices are the ones except those sacrifices above and they are sacrificed only optionally: Aqiqa sacrifices, sacrifices that are slaughtered by a person performing Ifrad Hajj and sacrifices slaughtered on the days except the Eid of Sacrifice, etc.
The Sacrifice of Aqiqa:
The hairs existing on the head of a new-born baby are called aqiqa. The sacrificing as a means of thanking Almighty Allah since He has granted such an infant is also called aqiqa.
Nevertheless, it is more convenient to say nasika insead of aqiqa. Because, since the word aqiqa also means someone rebellious towards his parents as it is derived from the word uquq meaning rebelling parents, those two meanings can be confused with each other. Therefore, the Prophet ordered: Do not say aqiqa but say nasika. However, we should also mention that the word aqiqa is more common.
The custom of sacrificing for a new-born baby was a common custom in the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliya) before Islam, too. However, they used to slaughter the aqiqa only for their sons. Because, they did not use to like girls and they used to get angry when their daughters were born. Some tribes even used to bury their daughters alive. The Glorious Quran condemned that tyrannous attitude and forbad it. (See an-Nahl, 58).
Islam did not annul the custom of aqiqa but modified it by not leaving it in that tyrannous manner and expanded it to girls and boys, to all children.
The sacrifice of aqiqa is permissible (neither enjoined nor forbidden by the Sharia) according to the Hanafi school. It means, someone who wishes performs it and someone who does not wish it does not perform it. There is no decrease in the merit of the person who does not perform it. It is sunnah according to other schools. It is based on the narration that our Prophet sacrificed a ram for Hadhrat Husain.
Sacrificing can be performed beginning from the birth of the children till the age of puberty. Sacrificing on one of the 7th, 14th or 25th days is deemed as better and especially sacrificing during the 7th day after birth is accepted as the most virtuous. On the same day, the infants hair is cut and gold or silver as much as the weight of those hairs or the equivalent are donated as charity. It is better to give the infant a name on that day.
According to Imam Shafii and Ahmad b. Hanbal, the bones of the aqiqa are not broken, they are separated through their joints and cooked wholly as an omen to the health and safety of the infant. It is recommended. However, according to the other imams of the schools, it is recommended to break the bones as an omen for the infant to be modest and to have his humanely passions broken. Then, the situation depends on the intention. It is better to behave in accordance with the omen intended.
The person sacrificing the aqiqa and his family can eat the meat of that animal and they can also have other people eat from it. It can be donated entirely if it is desired. In the past, the rump piece of the animal used to be given to the midwife woman.
The qualifications required for an obligatory sacrifice are also essential for the animal that will be slaughtered as an aqiqa. Then, every animal suitable to be an obligatory sacrifice is also suitable to be an aqiqa sacrifice.
The Sacrifice of Nazir (Vow):
It is obligatory to slaughter an animal vowed to be slaughtered for Allah.
Te following conditions must exist so that slaughtering of a vowed sacrifice becomes an obligation:
1- The animal vowed as a sacrifice must be from the kinds of obligatory sacrificial animals. For example, a vow is not performed by vowing a turkey or a rooster, because it is not religiously permissible to slaughter a turkey or a rooster as a sacrifice.
2- The vowed sacrifice must not be an already obligatory sacrifice for the person vowing the sacrifice. For example, if a rich person says: I will sacrifice in that eid if such-and-such thing happens, then the sacrificing does replace his sacrifice of vow. However, if he slaughters a vowed sacrifice apart from that sacrifice, then his vow will have been carried out.
3- The vowed sacrifice must not be of the kind of something Allah forbids like vowing to sacrifice his son for Allah.
4- The vowed sacrifice must not be a property of someone else. One can vow only from his own property.
5- The sacrifice vowed must not be something impossible to carry out like vowing a sacrifice for the past time.
The owner of the vowed sacrifice cannot eat from its meat, nor can his family, children, grandchildren, parents, grandmothers and grandfathers. It must be donated to the needy entirely. If a piece of that meat is eaten, then the value of the eaten piece must be given to the needy as a charity.
