His statement, “A camel and a cow suffice for seven people” who are offering an Eid sacrifice—the evidence for this is the hadith of Jabir ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him: “In the year of al-Hudaybiyyah, we slaughtered a camel on behalf of seven and a cow on behalf of seven” (1).

His statement, “for seven,” means seven men. Thus, if a person offers one-seventh on behalf of himself and his household, it suffices for him and his household, since this is a sharing in reward, and there is no limit to sharing in reward. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, offered a sacrifice on behalf of his entire nation; likewise, a man may offer a single sheep on behalf of himself and his household, even if they number one hundred.

As for sharing in ownership, it may not exceed seven. Thus, if eight people share in a camel, we say: This is not permissible; one of you must withdraw. If one of them agrees to withdraw, that is what is required; otherwise, the last to join must withdraw. If it is not known who joined last, then lots should be drawn. But if they slaughter it and discover that they were eight, what should they do? It has been said that they should slaughter one sheep, so that it will suffice for the eighth person. It is also possible to say that they should draw lots; whoever is selected by the lot must withdraw and slaughter a sheep on his own.

So, do a camel and a cow suffice for seven men, or do they suffice in place of seven sheep?

The answer is the latter. Based on this, we say: just as a sheep suffices, in terms of reward, for a man and his household, so too does one-seventh of a camel or one-seventh of a cow suffice for him and his household.

His statement, “A camel and a cow suffice for seven,” excludes the ʿaqiqah,