Animal Sacrifice

TF-RA | August 5, 2019

Therefore do salāt for your Lord and do nahr (for Him only). (Qur'ān, 108:2)

This is the translation of the verse shown in the picture. Verse 108:2 of the Glorious Qur'ān. The scholars of tafseer (Qur'ānic interpretation) have disagreed as to what the words salāt and nahr specifically refer to. Some scholars say the word salāt refers to the obligatory prayers, others say it refers to the dawn prayer (performed in Muzdalifah during the pilgrimage season), and another group says it refers to the 'Eid-ul Adhhā prayer. Moreover, about nahr, which linguistically means the upper part of the chest, some scholars say it refers to putting the right hand on the left hand and placing them on the chest while performing the salāt. Others say it refers to raising the hands up to the upper part of the chest when starting the salāt. Another group says it refers to slaughtering the sacrificial victim. Others say it refers to facing the chest onto the qiblah etc (1). However, ibn Katheer (ra) says, the correct interpretation is that of those who say the word nahr refers to slaughtering the sacrificial victim (2) and that is what we wish to dedicate this article to, inshā Allāh.

Animal Sacrifice in Islām

It is vital to define the term sacrifice before describing any Islāmic concept as sacrifice. 

The American Heritage Dictionary defines sacrifice as ‘the act of offering something to a deity in propitiation or homage, especially the ritual slaughter of an animal or a person.’ So, technically speaking, sacrifice is associated with rituals and ceremonies and appeasement and reverence of a deity.

Given this definition, udhhiyyah, hady, 'aqeeqah, and a sacrificial qurbān (offering) can be described as sacrificial. Other animals that are slaughtered for trading, eating, etc. cannot be described as sacrificial. 

Udhhiyyah is that which is slaughtered, as a means of drawing closer to Allāh, during the days of nahr on certain conditions. The Muslim ummah has unanimously agreed on the legitimacy of udhhiyyah. The majority of Muslim scholars consider the udhhiyyah to be a recommended act; however a minority of Muslim scholars consider it to be obligatory upon the one who is financially capable. 

Hady is that which is slaughtered during the days of nahr in the sacred land for performing tamattu' or qirān, or (as a penalty) for abandoning an obligatory act of the hajj (pilgrimage) or doing any of the prohibited acts of the hajj, or merely as a means of drawing nearer to Allāh. The first two types of hady are obligatory; however, the last type of hady is voluntary.

'Aqeeqah is that which is slaughtered to thank Allāh for the birth of a baby, whether a boy or a girl. It is viewed as a recommended act by the majority of Muslim scholars, yet another group of Muslims scholars considers it to be compulsory. And, it is considered as disliked by another group!

We do also have al-fara' and al-'ateerah that involve slaughtering an animal for expressing gratefulness to Allāh and with the intention of getting closer to Him. Yet, the ruling on these rituals range from being a recommended act to being an unlawful act?

Kindness to All Things

Shadād bin Aws narrated that Allāh's Messenger ﷺ said:

Verily Allāh has enjoined goodness to everything. (3)

This is part of a hadīth of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ which talks about the way one should slaughter an animal. He should slaughter it with kindness and make sure that the animal suffers the least and dies in a comfortable way. For, verily, to all things kindness has been prescribed. That is why:

When Prophet Muhammad ﷺ saw an emaciated camel, he said:

Fear Allāh regarding these dumb animals. Ride them when they are in good condition and slaughter them and eat their meat when they are in good condition. (4)

When he saw a donkey whose face had been cauterised, he said:

May Allāh curse the one who has cauterised it (on the face). (5)

When one of his companions saw a group of people shooting at a hen they had tied up, he said:

The Prophet ﷺ cursed the one who who makes a live thing the target (of one's marksmanship). (6)

He invoked Allāh's curse upon the one who disfigures an animal (7). And, he prohibited to provoke the beasts for fighting (8).

