they name it on the night before Eid and stroke its back from its forelock to its tail, perhaps repeating this: “This is on my behalf; this is on behalf of my household; this is on behalf of my mother,” and the like. This is an innovation, for nothing of this sort has been reported from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Rather, he would name the person for whom it was being offered at the time of slaughter.
“He should undertake it himself, or appoint a Muslim and witness it. The time for slaughter begins after the Eid prayer, or after the time equivalent to it, and lasts until two days thereafter. It is disliked to slaughter during the nights of those two days. If the time passes, he must make up his obligatory sacrifice.”
His statement, “He should undertake it himself,” refers to the udhiyah (Eid sacrifice). That is, it is preferable for its owner to slaughter it himself, even if the owner is a woman. The evidence for this is that a young woman was tending sheep near Sal‘ in Madinah when she saw one of her sheep dying. She took a sharp stone and slaughtered the sheep with it. They asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, about this, and he said, “Eat.” (1) He permitted them to eat from it, even though the one who slaughtered it was a woman.
This hadith contains many benefits. Some scholars derived approximately twelve rulings from it, including the permissibility of a woman slaughtering an animal, even if she is menstruating or experiencing postnatal bleeding, since the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not ask for further details. Another is that a person may dispose of another’s property by destroying it when there is a benefit in doing so. Another is the permissibility of slaughtering with a stone, on condition that it causes the blood to flow freely.
What matters is that the owner himself performs the sacrifice or slaughter. If he slaughters it and then gives it to someone else to complete its skinning and distribution, he has fulfilled the sunnah. This is conditional upon his being capable. But if he is unable to do so, or does not know what is required for a valid slaughter, then he should not take the risk of slaughtering it himself; rather, he should appoint someone else.
His statement, “or appoint a Muslim and witness it,” means that he appoints a Muslim to slaughter this udhiyah and witnesses it—that is, its owner is present at the time. The one who pronounces Allah’s name is the slaughterer, because it is his action, and he pronounces Allah’s name over his own act.