- Acts of Worship, - Is it permissible to offer a sacrifice in gratitude to Allaah for a specific blessing?.

Is it permissible for a person who has bought a car or a house to
offer a sacrifice in gratitude to Allaah?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The blessings that Allaah bestows upon people are many, and His bounty
and generosity towards them are vast. Ablessing can only be responded
to by giving thanks and appreciating it. Allaah, may He be glorified
and exalted, has enjoined giving thanks to Him, for He is Appreciative
and loves those who give thanks.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"So eat of the lawful andgood food which Allaah has provided for you.
And be grateful for the Graces of Allaah, if it is He Whom you
worship"
[al-Nahl 16:144]
"seek your provision from Allaah (Alone), and worship Him (Alone), and
be grateful to Him. To Him (Alone) you will be brought back"
[al-'Ankaboot 29:17]
Part of being grateful to Allaah is seeking to drawcloser to Him by
means of different kinds of acts of worship and to endear oneself to
Him bymeans of good deeds such as prayer, zakaah, fasting and so on.
Another part of being grateful to Allaah is giving thanks to Him by
means of sacrifice rituals, which means offering a sacrifice for the
sake of Allaah.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in
his commentary on the verse "Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and
sacrifice (to Him only)" [al-Kawthar 108:2]:
What is meant is that prayer and sacrifice are the best of the things
by means of which one maydraw closer to Allaah, and the usage of the
word fa (translated here as "therefore") points to the reason, i.e.,
doing that – prayer and sacrifice – in gratitude for that which Allaah
hasgiven him of al-Kawthar (a river in Paradise) and much goodness. So
he should give thanks to the One Who has blessedhim and worship Him,
and the two greatest types of worship are these two acts of worship;
indeed, prayer is the ultimate act of worship. It is as if He is
saying to him: We have given you al-Kawthar and a great deal of
goodness, and We have blessed you with that because you have been
doing these two acts of worship in gratitude for Our blessing to you;
these are the reasons why We have bestowed these blessings upon you,
so do these two things for Us, for prayer and sacrifice are surrounded
by blessings that come before them and after them. The best financial
act of worship is sacrifice and the best physical act of worship
isprayer, and the benefits that a slave of Allaah may gain from prayer
cannot be compared to any other type of worship, as is known bythose
whose hearts are alive and those of high aspirations. Adding to it the
benefits of offering sacrifice, which is a sign of devotion to Allaah
and thinking positively of Him, and having strong certainty and faith
about that which isin the hand of Allaah is something wonderful, if
that is accompanied by faith and sincerity. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) obeyed the command of his Lord and
prayed and sacrificed a great deal toHim; he even sacrificed
sixty-three camels with his own hand during theFarewell Pilgrimage,
andhe used to offer sacrifices on the Eids andat other times. End
quote.
Majmoo' al-Fataawa 916/532).
If Allaah bestows a great blessing upon a person –and all His blessing
are great – then it is mustahabb for him to give thanks to Allaah for
it by showing kindness to people, so he should offer a sacrifice and
make food and invite hisbrothers and friends, and give charity to
thosewho are in need.
It says in al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (26/180-181):
It is mustahabb to give thanks anew when new blessings come, by
speaking words of praise. Gratitude for thatmay also be expressed by
doing acts of worship, which includes offering a sacrifice or inviting
people to a meal. The fuqaha' have mentioned the kinds of meals that
may be offered when blessing are renewed, such as thewakeerah which is
madefor a new home, or naqee'ah which is made on the return of an
absent loved one, and hidhaaq which is done when a child completes a
reading of the Qur'aan.
The view of the Hanbalis,the more correct view among the Shaafa'is, is
that these meals are mustahabb.
Ibn Qudaamah said: These invitations – otherthan the wedding feast
(waleemah) and 'aqeeqah – are something good, but they are like
invitations that are given for no reason; if the person who does them
intends thereby to give thanks to Allaah for His blessing and to feed
his brothers and offer food, then he will have the reward for that in
sha Allaah. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked:
If one of my children does well in school, is it permissible for me to
offer a sacrifice to celebrate his success, and to give thanks to
Allaah?
He replied:
There is nothing wrong with making food (waleemah) if the children or
one of them succeeds, and inviting one's loved ones and his child's
friends, to celebrate Allaah's blessing and to encourage the child.
Endquote.
Liqaa'aat al-Baab il-Maftooh (no. 161, question no. 1).
Secondly:
It is essential to beware of some beliefs which many people hold, and
say that in order to protect the new house or car it is essential to
offer a sacrifice and sprinkle it with the blood of the
slaughteredanimal, or that evil spirits will not keep away from you
unless you do that, otherwise the blessing will soon dissipate. hese
are jaahili beliefs which do not come from someone who believes in
Allaah ashis Lord Who possesses all powers to bring benefit or cause
harm, inWhose hand is the creation and the commandment, and knows that
it is not permissible to do acts of worship unless they are done for
the sake of Allaah.
The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked about the belief
held by many people, that offering a sacrifice on the threshold of the
new house before entering it is one of the most important means of
warding off the evil eye, and making the house blessed, and avoiding
calamities and undesirable events.
They replied:
If this custom – i.e., offering a sacrifice on the threshold of the
newhouse – is done in order to placate the jinn and ward off
calamities and undesirable events, thenit is a haraam custom, and is
in fact shirk. This is what seems to be the case with offering the
sacrifice before enteringthe house, and doing it on the threshold in
particular.
But if the intention is to honour one's new neighbours and get to know
them, and to give thanks to Allaah for the blessing of a new home, and
to honour one's relatives and friends on this occasion, and to show
them the house, then this is good and theone who does it is to be
praised for his action. But that is only usually done after the people
have moved into the house, and not before, and the animal or animals
should not be slaughtered on the threshold of the house or in the
entryway to thehouse. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah (1/214)
See also the answer to question no. 26952 , which quotes two fatwas
from Shaykh 'Abdal-'Azeez ibn Baaz and Shaykh al-'Uthaymeen concerning
the same topic.
And Allaah knows best. - - ▓███▓ Translator:->
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