82.

٨٢. عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ:

«مَنْ كَانَ لَهُ سَعَةٌ وَلَمْ يُضَحِّ فَلَا يَقْرَبَنَّ مُصَلَّانَا».

82. Abu Huraira (r.a.) reported that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

“Whoever does not sacrifice an animal while they can afford it should keep away from our praying rooms!” (Ibn Majah, Adahi, 2; Ahmad, II, 321)

Explanations:

“Qurban” (sacrifice) means something that helps someone to get closer or approach to Allah. Since it carries the meanings of self sacrifice from wealth and life, it is one of the most important means to get closer to Allah.

At the same time, animal sacrifice is the tradition of our forefather Abraham. (Ibn Majah, Adahi, 3)

It is commanded by Allah in the second year of the Hijra (immigration from Mecca to Madina). According to Abu Hanifa, it is necessary to sacrifice on the Festival of Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha) for those who own more than 96 grams of gold or 640 grams of silver. The passage of a year upon the ownership of these minimum limits is not a requirement for offering sacrifice.

Majority of scholars believe that sacrife is a sunnah al-muakkadah.[1]

Some scholars say that the following verses constitute evidence for animal sacrifice:

“To every people did We appoint rites (of sacrifice), that they might celebrate the name of Allah over the sustenance He gave them from animals (fit for food)…” (Al-Hajj; 22:34, 67)

“Therefore to your Lord turn in Prayer and Sacrifice.” (Al-Kawthar; 108:2)

“And We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice.” (Al-Saffat; 37:107)

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) never missed to sacrifice after it is commanded[2] and he even performed it on journey[3] and said:

“O humans! It is necessary to perform sacrifice every year for each household.” (Ibn Majah, Adahi, 2; Tirmidhi, Adahi, 18/1518)

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said the following for the virtues of the days of Festival of Sacrifice (Eid Al-Adha):

“The greatest day in Allah’s sight is the day of sacrifice and next one is the second day of Eid al-Adha (yawm al-qarr)” (Abu Dawud, Kitab al-Manasik al-Umra wa al-Hajj, 18/1765)

Again, Allah’s Apostle (pbuh) said:

“The days that good deeds are most liked by Allah are the first ten days of Dhul-hijja!”

Some people in the congregation asked:

“Even from Jihad in the way of Allah?”

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

“Yes, even from Jihad![4] However, those who go to Jihad with their wealth and lives and do not return with any of them (that is, those who sacrificed their entire wealth and life and are martyred) are excluded!” (Bukhari, I‘dain, 11; Abu Dawud, Sawm, 61/2438; Tirmidhi, Sawm, 52/757)

Therefore, it is necessary to try to get closer to Allah during these virtuous days. In our first hadith, it is announced that sacrifice is the best act to be done during these days. That is why the whole animal that is sacrificed will come on the Day of Judgment as a reward.

Sacrifice can be an act of worship that is difficult to perform for human inner-self since it also requires material sacrifice and spending. For this reason, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) advised Muslims to be at ease by thinking the virtues and rewards of this act of worship.

In our hadith, by choosing the words as “to shed blood of the sacrificed animal” or “before the blood of the animal drops to floor,” it is shown that the purpose of the sacrifice is to “shed blood.”  In turn, the purpose of shedding blood is to show the obedience, trust, and call on to Allah. Otherwise, Allah does not need the meat of the animal nor its blood. As a matter of fact, it is said in a noble verse of Qur’an:

“It is not their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah. It is your piety that reaches Him…” (Al-Hajj; 22:37)

When the sacrifice of Abel, the son of Adam, which he had offered unwillingly, was not accepted by Allah, he got jealous of his brother Cain and said “I swear that I will kill you.” The response of Cain to his brother is so meaningful:

“…(Allah) does accept of the sacrifice of those who are righteous.” (Al-Maidah; 5:27)

Therefore, there is a strong relationship between sacrifice and being righteous. Only righteous people can sacrifice animal with peace of heart. On the other hand, when sacrificing an animal, one must act piously. Due to this sincerity, the sacrificed animal enriches the person who performs the act and gets him closer to Allah. The most valuable person in the sight of Allah is the one who is the most righteous. (Al-Hujurat; 49:13)

On the other hand, Allah only accepts a sacrifice that is performed to fulfill His command and only to gain His content. For this reason, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

“May Allah curse upon those who sacrifice for other causes than gaining the content of Allah.” (Muslim, Adahi, 43-45; Nasai, Dahaya, 34)

In our second hadith, those who do not sacrifice while they can afford are warned with a strong language. In this hadith, it does not mean that prayers are not valid if one does not sacrifice. However, a punishment is given to a person who does not sacrifice, and he gets away from righteous people and is in huge loss. The Prophet (pbuh) wished that all of his followers perform sacrifice and find salvation by gaining divine rewards.

