We were staying with the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
at Arafat; he said: O people, every family must offer a
sacrifice and an atirah. Do you know what the atirah is?
It is what you call the Rajab sacrifice.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: I have been
commanded to celebrate festival ('Id) on the day of
sacrifice, which Allah, Most High, has appointed for this
community. A man said: If I do not find except a she-goat
or a she-camel borrowed for milk or other benefits, should
I sacrifice it? He said: No, but you should clip your hair
, and nails, trim your moustaches, and shave your pubes.
This is all your sacrifice in the eyes of Allah, Most
High.
Hanash said: I saw Ali sacrificing two rams; so I asked
him: What is this? He replied. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
enjoined upon me to sacrifice on his behalf, so that is
what I am doing.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) sacrificed two horned
rams which were white with black markings and had been
castrated. When he made them face the qiblah, he said: I
have turned my face towards Him. Who created the heavens
and the earth, following Abraham's religion, the true in
faith, and I am not one of the polytheists. My prayer, and
my service of sacrifice, my life and my death are all for
Allah, the Lord of the Universe, Who has no partner. That
is what I was commanded to do, and I am one of the
Muslims. O Allah it comes from Thee and is given to Thee
from Muhammad and his people. In the name of Allah, and
Allah is Most Great. He then made sacrifice.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) distributed
sacrificial animals among his Companions. He gave me a kid
(of less than a year). I took it to him and said: This is
a kid. He said: Sacrifice it. so I sacrificed it.
A maternal uncle of mine called AbuBurdah sacrificed
before the prayer (for 'Id). The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
said: Your goat is meant for flesh. He said: Apostle of
Allah, I have a domestic kid with me. He said: Sacrifice
it, but it is not valid for any man other than you.
Ubayd ibn Firuz said: I asked al-Bara' ibn Azib: What
should be avoided in sacrificial animals? He said: The
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) stood among us, and
my fingers are smaller than his fingers, and my fingertips
are smaller than his fingertips. He said (pointing with
his fingers): Four (types of animals) should be avoided in
sacrifice: A One-eyed animal which has obviously lost the
sight of one eye, a sick animal which is obviously sick, a
lame animal which obviously limps and an animal with a
broken leg with no marrow. I also detest an animal which
has defective teeth. He said: Leave what you detest, but
do not make it illegal for anyone.
Yazid Dhu Misr said: I came to Utbah ibn AbdusSulami
and said: AbulWalid, I went out seeking sacrificial
animals. I did not find anything which attracted me except
an animal whose teeth have fallen. So I abominated it.
What do you say (about it)? He said: Why did you not bring
it to me? He said: Glory be to Allah: Is if lawful for you
and not lawful for me? He said: Yes, you doubt and I do
not doubt. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) has
forbidden an animal whose ear has been uprooted so much so
that its hole appears (outwardly), and an animal whose
horn has broken from the root, and an animal which has
totally lost the sight of its eye, and an animal which is
so thin and weak that it cannot go with the herd, and an
animal with a broken leg.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) enjoined upon
us to pay great attention to the eye and both ears, and
not to sacrifice a one-eyed animal, and an animal with a
slit which leaves something hanging at the front or back
of the ear, or with a lengthwise slit with a perforation
in the ear. I asked AbuIshaq: Did he mention an animal
with broken horns and uprooted ears? He said: No.
I witnessed sacrificing along with the Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him) at the place of prayer. When he
finished his sermon, he descended from his pulpit, and a
ram was brought to him. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)
slaughtered it with his hand, and said: In the name of
Allah, Allah, is Most Great. This is from me and from
those who did not sacrifice from my community.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: We forbade you to
eat their meat for more than three days in order that you
might have abundance; now Allah has produced abundance, so
you may eat, store up and seek reward. Beware, these days
are days of eating, drinking and remembrance of Allah,
Most High.
explaining the verse "But the evil ones ever inspire
their friend to contend with you" They used to say: Do not
eat which Allah killed, but eat which you slaughtered. So
Allah revealed the verse: "Eat not of (meats) on which
Allah's name hath not been pronounced"...to the end of the
verse.
