Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (7/209)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

before it is slaughtered. If he comes upon a camel that has already been slaughtered, purchases one-seventh of it, and intends it in place of a sheep, it does not suffice, because it has become meat. In the case of an expiatory sacrifice, the animal must be slaughtered with the intention of expiation.

His statement, “one-seventh of a camel,” apparently indicates that it suffices even if his partner merely wants the meat—and this is indeed the case. Thus, if a person agrees with a butcher to buy one-seventh of a camel which the butcher intends to slaughter, and the buyer intends his share in place of the sheep required for the expiation for harm, it suffices.

His statement, “A cow also suffices in its place,” means that a cow suffices in place of a camel. This is the third of the things intended by the term “sacrificial offering.” A camel is what is meant by badana (a camel offered for sacrifice). Allah, Most High, says:

“And the sacrificial camels We have made for you among the symbols of Allah; in them there is good for you.”

This applies only to camels. A cow suffices in place of a camel, so one-seventh of a camel and one-seventh of a cow are equivalent. Although, if you consider their size and the abundance of their meat, you would find the camel larger and of greater benefit, these are matters of worship in which no regard is given to the market value people assign to them. Allah, Most High, says:

“Neither their meat nor their blood reaches Allah, but what reaches Him is your piety.”

His statement, “A cow also suffices in its place,” apparently applies even to compensation for game. Thus, if someone kills a dove, a sheep is required of him, and he may substitute for the sheep one-seventh of a camel or a cow (1). The correct view, however, is that this does not suffice in compensation for game.

The reason is that compensation for game requires equivalence. Allah, Most High, says: “Then the compensation is an equivalent sacrificial animal to what he has killed of livestock” [al-Ma'idah 5:95]. One-seventh of a camel or a cow is not equivalent to a dove, and therefore does not suffice in its place.

(1) This is the established position of the school.

قبل ذبحها، فإن جاء إلى بدنة مذبوحة، واشترى سبعها ونواه عن الشاة، فإنه لا يجزئ؛ لأنه صار لحماً، ولا بد في الفدية أن تذبح بنية الفدية. وقوله: «سبع بدنة» ظاهره أنه يجزئ ولو كان شريكه يريد اللحم وهو كذلك، فلو اتفق إنسان مع جزار على أن يشتري سبع البعير التي يريد أن ينحرها، ونواه المشتري عن شاة واجبة في فدية أذى أجزأ. قوله: «وتجزئ عنها بقرة» أي: تجزئ عن البدنة بقرة، وهذا هو الثالث مما يراد بالدم، والبدنة هي البعير، قال تعالى: ﴿وَالْبُدْنَ جَعَلْنَاهَا لَكُمْ مِنْ شَعَائِرِ اللَّهِ لَكُمْ فِيهَا خَيْرٌ﴾، وهذا لا يكون إلا في الإبل، والبقرة تجزئ عن البدنة، فسبع البدنة والبقرة سواء، مع أنك لو نظرت إلى كبر الجسم، وكثرة اللحم لرأيت أن البدنة أكبر وأكثر نفعاً، لكن هذه مسائل تعبدية لا يرجع فيها إلى القيمة التي بين الناس؛ لقول الله تعالى: ﴿لَنْ يَنَالَ اللَّهَ لُحُومُهَا وَلَا دِمَاؤُهَا وَلَكِنْ يَنَالُهُ التَّقْوَى مِنْكُمْ﴾. وقوله: «وتجزئ عنها بقرة» ظاهره ولو في جزاء الصيد، فمن قتل حمامة فالواجب عليه شاة، ويجوز أن يجعل بدل الشاة سبع بدنة أو بقرة (١)، والصواب عدم الإجزاء في جزاء الصيد. ووجه ذلك أن جزاء الصيد يشترط فيه المماثلة، قال تعالى: ﴿فَجَزَاءٌ مِثْلُ مَا قَتَلَ مِنَ النَّعَمِ﴾ [المائدة: ٩٥] وسبع البدنة والبقرة لا يماثل الحمامة، فلا يجزئ عنها.

(١) وهذا هو المذهب.