When some of his companions took some baby birds from their nest, he said:

Who grieved this (bird) for its young ones? Return its young ones to it. (9)

When he saw an ant village that they had burnt, he said:

Who has burnt this? It is not proper to punish with fire except the Lord of fire. (10)

When his wife rode on a wild camel and caused it to move violently backwards and forwards, he said:

You should show kindness. (11)

He warned against treating the backs of the beasts as pulpits, for (he said that) Allāh has made them subject to us only to convey us to a town which we could not reach without difficulty (12). And, he ordered to find them rich grasses to graze on (13). And he severely reproached a young man for keeping his camel hungry and loading it heavily which fatigued it (14).

He informed us that Allāh thanked and forgave a man who watered a dog which was suffering from extreme thirst (15). And a woman was tormented for a cat whom she had tied, but did not give it food nor set it free to eat the creatures of the earth (16). That is the reason why when his companions asked him ‘Is there a reward for us in serving the animals?’ He said:

(Yes) There is a reward for serving any animate (living being). (17)

For, verily, Allāh has enjoined goodness to everything and as Prophet Muhammad ﷺ says:

Kindness is not to be found in anything but that it adds to its beauty and it is not withdrawn from anything but it makes it defective. (18)

Considering all these strict guidelines on how to treat animals [kindly], it would be quite irrational to translate the slaughter of sacrificial victims in Islām as torture or brutality. Rather, a more appropriate reaction to the slaughter of sacrificial victims in Islām would be to ask, ‘Why does Islām allow for the animals to be slaughtered or prescribe slaughter of the sacrificial victims?’

The Wisdom behind Animal Sacrifice

It is by Permission of Allāh, the Most Merciful, the One Whose Mercy encompasses everything (Qur'ān, 7:156), He Who gives life and causes death (Qur'ān, 3:156), Who created for us the grazing livestock (Qur'ān, 16:5), that we slaughter those animals whose meat He has made lawful to be consumed. So, (i) Making sacrifices is an explicit indication of our faith in what He has sent to us and of the fact that nothing is lawful except what Allāh has made lawful and nothing is unlawful except what Allāh has made unlawful.

Indeed, Islām prescribes offering as sacrifice the best of what Allāh has given us of our time, our effort, our money, the livestock [with whose ownership He has entrusted us], etc:

Say [O Muhammad]: “Verily, my salāt (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allāh, the Lord of the worlds.” (Qur'ān, 6:162)

By no means shall you attain al-birr (piety, righteousness, etc., it means here Allāh's Reward, i.e. Paradise), unless you spend [in Allāh's Cause] of that which you love. (Qur'ān, 3:92)

(ii) This is all part of being grateful for what Allāh has bestowed on us of open and secret blessings; by spending, dedicating, and sacrificing them in the way He is pleased with. Not because He needs our sacrifice, but rather because we need to show our gratitude as His servants:

And the camels and cattle We have appointed for you as among the symbols of Allāh ; for you therein is good. So mention the name of Allāh upon them when lined up [for sacrifice]; and when they are [lifeless] on their sides, then eat from them and feed the needy and the beggar. Thus have We subjected them to you that you may be grateful. Their meat will not reach Allāh , nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you. Thus have We subjected them to you that you may glorify Allāh for that [to] which He has guided you; and give good tidings to the doers of good. (Qur'ān, 22:36-37)

 (iii) It is a means of getting closer to Allāh, for it is our piety that reaches Him, not the meat nor the blood of the animal. In fact, (iv) it's the needy and the destitute the meat of the animal is going to reach, in order to spread among them delight and happiness from what they cannot afford throughout the year. 

(v) And it is part of following the true religion of Abraham (a.s) and remembering the great sacrifice he and his son, Ishmael (a.s), made and the great patience they showed:

So follow the religion of Abraham (Qur'ān, 3:95)

In some cases, like offering a hady, (vi) the sacrifice is an atonement for one's shortcomings.

The Sacrificial Victim and Its Qualities

When talking about the sacrificial animals, the brain unconsciously pictures all various kinds of animals; however, according to the majority of Muslim scholars only five categories of grazing livestock are fit for sacrificing, namely camels, cows, sheep, and goats. For we read:

And for every nation We have appointed religious ceremonies, that they may mention the Name of Allāh over the grazing livestock that He has given them for food. (Qur'ān, 22:34)

Yet, there are a minority that allows for two other types of animals, and there is also a fringe view that allows for the sacrifice of all types of animals whose meat is lawful to be eaten. Nonetheless, the view of the majority is what the sunnah (tradition) of the Prophet ﷺ attests to. So, if someone offers anything other than these four types of grazing livestock, his sacrifice won't be accepted. 