The purchase a sacrificial animal by a poor person in order to sacrifice it in the Eid of Sacrifice is also a kind of vowing. It becomes obligatory for that poor person to sacrifice it after that.
The following three kinds of animals can be sacrificed:
1 - Sheep and goat.
2 - Cattle. Buffalos are also regarded as cattle.
3 – Camel.
Animals other than those mentioned above cannot be sacrificed.
Both females and males of those three kinds of animals can be sacrificed. However, the males of sheep and goats are preferred.
Sheep and goats that are under age one, cattle that are under age two and camels that are under age five cannot be sacrificed.
However, if a 6-month-old sheep is bulky and good- looking, it is religiously permissible to be slaughtered as a sacrifice. A goat must be at least one year old.
It is obligatory for a sacrificial animal to be plump, good- looking and fat.
A sheep and a goat can be sacrificed on behalf of only one person.
All kinds of cattle, or a camel can be sacrificed by one person or it can be sacrificed jointly by up to 7 people. (7 is included.)
It is obligatory for each of those seven people to have the intention of sacrificing the animal for Allahs pleasure. If one of them participates just for taking some meat without the intention of sacrifice, then none of their sacrifice is sound.
It is not important whether the number of the participants is even or odd.
Participants should separate their share by weighing. Distribution without weighing is not permissible.
What parts of the animals whose meat can be eaten are not allowed to be eaten?
7 parts of the animals whose meat can be eaten are not eaten. They are religiously forbidden (haram).
1) Blood flowing out of animals,
2) Masculinity organ,
3) Femininity organ,
4) Testicle of males,
5) Round glands within meat,
6) Urinary bladder,
7) Gall bladder.
How is the Sacrifice Slaughtered?
Sacrificial animals are killed in compliance with the way and method of slaughtering our religion has determined. Slaughtering in accordance with Sharia is also called tazkiya.
1 - Slaughtering the side of the throat contiguous to the chin, which is called zabh. An animal slaughtered that way is also called zabiha. The word mazbaha (slaughterhouse) comes from the same origin.
2 - Or the part of the throat contiguous to the chest is slaughtered, which is called nahr.
Slaughtering sheep, goats and cattle by zabh method and camels by nahr method is sunnah ( a Practice of the Prophet). Performing the contrary is makrooh (abominable).
It is obligatory to take the following issues from the standpoint of Sharia into consideration while slaughtering the animal:
These 4 parts called awdaj must be slaughtered completely:
1 - Trachea
2 - Esophagus
3, 4 - Two jugular veins on both sides of the neck
The slaughtering process is not regarded to be performed in terms of religion before those 4 parts are cut completely. A sacrifice slaughtered that way is not sound and its meat cannot be eaten.
In case one of those four parts is not cut, the issue is under debate.
According to one opinion, if 3 of those 4 parts including trachea have been cut, then the slaughtering is sound.
According to another opinion, if all of those 4 parts and more than halves of each of them have not been cut, then the slaughtering is not complete and that animals meat is not sound. However, the muftabih (the one fatwa is given by) is the first opinion.
An animal slaughtered in that manner is accepted to be slaughtered according to the procedure of Sharia. It is called real and voluntary tazkiya (slaughtering in accordance with Sharia).
There is also another way of slaughtering called necessary tazkiya. That slaughtering means killing an animal by shedding its blood by making use of any part of its body. When wild animals whose meats can be eaten are killed by that method, they are considered to be slaughtered licitly.
As for domestic animals, in case that they become wild or it is not possible to slaughter them by holding, they can be killed by necessary tazkiya.
What Tools Are Used for Slaughtering of the Sacrifices?
The process of slaughtering a sacrifice is performed by cutting instruments. Cutting instruments are divided into 2 categories as sharp ones and non-sharp ones.
Tazkiya by sharp instruments whether they are made of iron or another material is religiously permissible.
