23. Sacrificial Animals

Yahya related to me from Malik from Amr ibn al-Harith from Ubaydibn Fayruz from al-Bara ibn Azib that the Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, was asked what animals should beavoided as sacrifices. He indicated with his hand and said, "Four."Al-Bara pointed with his hand and said, "My hand is shorter than thehand of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace. A lame animal whose lameness is evident, a one-eyed animalwhich is clearly one-eyed, an animal which is clearly ill, and anemaciated animal with no fat on it." Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umarwould guard against animals and camels which were young or hadphysical defects as sacrifices. Malik said, "That is what Ilike best of what I have heard ." Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that one time Abdullahibn Umar wanted to sacrifice an animal at Madina. Nafi said, "He toldme to buy him an excellent horned ram, then to sacrifice it on the Dayof Sacrifice in the place where the people prayed." Nafi continued, "Idid so and when the ram was sacrificed, it was carried to Abdullah ibnUmar who shaved his head. He was ill, and did not attend the Id withthe people." Nafi added, "Abdullah ibn Umar used to say, 'Shaving thehead is not obligatory for someone who sacrifices an animal.' Ibn Umarwould do so however." ahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Bushayribn Yasar that Abu Burda ibn Niyar sacrificed an animal before theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,sacrificed on the Day of Sacrifice. He asserted that the Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ordered him tosacrifice another animal, and he, Abu Burda, said, "What if I can onlyfind an animal less than one year old, Messenger of Allah?" He hadsaid, "If you can only find a young animal, then sacrifice it." Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Abbad ibnTamin that one time Uwaymir ibn Ashqar sacrificed his animal beforethe prayer on the morning of the Day of Sacrifice, and he mentionedthat the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,had ordered him to sacrifice another animal. Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zubayr al-Makki fromJabir ibn Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, forbade that the meat from sacrificial animals beeaten after three days. Then later he said, "Eat, give sadaqa, providefor yourselves and store up." Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr thatAbdullah ibn Waqid said, "The Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, forbade eating the meat from sacrificial animalsafter three days." Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr said, "I mentionedthat to Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman, and she affirmed that he had spokenthe truth as she had heard A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, say, 'Some people from the desert cameat the time of the sacrifice in the time of the Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, so the Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Store up for threedays, and give what is left over as sadaqa.' " She said thatafterwards some one said to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, that people had been accustomed to make useof their sacrificial animals, melting the fat and curing the skins.The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,"What about that?" They said, "You have forbidden the meat ofsacrificial animals after three days." The Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I only forbade you for thesake of the people who were coming to you. Eat, give sadaqa and storeup." By these people, he meant the poor people who werecoming to Madina. Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahmanthat Abu Said alKhudri returned from a journey and his family gave himsome meat. He asked whether it was meat from the sacrifice. Theyreplied that it was. Abu Said said, "Didn't the Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbid that?" They said,"There has been a new command from the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, since you went away." Abu Said went outand made enquiries about it and was told that the Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had said,"I forbade youbefore to eat meat of the sacrifice after three days, but now eat,give sadaqa and store up. I forbade you before to make nabidh (bysoaking raisins or dates in water), but now make nabidh, but rememberevery intoxicant is haram .I forbade you to visit graves, but nowvisit them, and do not use bad language." Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zubayr al-Makki thatJabir ibn Abdullah said, "We sacrificed with the Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the year of Hudaybiya, acamel between seven people, and a cow between seven people." Yahya related to me from Malik from Umara ibn Yasar that Ata ibnYasar told him that Abu Ayyub al-Ansari had told him, "We used tosacrifice one sheep, and a man sacrificed for himself and his family.Then later on people began to compete with each other and it becameboasting." Malik said, "The best that I have heard about asingle camel, cow or sheep, is that a man should sacrifice a camel forhimself and his family. He sacrifices a cow or sheep which he owns forhis family, and shares with them in it. It is disapproved for a groupof people to buy a camel, cow or sheep, to share for the ritual andsacrifices, each man giving a share of its price, and taking a shareof its meat. We have heard the tradition that people do not share inthe ritual. However, it may be that the people of one household canshare." Yahya related to me from Malik that Ibn Shihab said, "TheMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, onlysacrificed one camel or one cow for himself and his family." Malik said, "I do not know which of them Ibn Shihab said." Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umarsaid, "The sacrifice can be done up to two days after the Day ofSacrifice." Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heardthe same from Ali ibn Abi Talib. Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umardid not sacrifice for the child in the womb. Malik said, "Thesacrifice is sunna, and it is not obligatory. I prefer that anyone whohas the price of the animal should not abandon it.''