The scholars have agreed that the minimum age of sacrifice for the camels, cows and the goats is at their thaniyyat and the minimum age of sacrifice for the sheep is at its jadha'ah. However, the scholars have differed as to what these two terms refer to. 

According to hanafī and hanbalī scholars, a five-year-old camel, a two-year-old cow, and a one-year-old goat or sheep are considered to be at their thaniyyat. And a sheep that has completed its sixth month is said to be at its jadha'ah. However, according to mālikī scholars, a camel that has completed its fifth year and enters its sixth year, a cow that has completed its third year and enters its fourth year, and a goat that has completed its first year and enters its second year is said to be at their thaniyyat. And a sheep that has completed its first year and enters the second year is considered to be at its jadha'ah. Furthermore, according to shāfi'ī scholars, a five-year-old camel, a two-year-old cow, and a two-year-old goat is said to be at their thaniyyat. And a one-year-old sheep is said to be at its jadha'ah. 

Moreover, these sacrificial animals must be devoid of faults such as; an apparent defect in one eye, an apparent ailment, an apparent limp, an apparent emaciation that leaves no fat on it. Because, Barā bin 'Azib narrated that the Messenger of Allāh said:

There are four that will not do as sacrifices: The animal that clearly has one bad eye: the sick animals that is obviously sick; the lame animal with an obvious lamp; and the animal that is so emaciated that it is as if there is no marrow in its bones. (19)

The scholars, with all their differences over the details, have listed more faults such as; a chopped-off tongue, nose, udder, and tail, chopped-off ears, hands, feet, and hindquarters, loss of milk due to treatment, feeding merely on filth, dumbness, deafness, a disease causing a burning thirst, pregnancy, cut-out horns, etc. etc. 

In short, the sacrificial animal must not suffer from a conspicuous defect that emaciates the animal and spoils its meat and necessitates a better care compared to other animals of its kind. So, the more healthy and fat the animal is, the better. 

All these strict guidelines regarding the type, the minimum age, and the health conditions of the sacrificial animal allude to two primary points. First, one is prescribed to give in the cause of his Creator the best of what he can find. Second, showing kindness and mercy to the animals is always prescribed, even when slaughtering the animal as a sacrifice or for other purposes. That is the reason why when Prophet Muhammad ﷺ saw an emaciated camel, he said:

Fear Allāh regarding these dumb animals. Ride them when they are in good condition and slaughter them and eat their meat when they are in good condition.

That is the reason why when a man said, ‘O Messenger of Allāh, when slaughtering a sheep, I feel sorry for it’ (or he said, ‘I find myself sympathetic to slaughtering a sheep’). The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: 

If you show mercy to the sheep, Allāh will show mercy to you. (20)

The Slaughter and the Slaughterer and Their Qualities

The slaughterer ought to be sane and mature. An insane, immature, or drunk person cannot slaughter an animal, according to the majority of Muslim scholars. There are other qualities that we tend to dismiss. This condition ensures an Islāmic slaughter which causes minimum pain to the animal, because the pain the animal goes through would be the least of an insane, immature, or drunk person's worries.

Moreover, the tool by which the animal is slaughtered must be sharp and it must not be sharpened before the animal's eyes, so that it is not frightened. And, from the etiquette of slaughter is to lie the animal down gently to let it rest comfortably and to put one's foot on its neck so that the animal doesn't move its head before the slaughter is done and to do the slaughter as quickly as possible so that it experiences the least pain.