In another noble verse of Qur’an, it is stated that:

“The sacrificial camels we have made for you as among the symbols from Allah.” (Al-Hajj; 22:36)

For this reason, one must show respect to the animal sacrifice and to sacrificial animals for the sake of Allah. As in all other acts of worship, the essence of sacrifice is righteousness and exalting Allah. One of the requirements of this act of worship is that the sacrificial animal must be healthy and well-fed. This is expressed in a noble hadith as follows:

“Four (types of animals) should be avoided in sacrifice:

  1. 1.                 One-eyed animal which has obviously lost the sight of one eye,
  2. 2.                 A sick animal which is obviously sick,
  3. 3.                 A lame animal which obviously limps and
  4. 4.                 A lean animal with dried marrows.” (Abu Dawud, Adahi, 5-6/2802; Tirmidhi, Adahi, 5/1497)

One day Urwa (r.a.) told his children:

“My sons, let none of you sacrifice any animal which he would be ashamed to sacrifice for a noble woman, for surely Allah is the noblest of noble ones, and the most deserving of those for whom things are chosen.” (Malik, Muwatta, Hajj, 147)

One must be very sensitive in slaughtering the sacrificial animal and cover its eyes tightly and should not sacrifice two animals in one hole. Also, one should pay attention not to sacrifice one animal in front of another. It is not right to hurt the animal while bringing it to the place where it will be sacrificed. If the sacrificial animal is a sheep or goat, it would be nice to carry it gently and tenderly. Cattle should also be gently brought to where it will be sacrificed. The sacrificial animal should be turned towards direction of Ka’bah, the person who will perform the sacrifice should say Bismillah (“in the name of Allah”) and then Takbir (“God is Greatest”), and if it is possible whoever fulfills the worship should sacrifice the animal himself.[5]  If not, he should find someone to slaughter the animal but try to be present when the sacrificial animal is slaughtered.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

“O Fatima! Go and be present in your sacrificial offering, and know it well that with the first drop of blood, your (minor) sins will be forgiven.” (Hakim, IV, 247/7524; Haythami, IV, 17; Baihaqi, Shuab, V, 483)

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ordered to sharpen and hide the knives from the animals and then he advised:

“When you slaughter an animal, do it fast!” (Ibn Majah, Zabaih, 3)

“Verily Allah has enjoined goodness to everything; so when you kill, kill in a good way and when you slaughter, slaughter in a good way. So every one of you should sharpen his knife, and comfort the slaughtered animal.” (Muslim, Said, 57; Tirmidhi, Diyat, 14/1409; Abu Dawud, Kitab Al-Dahaya, 11-12/2815)

Here, the meaning of comforting the animal is to pet the animal gently before the sacrifice and slaughter it quickly with a sharp knife.

Once, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) saw a man slaughtering a sheep. The man was trying to sharpen the knife after he had laid the sacrificial animal down. Upon this harsh and cold-hearted behavior, the Messenger of Allah warned him as follows:

“Are you trying to kill the animal several times? Shouldn’t you have sharpened your knife before you lay it down?” (Hakim, IV, 257, 260/7570)

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) prohibited to cut the throat and some part of the skin of the animal and leave it like that until it dies.[6] It is necessary to cut through the carotids, alimentary, and air tube. When the animal is slaughtered, one should wait for a while until the blood flow stops. One should not start to skin the animal while it is still lingering.

Not to sit and to wait standing up until the blood flow stops is among the acts of righteous ones.

