Islamic Article | - Conditions of udhiyah

I intend to offer a sacrifice on behalf of myself and my children. Are
there any specific characteristics that the animal should have, or
isit correct to sacrifice anysheep?.
Praise be to Allaah.
There are six conditions for the udhiyah:
-1-
It should be one of the an'aam class of animals, which are: camels,
cattle,sheep and goats, because Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"And for every nation We have appointed religious ceremonies, that
they may mention the Name of Allaah over the beast of cattle that He
has given them for food"
[al-Hajj 22:34]
Baheemat al-an'aam (translated here as "beast of cattle") includes
camels, cattle and sheep. This is what is well known among the Arabs,
and this was the view of al-Hasan, Qataadah and others.
-2-
It should have reached the age stipulated in sharee'ah, which is six
months for a sheep and the age at which the animal is considered to
be an adult for any otheranimal, because the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Do not sacrifice anything but
anadult animal, unless it is difficult for you, in which case you may
slaughter a six-month old lamb (jadh'ah)." Narrated by Muslim.
A mature animal means one that is considered tobe an adult.
In the case of camels it means one that is five years old.
For cattle, it means one that is two years old.
For sheep it means one that is a year old.
The jadh'ah is that which is half a year old. So it is not correct to
sacrifice a camel, cow or goat that has not yet reached maturity, or a
sheep that is less than sixmonths old.
-3-
It should be free of any faults that would render it unsuitable for
sacrifice, of which there are four:
1 – An obvious defect in one eye, such as when the eye is sunken in
its socket, or when it sticks out like a button, or is white and
obviously defective.
2 – Obvious sickness, whose symptoms are clearly apparent in the
animal, such as fever that prevents it from grazing and causes loss of
appetite; mange that obviously affects its fleshor its health; deep
wounds that affect its health, and so on.
3 – Obvious lameness, which prevents the animal from walking normally.
4 – Emaciation that leaves no marrow in the bones, when the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about what
should be avoided in udhiyah, he gestured with his hand and said:
"Four: a lame animal which is obviously lame, a one-eyed animal whose
defect is obvious, a sick animal whose sickness isobvious, and an
emaciated animal that no one would choose." Narrated by Maalik in
al-Muwatta' from the hadeeth of al-Bara' ibn 'Aazib. According to a
hadeeth narrated from him in al-Sunan, he said: "The Messenger of
Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood up among us
and said: 'There are four which are not permissible for sacrifice,'"
and he mentioned something similar. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
Irwa' al-Ghaleel, 1148.
These four faults render an animal unsuitable for sacrifice, and they
include similar faults or more severe faults. So the following animals
are also unsuitable for sacrifice:
1- One that is blind in both eyes.
2- One that has eaten more than it can stand, until the danger has passed.
3- One that has encountered difficulty ingiving birth, until all
danger has passed.
4- One that has suffered something that could kill it, such as
strangulation or a fall from a high place, until the danger has
passed.
5- One that is unable to walk because of a defect.
6- One that has had one of its forelegs or hind legs cut off.
If these are added to thefour defects mentioned in the text, the
number of those that cannot be offered as sacrifices reaches ten –
these six and the four mentioned above.
-4-
The animal should belong to the person who is offering the sacrifice,
or he should have permission for that either on the grounds
ofsharee'ah or from the owner. The sacrifice is not valid if the
animal slaughtered does not belong to the person who is sacrificing
it, suchas one that has been taken by force, stolen, ortaken on the
basis of a false claim, etc, because it is not permissible to draw
closer to Allaah by means of sin. A sacrifice offered by the guardian
of an orphan from the orphan's property is valid if that is customary
and if he feels sad about not offering a sacrifice.
A sacrifice offered by a guardian from the property of the person
under his care is valid, if done with permission.
-5-
No one else should have any rights to the sacrificial animal; the
sacrifice of an animal that is held in pledge is not valid.
-6-
It should be slaughtered at the time specified in sharee'ah, which is
from after the Eid prayer on the Day of Sacrifice until sunset on the
last of the days of al-Tashreeq, which is the 13th of Dhu'l-Hijjah. So
the days when the sacrificed may be offered are four: the day of Eid
after the prayer, and the three days after that. Whoeverslaughters it
before the Eid prayer is over, or after sun sets on the 13th of
Dhu'l-Hijjah, his sacrifice is not valid, because of the hadeeth
narrated by al-Bukhaari from al-Bara' ibn 'Aazib (may Allaah be
pleased with him), according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever slaughters (his sacrifice)
before the prayer, it is meat that he has brought to his family, but
that is not the sacrifice." And he narrated that Jundub ibn Sufyaan
al-Bajali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: "I heard the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
saying, 'Whoever slaughters the sacrifice before he prays, let him
replace it with another.'" And it was narrated that
Nubayshahal-Hadhali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: "The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
'The days of al-Tashreeq are the days of eating, drinking and
remembering Allaah.'" Narrated by Muslim.
But if he has an excuse for delaying it beyond the days of Tashreeq,
such as if the animal ran away, without there being any negligence
onhis part, and he could not find it until after the time was over, or
he appointed someone else to slaughter it and that person forgot until
the time was over, then there is nothing wrong with slaughtering it
after the appointed time. This is by analogy with the one who sleeps
and misses a prayer, or forgets it – he should pray it as soon as he
wakes up or remember it.
It is permissible to slaughter the udhiyah atany time, night or day,
but it is better to slaughter it during the day, and it is better to
slaughter on the day of Eid after the two khutbahs. Each day is better
than the day that follows it, because that means that one is hastening
to do good.