The Jews came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and
said: We eat which we kill but we do not eat which Allah
kills? So Allah revealed: "Eat not of (meats) on which
Allah's name hath not been pronounced." to the end of the
verse.
A man of Banu Harith was pasturing a pregnant she-camel
in one of the ravines of Uhud, (he saw that) it was about
to die; he could find nothing to slaughter it; he took a
stake and stabbed it in the upper part of its breast until
he made its blood flow.
He then came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and
informed him about that, and he ordered him to eat it.
I said: Apostle of Allah, tell me when one of us
catches game and has no knife; may he slaughter with a
flint and a splinter of stick. He said: Cause the blood to
flow with whatever you like and mention Allah's name.
AbulUshara' reported on the authority of his father: He
asked: Apostle of Allah, is the slaughtering to be done
only in the upper part of the breast and the throat? The
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) replied: If you
pierced its thigh, it would serve you.
Ibn Isa added: (Ibn Abbas) and AbuHurayrah said: The
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) forbade the devil's
sacrifice. AbuIsa added in his version: This refers to the
slaughtered animal whose skin cut off, and is then left to
die without its jugular veins being severed.
I asked the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) about
the embryo. He replied: Eat it if you wish.
Musaddad's version says: we said: Apostle of Allah, we
slaughter a she-camel, a cow and a sheep, and we find an
embryo in its womb. Shall we throw it away or eat it? He
replied: Eat it if you wish for the slaughter of its
mother serves its slaughter.
A man called the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him):
We used to sacrifice Atirah in pre-Islamic days during
Rajab; so what do you command us? He said: Sacrifice for
the sake of Allah in any month whatever; obey Allah, Most
High, and feed(the people). He said: We used to sacrifice
a Fara' in pre-Islamic days, so what do you command us? He
said: On every pasturing animal there is a Fara' which is
fed by your cattle till it becomes strong and capable of
carrying load.
The narrator Nasr said (in his version): When it
becomes capable of carrying load of the pilgrims, you may
slaughter it and give its meat as charity (sadaqah).
The narrator Khalid's version says: You (may give it)
to the travellers, for it is better. Khalid said: I asked
AbuQilabah: How many pasturing animals? He replied: One
hundred.
I heard the Prophet (nay peace be upon him) say: Let
the birds stay in their roosts. She said: I also heard him
say: Two sheep are to be sacrificed for a boy and one for
a girl, but it does you no harm whether they are male or
female.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: A boy is in
pledge for his Aqiqah. Sacrifice is made for him on the
seventh day, his head is shaved and is smeared with blood.
When Qatadah was asked about smearing with blood, how
that should be done, he said: When you cut the head (i.e.
throat) of the animal (meant for Aqiqah), you may take a
few hair of it, place them on its veins, and then place
them in the middle of the head of the infant, so that the
blood flows on the hair (of the infant) like a threat.
Then its head may be washed and shaved off.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: A boy is in
pledge for his Aqiqah, Sacrifice is made for him on the
seventh day, his head is shaved and he is given name.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) was asked
about the aqiqah. He replied: Allah does not like the
breaking of ties (uquq), as though he disliked the name.
And he said: If anyone has a child born to him and wishes
to offer a sacrifice on its behalf, he may offer two
resembling sheep for a boy and one for a girl. And he was
asked about fara'. He replied: Fara' is right. If you
leave it (i.e. let it grow till it becomes a healthy camel
of one year or two years, then you give it to a widow or
give it in the path of Allah for using it as a riding
beast, it is better than slaughtering it at the age when
its meat is stuck to its hair, and you turn over your
milking vessel and annoy your she-camel.
When a boy was born to one of us in the pre-Islamic
period, we sacrificed a sheep and smeared his head with
its blood; but when Allah brought Islam, we sacrificed a
sheep, shaved his head and smeared his head with saffron.