Jabir (r.a.) narrated how the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) sacrificed an animal as follows:

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) sacrificed two horned white rams with black markings. When he made them face the kiblah, he said:

“For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah.” (Al-An‘am; 6:79)

“Say: “Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds: No partner has He: this am I commanded, and I am the first of those who bow to His will.”[7]

“O Lord! (This sacrifice) comes from You and we are sacrificing it for you. I am sacrificing on behalf of Muhammad and his nation. In the name of Allah, and Allah is Most Great.” He then made the sacrifice. (Abu Dawud, Adahi, 3-4/2795; Ibn Majah, Al-Dahaya, 1)

Jabir ibn Abdullah also narrated:

“I witnessed sacrificing along with the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) at the place of prayer. When he finished his sermon, he descended from the pulpit, and a ram was brought to him. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) slaughtered it with his own hands, and said:

In the name of Allah, Allah is Most Great. This is on behalf of me and those who did not sacrifice from my nation!” (Tirmidhi, Al-Dahaya, 20/1521)

In these narrations, we can also see how much the Messenger of Allah was fond of his followers.

As those who are performing pilgrimage cannot get out of ihram unless they offer their sacrifice and shave, it is also nice for Muslims who offer sacrifice in their home towns to pospone shaving and clipping their nails until after they saw the new moon of the month of Dhulhijja.[8]

The purpose of this is to transform the unity in faith into a unity in practice all around the world by acting like those who are physically at Hajj as much as possible.

Another lesson in acting this way is to save those who offer sacrifices from the Hellfire with all their cells. That is because for each part of the body of the sacrificed animal, as a reward, Allah saves the corresponding body part of the person who sacrificed it.

After the sacrificial animal is slaughtered and divided appropriately, one should eat from its meat and offer it to others. Allah the Almighty says:

“… then eat you thereof and feed the distressed ones in want.” (Al-Hajj; 22:28, 36)

The proper manner is to divide the meat into three parts and leave one part for the family memebers at home, offer one part of it to friends and neighbors, and give the rest as sadaqah (Abu Dawud, Adahi, 9-10/2813)

While it is permissible to use the skin and other useful parts of the sacrificed animal at home, it is not permissible to sell them. If it is sold, then the money should be given as charity. Also, benefiting from the fur or milk of the sacrificial animal (before sacrifice) is considered undesirable and if this is done, it is advised to give charity as much as their value.

While sacrificing the animal, one should pay extreme attention to cleanliness and hygiene. The streets and environment should be kept clean and one should avoid causing bad smells and sights in the streets.

If the lessons and virtues of sacrifice are to be summarized, one can list as follows:

Sacrifice reminds us Abraham’s and Ismail’s submission and how superior they were as servants of Allah. It physically shows us that Allah offered everything to humans’ service and how we should appropriately benefit from them and give charity out of them. Indeed, as it is wrong not to benefit from the blessings of Allah, it is also extremely wrong to waste them. For this reason, Islam ordered sacrifice but also prohibited wasting and torturing animals and even put a minimum age limit for the sacrificial animals.

Sacrifice saves one from being stingy and having love for material goods. Sacrifice develops the feelings of brotherhood, altruism, sharing, and pleasing the needy in the society. Sacrifice builds bonds between people with love and mercy. It ensures that everyone benefits from the blessings of Allah. It helps us to gain the content of Allah and get closer to Him by acts of worship that are performed both individually and socially in the society.



[1] Translator’s note: Sunnah al-Muakkadah (Continuous Tradition) are the traditions (sunnah) that our Prophet would always perform and hardly ever missed.

[2] Tirmidhi, Adahi, 11/1507. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) even wished that sacrifices to be offered on his behalf. Hanash (r.a.) saw Ali sacrificing two rams and asked why he was doing this.  Ali (r.a.) answered:

“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) bequested me to sacrifice to his name after his death. One of them are for him and I will never quit doing this!” (Abu Dawud, Adahi, 1-2/2790; Tirmidhi, Adahi, 3/1495; Ahmad, I, 107)

[3] Muslim, Hajj, 356-7; Abu Dawud, Adahi, 10-11/2814; Tirmidhi, Adahi, 8/1501. However, due to hardship of sacrificing and distributing the meat during a journey, a permission not to sacrifice is given to travelers. In other words, a traveler may not sacrifice if he wishes to.

[4] The “jihad” here is probably a jihaad done during the Hajj time since it prevents one performing Hajj. That is becasue the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) told in several hadiths that the best worship is “making jihaad in the name of Allah.”

[5] Muslim, Adahi, 17-18.

[6] Abu Dawud, Adaahi, 16-17/2826.

[7] Al-An‘am (The Cattle); 6:162-163.

[8] Muslim, Adahi, 39-42; Abu Dawud, Adahi, 2-3/2791.

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