Thus, his statement, “unless it had been binding upon him as a liability before designation”—according to the stronger view, this exception is unnecessary if he slaughters a replacement for it.

The udhiyah is a Sunnah, and slaughtering it is better than giving its price in charity. It is recommended to eat from it, give some of it as a gift, and give some in charity, dividing it into thirds. If he eats all of it except for one ounce, which he gives in charity, that is permissible; otherwise, he must compensate for it.

His statement, “The udhiyah is a Sunnah”: the udhiyah is that which is slaughtered from the grazing livestock during the days of Eid al-Adha as an act of drawing near to Allah, Most High.

By our saying, “that which is slaughtered during the days of Eid al-Adha,” we exclude what is slaughtered outside those days, for it is not an udhiyah, even if it is slaughtered in the forenoon. For example, if the sacrifice offered for a newborn is slaughtered in the forenoon outside the days of Eid al-Adha, it is not called an udhiyah.

And by our saying, “as an act of drawing near to Allah,” we exclude what is slaughtered for a wedding feast during the days of Eid al-Adha, for it is not an udhiyah. It is therefore necessary that he intend, by this slaughter, to draw near to Allah, Most High.

His statement, “a Sunnah,” means a highly emphasized Sunnah, because the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, consistently observed it and offered sacrifice for ten years. He also urged people to observe it, saying: “Whoever finds ample means but does not offer a sacrifice, let him not approach our place of prayer” (1). He would openly manifest it as one of the rites of Islam, to the extent that he would take his sacrificial animal to the prayer ground and slaughter it there. Hence, the scholars differed as to whether it is an emphasized Sunnah whose omission is not disliked, a Sunnah whose omission is disliked for one who is able, or an obligation.

Abu Hanifah, may Allah have mercy on him, and his companions held that it is obligatory,