Dought & clear, - How old should the sacrificial animal be?

Is there a specific age for the sacrificial animal? Is it permissible
to slaughter a cow as a sacrifice when it is one and a half years
old?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them) are agreed that Islam has
prescribed the age for sacrificial animals and it is not permissible
to slaughter animals that are younger than that. Whoever slaughters an
animal that is younger than that, it does not count as a sacrifice.
Seeal-Majmoo'by al-Nawawi, 1/176.
For example, al-Bukhaari (5556) and Muslim (1961) narrated that
al-Bara' ibn 'Aazib (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: A maternal
uncle of mine whose name was Abu Burdah slaughtered his sacrifice
before the prayer, and the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said to him: "Your sheep is a sheep for meat
(i.e., not a sacrifice)." He said: "O Messenger of Allaah, I have a
young goat (according to another report: I have a young she-goat)
(according to a report by al-Bukhaari (5563): I have a jadha'ah which
is better than two musinnahs – shall I sacrifice it?)" The
Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Sacrifice
it, but that will not be valid for anyone but you." According to
another report: "It will not count for anyone after you." Then he
said: "Whoever slaughters (the animal) before the prayer has
slaughtered it for himself, and whoever slaughters it after the prayer
has offered the sacrifice and followed the way of the Muslims."
This hadeeth indicates that a jadha'ah of goats (young goat) is not
sufficient as a sacrifice. We will explain below what jadha'ah means.
Ibn al-Qayyim said inTahdheeb al-Sunan:
The phrase "It will not count for anyone after you" is a definitive
statement that it would not count for anyone after him. End quote.
Muslim (1963) narrated that Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: The Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "Do not slaughter anything but a musinnah, unless it is too
hard for you, in which case you should slaughter a young sheep
(jadha'ah min al-da'n).
This hadeeth also clearly states that only a musinnah can be
slaughtered, except in the case of sheep, where a jadha'ah may be
offered.
Al-Nawawi said inSharh Muslim:
The scholars said:
A musinnah is a thaniyyah of anything, camel, cow or sheep, or
anything over that age. This clearly indicates that it is not
permissible to slaughter a jadha'ah of any animal in any
circumstances, except sheep. End quote.
Al-Haafiz said inal-Talkhees, 4/285:
The apparent meaning of the hadeeth suggests that a jadha'ah of sheep
is not permissible except if one cannot find a musinnah. Scholarly
consensus says something different, so this hadeeth should be
understood as referring to what is better. So it is mustahabb not to
slaughter anything but a musinnah. End quote.
Al-Nawawi said inSharh Muslim:
It says in 'Awn al-Ma'bood:
This interpretation is the one which is correct. End quote.
Then he quoted some of the ahaadeeth which indicate that it is
permissible to offer a jadha'ah of sheep as a sacrifice, such as the
hadeeth of 'Uqbah ibn 'Aamir (may Allaah be pleased with him) who
said: "We slaughtered a jadha'ah of sheep with the Messenger of
Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)." Narrated by
al-Nasaa'i, 4382. al-Haafiz said: Its isnaad is qawiy (strong). It was
classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Nasaa'i.
It says inal-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah(5/83) concerning the conditions of udhiyah:
The second condition is that it should have reached the age of
sacrifice, by being a thaniyyah or older in the case of camels, cows
and goats, and jadha'ah or older in the case of sheep. A sacrifice
does not count if the animal is younger than a thaniyyah except in the
case of sheep, or if it is sheep that is younger than a jadha'ah…. The
fuqaha' are agreed upon this condition, but they differed as to what
is meant by thaniyyah and jadha'ah. End quote.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
I do not know of any dissent with the view that a jadha'ah of goats or
anything else that is offered as a sacrifice apart from sheep is not
permissible. Rather it is permissible to sacrifice a thaniyyah or
anything older than of all of these. It is permissible to sacrifice a
jadha'ah of sheep according to the Sunnah. End quote fromTarteeb
al-Tamheed, 10/267.
Al-Nawawi said inal-Majmoo'(8/366):
The ummah is agreed that with regard to camels, cows and goats,
nothing will do except a thaniyyah, and with regard to sheep, nothing
will do but a jadha'ah, and that these are all acceptable. But some of
our companions narrated that Ibn 'Umar and al-Zuhri said: A jadha'ah
of sheep does not count. It was narrated from 'Ata' and al-'Awzaa'i
that a jadha'ah of camels, cows, goats and sheep does count. End
quote.
Secondly:
With regard to the stipulated age of sacrificial animals, the scholars
differed concerning that.
A jadha'ah of sheep is a sheep that has reached the age of six months,
according to the Hanafis and Hanbalis. According to the Maalikis and
Shaafa'is it is a sheep that has reached the age of one year.
The musinnah (or thaniyyah) of goats is one that has reached the age
of one year according to the Hanafis, Maalikis and Hanbalis. According
to the Shaafa'is, it is one that has reached the age of two years.
The musinnah of cows is one of the has reached the age of two years
according to the Hanafis, Shaafa'is and Hanbalis; according to the
Maalikis it is one that has reached the age of three years.
The musinnah of camels is one that has reached the age of five years
according to the Hanafis, Maalikis, Shaafa'is and Hanbalis.
SeeBadaa'i' al-Sanaa'i', 5/70;al-Bahr al-Raa'iq, 8/202;al-Taaj
wa'l-Ikleel, 4/363;Sharh Mukhtasar Khaleel, 3/34;al-Majmoo',
8/365;al-Mughni, 13/368.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said inAhkaam al-Udhiyah:
The thaniyyah of camels is one that has reached the age of five years.
The thaniyyah of cows is one that has reached the age of two years.
The thaniyyah of sheep is one that has reached the age of one year.
The jadha'ah is one that has reached the age of half a year. It is not
acceptable to offer anything younger than a thaniyyah in the case of
camels, cows and goats, or anything younger than a jadha'ah in the
case of sheep.
It says inFataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah(11/377):
The shar'i evidence indicates that a sheep that has reached the age of
six months may count as a sacrifice, as may a goat that has reached
the age of one year, a cow that has reached the age of two years, and
a camel that has reached the age of five years. Anything younger than
that does not count as a hadiy or udhiyah. This is what the Qur'aan
refers to when it says (interpretation of the meaning):"sacrifice a
Hady (animal, i.e. a sheep, a cow, or a camel) such as you can afford"
[al-Baqarah 2:196], because the texts of the Qur'aan and Sunnah
explain one another. End quote.
Al-Kaasaani said inBadaa'i' al-Sanaa'i'(5/70):
These ages, as defined in sharee'ah, are minimum ages, not maximum
ages. Sacrificing an animal that is younger than that is not
permitted, but if an animal that is older than that is sacrificed, it
is permitted and is better. It is not permitted to sacrifice a lamb,
kid (young goat), calf or young camel, because the ages of animals
that we have mentioned were narrated in sharee'ah and these were not
mentioned among them. End quote.
So it is clear that slaughtering a cow that is younger than two years
old will not count as a sacrifice according to any of the imams.
And Allaah knows best.