Although tazkiya by blunt cutting instruments whether they are made of iron or another material is religiously permissible, it is abominable.
What are the qualifications that the person who is to perform the slaughtering of the sacrifice must possess?
The following qualifications are necessary:
1- The slaughterer must be a Muslim or someone of the People of the Book like a Jewish or a Christian.
2- He must possess sufficient intelligence to slaughter and sufficient memory to keep the slaughtering process in mind.
3- He must possess sufficient strength and power to slaughter the animal.
4- He must mention Allahs name while slaughtering, that is, saying In the Name of Allah. It is called tasmiya (saying Allahs name).
Sacrificial animal is slaughtered for only Allah. So, the meat of the animal slaughtered without saying the exalted name of Allah cannot be eaten.
Therefore, meat of the animal slaughtered by idolaters, members of other invalid religions and atheists can not be eaten. It is because they do not say Allahs name while slaughtering.
The reason why the meat of an animal slaughtered by a member of the People of the Book can be eaten is their belief in the same Allah with us.
If those People of the Book call the name of something else except Allah, what they slaughter cannot be eaten, either. If saying Allahs name is left by forgetting, there is no harm. The slaughtering is accepted.
Tasmiya means, saying bismillah while slaughtering. If Allahu akbar, Allahu Azam or only Allah is pronounced, then tasmiya is performed.
If tasmiya is left on purpose, then the meat of the slaughtered animal cannot be eaten.
However, having a non-Muslim even if he is from the People of the Book slaughter the sacrificial animal is abominable.
How is a Sacrificial Animal Slaughtered in Accordance with Sunnah?
In order to be able to slaughter the sacrificial animal in conformity with the procedures, easily and without giving much torment to the animal, a big and sharp knife is prepared at first. It is put in a place where the animal cannot see it. Then, the sacrificial animal is taken to the place it will be slaughtered without giving any torment to it. The animal is laid down on its left side in a way that its face and feet face the qiblah. By setting its back right foot free, its remaining three feet are tied and the following verses are recited by the owner of the sacrifice or his representative:
I have turned my face firmly and truly toward Him Who created the heavens and the earth. (al- Anam, 79).
My worship and my sacrifice and my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the Worlds. (al-Anam, 162).
After those verses, exalting is performed by reciting Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar. La ilaha illallahu vallahu akbar. Allahu akbar wa lillahil hamd. (Allah is most great, Allah is most great. There is no god but He and Allah is most great. Allah is most great and praise is unique to Allah), and then the neck of the animal is cut by the sharp knife by reciting Bismillahi, Allahu akbar (in the name of Allah, Allah is most great). The blood is let flow by cutting the vein and the pipes completely.
It is necessary to wait till the animal dies completely after slaughtering the animal. Then, the head is torn away and the animal is skinned in accordance with the principles. Its abdomen is cut, its viscera are taken out and the body and the meats are cut into parts.
It is abominable to tear away the head and feet of the animal, to try to skin its fur, to turn it away from the qiblah or to give torment to before it has died completely.
Slaughtering of the sacrifice by its owner is mandub (recommended). It is also possible to have someone else slaughter it.
Tasmiya is performed by the person slaughtering the animal. If the owner of the sacrifice puts his hand on the hand of the person slaughtering and they slaughter together, then it is obligatory for both of them to perform the tasmiya.
What Should Be Done with the Meat and the Hide of the Sacrificial Animal?
The meat of the slaughtered animal is divided into three groups approximately. One third of it is kept for the household, one third of it is distributed to relatives and neighbors. The remaining one third of it is given away to the poor and needy people. Dividing the meat like that is mandub.
If the person having the sacrifice is rich, he can give away all or most of the meat to the needy. If he is not so rich or if his family is crowded, he can also leave all or most of the meat at home for himself.
Shedding the blood is fundamental at sacrificing. Without performing it, the duty of sacrificing is not regarded to be performed. For this reason, the duty of sacrificing will not have been carried through buying a sacrificial sheep and donating it alive without slaughtering.