Ibn 'Abbās narrated that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ saw a man sharpening his blade in front of a sheep he has laid down to slaughter. The Prophet ﷺ said:

‘Do you want to kill it twice? Why didn't you whet your blade before laying it down?’ (21)

Shadād bin Aws narrated that Allāh's Messenger ﷺ said:

Verily Allāh has enjoined goodness to everything; so when you kill, kill in a good way and when you slaughter, slaughter in a good way. So every one of you should sharpen his knife, and let the slaughtered animal die comfortably. (22)

All the regulations on how to treat animals with kindness and all these details on how to perform a correct Islāmic slaughter and sacrifice shows that causing pain to the animals is not what animal sacrifice in Islām aims at. Rather animal sacrifice in Islām aims at (i) reaffirming the covenant Allāh, the All-Mighty, the All-Sublime, made with Abraham (a.s) and the covenant He made with the ummah of Muhammad ﷺ, (ii) singling out Allāh as being the only One Who has the right to legislate for His servants, (iii) expressing gratefulness to the One Who created the livestock and subjected them to humankind, (iv) reconnecting and drawing the servant closer to His Lord, (v) entering delight and happiness in the hearts of the poor and needy by providing them with the meat they cannot afford, and (vi) expiating the errors and the faults.

Islām and Vegetarianism

The Islamic stance on vegetarianism can vary from one person to another, and from one time and place to another. Practicing vegetarianism may be permissible for a person and impermissible for another both at the same time. The same is true for different times and places.

A person who lives on a vegetarian diet because he dislikes eating meat for some normal reasons or he does so for some health concerns, there is nothing wrong with his practice of not eating meat. However, a person who lives on a vegetarian diet for some ethical concerns like thinking that one should not eat meat, or it is inhumane to eat meat, or it is more pleasing to Allāh to avoid eating meat, then, his practice of not eating meat is impermissible for him. 

In the same manner, people may start living on a vegetarian diet during a specific period of time or in a given area due to some economic and geographical conditions, which is also free from reproach. 

Therefore, in Islām, it is not the mere practice of vegetarianism that is worthy of blame, but rather some false incentives behind it. 

In Islām, eating moderate amounts of meat and herbs is prescribed:

And eat and drink but waste not by extravagance. (Qur'ān, 7:31)

Of course, human beings can do well on a vegetarian diet; however the human anatomy and history do also indicate that humans have no problem consuming meat products. Yet, it seems that it is just the modern living style, in which the scarcity of nutrients is hardly an issue and the diversity in cuisines is rampant, that gives rise to movements that tend to arise ethical concerns concerning eating meat products. 

Footnotes

Primary Sources:

(1) At-Tabarī, ‘Jāmi' ul-bayān fi ta'wīl il-Qur'ān’, Ar-Risālah institute, Vol. 24, Page 651-655.
(2) Ibn Katheer, ‘Tafseer-ul Qur'ān al 'Azīm’, Dār-ul Kutub ul 'Ilmiyyah, Vol. 8, Page 476.
(3) Sahih Muslim 1955
(4) Sunan Abi Dāwud 2548. Classed as authentic by Albānī (ra).
(5) Sahih Muslim 2117
(6) Sahih al-Bukhārī 5515
(7) Sunan an-Nasā'ī 4442. Classed as authentic by Albānī (ra).
(8) Sunan Abi Dāwud 2562. Its isnād is classed as authentic by An-Nawawī (ra).
(9) Sunan Abi Dāwud 2675. Classed as authentic by Albānī (ra).
(10) Ibid.
(11) Sahih Muslim 2594
(12) Sunan Abi Dāwud 2567. Classed as authentic by Albānī (ra).
(13) Muwatta imām Mālik, Hadith 38. Classed as authentic by Albānī (ra).
(14) Sunan Abi Dāwud 2549. Classed as authentic by Albānī (ra).
(15) Sahih al-Bukhāri 6009
(16) Sahih Muslim 904
(17) Sahih al-Bukhāri 6009
(18) Sahih Muslim 2594
(19) Sunan an-Nasā'i 4370. Classed as authentic by Albānī (ra).
(20) Sahīh-ul Jāmi', 7055
(21) Mustadrak Hākim, hadīth 7570. Classed as authentic by Albānī (ra).
(22) Sahih Muslim 1955

Secondary Sources:

Abu Mālik Kamāl bin As-Sayyid Sālim, Sahih Fiqh-us Sunnah.
Al-Mawsu'at ul-Fiqhiyyah al-Kuwaytiyyah, Kuwait, Wizārat-ul Awqāf wash-Shu'un ul-Islamiyyah.

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