It is essential to have Muslims eat from the meat of the sacrifice. It is abominable to have an unbeliever eat it from it. However, if an unbeliever has just come while it is being slaughtered or while it is being eaten, then it is not abominable to have that person eat from it.
It is also abominable to sell the meat and the hide of the sacrifice and take the money.
If it is sold, the money taken must be donated. The hide of the sacrifice can be donated to various charitable foundations or it can be left at home to make a prayer rug from it.
Issues Concerning Sacrifice
If a sacrificial animal bought by a rich person obliged to slaughter a sacrifice by supposing that that animal is sound turns out to have a defect that is considered to be a great defect on the eid day, then that animal cannot be sacrificed. It is obligatory for him to buy another animal and sacrifice it.
According to Shafii, it is not necessary to buy a new sacrificial animal.
If a sacrificial animal bought by a rich person dies before slaughtering it, then it is compulsory to buy a new one in place of it.
The deadline of sacrifice is taken into account for the sacrifice to be wajib (compulsory). Therefore, sacrificing is compulsory for someone who becomes rich on the third day of the eid before the sunset.
It is not religiously permissible to donate sacrificial animals without slaughtering it. However, if somehow sacrifice slaughtering days go by before the sacrificial animal purchased is slaughtered, then that animal is not slaughtered but donated alive. Shedding blood is not obligatory anymore and it is transformed into donating. Its owner cannot eat from the meat of that animal anymore.
Turkish citizens working abroad can have their religiously compulsory sacrifice slaughtered in Turkey by informing that they appointed one of their relatives as a representative and by sending the price of the sacrificial animal to that person in time if the circumstances of the country they are in are not suitable.
Can a Sacrifice Be Slaughtered on Behalf of a Dead Person?
The sacrificial animal we will slaughter for the purpose of donating its reward to the spirit of a relative of us who died or the spirit of a person we love is not different from the other animals we sacrifice in the eid of sacrifice. Sacrificing on behalf of a dead person is not an obligation if it was not bequeathed.
A person can eat the meat of a sacrificial animal which he has bought by his own money and he has slaughtered for the purpose of donating its reward to one of his relatives and he can also have some other persons eat from it. It is not necessary to slaughter such an animal on the eid days. It can be slaughtered any time. It is even more appropriate to slaughter the animal and give away te meat to the needy on the day of Arafa (the eve of the Eid of Sacrifice) because on the days of the Eid of Sacrifice, the needy will get their shares from the meat anyway. If it is slaughtered and distributed on the day of Arafa, their meat for the meals will have been supplied for that day.
If one person bequeathed a sacrifice to be slaughtered after his death, that sacrifice must be slaughtered on the days of the eid. The person slaughtering such an animal cannot eat the meat of that sacrifice. All of it must be donated. If there is no will of the dead person and the sacrificial animal is purchased by that dead persons money, that sacrifice is also subject to the decrees of the sacrifice slaughtered due to a will.
What Are the Other Kinds of Sacrifice?
Sacrifices are divided into two as wajib (obligatory) ones and nafila (optional) ones.
The obligatory sacrifices are as follows:
1- Sacrifices obligatory for the person possessing the quorum (nisab) and regarded to be rich (the sacrifice of Udhhiyah).
2- Sacrifices that are vowed (the sacrifice of Nazir).
3- Sacrifices of thanks (hady sacrifices) obligatory for a person performing Qiran Hajj and Tamattu Hajj.
4- Penalty sacrifices obligatory for a person who commits a fault that that necessitates a sacrifice at hajj.
5- It is also obligatory for a poor person to sacrifice the animal he has bought with the intention of sacrificing it.
Optional sacrifices are the ones except those sacrifices above and they are sacrificed only optionally: Aqiqa sacrifices, sacrifices that are slaughtered by a person performing Ifrad Hajj and sacrifices slaughtered on the days except the Eid of Sacrifice, etc.
The Sacrifice of Aqiqa:
The hairs existing on the head of a new-born baby are called aqiqa. The sacrificing as a means of thanking Almighty Allah since He has granted such an infant is also called aqiqa.
Nevertheless, it is more convenient to say nasika insead of aqiqa. Because, since the word aqiqa also means someone rebellious towards his parents as it is derived from the word uquq meaning rebelling parents, those two meanings can be confused with each other. Therefore, the Prophet ordered: Do not say aqiqa but say nasika. However, we should also mention that the word aqiqa is more common.
The custom of sacrificing for a new-born baby was a common custom in the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliya) before Islam, too. However, they used to slaughter the aqiqa only for their sons. Because, they did not use to like girls and they used to get angry when their daughters were born. Some tribes even used to bury their daughters alive. The Glorious Quran condemned that tyrannous attitude and forbad it. (See an-Nahl, 58).
Islam did not annul the custom of aqiqa but modified it by not leaving it in that tyrannous manner and expanded it to girls and boys, to all children.
The sacrifice of aqiqa is permissible (neither enjoined nor forbidden by the Sharia) according to the Hanafi school. It means, someone who wishes performs it and someone who does not wish it does not perform it. There is no decrease in the merit of the person who does not perform it. It is sunnah according to other schools. It is based on the narration that our Prophet sacrificed a ram for Hadhrat Husain.
Sacrificing can be performed beginning from the birth of the children till the age of puberty. Sacrificing on one of the 7th, 14th or 25th days is deemed as better and especially sacrificing during the 7th day after birth is accepted as the most virtuous. On the same day, the infants hair is cut and gold or silver as much as the weight of those hairs or the equivalent are donated as charity. It is better to give the infant a name on that day.
According to Imam Shafii and Ahmad b. Hanbal, the bones of the aqiqa are not broken, they are separated through their joints and cooked wholly as an omen to the health and safety of the infant. It is recommended. However, according to the other imams of the schools, it is recommended to break the bones as an omen for the infant to be modest and to have his humanely passions broken. Then, the situation depends on the intention. It is better to behave in accordance with the omen intended.
The person sacrificing the aqiqa and his family can eat the meat of that animal and they can also have other people eat from it. It can be donated entirely if it is desired. In the past, the rump piece of the animal used to be given to the midwife woman.
The qualifications required for an obligatory sacrifice are also essential for the animal that will be slaughtered as an aqiqa. Then, every animal suitable to be an obligatory sacrifice is also suitable to be an aqiqa sacrifice.
The Sacrifice of Nazir (Vow):
It is obligatory to slaughter an animal vowed to be slaughtered for Allah.
Te following conditions must exist so that slaughtering of a vowed sacrifice becomes an obligation:
1- The animal vowed as a sacrifice must be from the kinds of obligatory sacrificial animals. For example, a vow is not performed by vowing a turkey or a rooster, because it is not religiously permissible to slaughter a turkey or a rooster as a sacrifice.
2- The vowed sacrifice must not be an already obligatory sacrifice for the person vowing the sacrifice. For example, if a rich person says: I will sacrifice in that eid if such-and-such thing happens, then the sacrificing does replace his sacrifice of vow. However, if he slaughters a vowed sacrifice apart from that sacrifice, then his vow will have been carried out.
3- The vowed sacrifice must not be of the kind of something Allah forbids like vowing to sacrifice his son for Allah.
4- The vowed sacrifice must not be a property of someone else. One can vow only from his own property.
5- The sacrifice vowed must not be something impossible to carry out like vowing a sacrifice for the past time.
The owner of the vowed sacrifice cannot eat from its meat, nor can his family, children, grandchildren, parents, grandmothers and grandfathers. It must be donated to the needy entirely. If a piece of that meat is eaten, then the value of the eaten piece must be given to the needy as a charity.
The purchase a sacrificial animal by a poor person in order to sacrifice it in the Eid of Sacrifice is also a kind of vowing. It becomes obligatory for that poor person to sacrifice it after that.
04-12-2008 12:00:00
