Issue: What some people now do in Ramadan—slaughtering animals and saying, “This is the supper for my father, this is the supper for my mother, this is the supper for my grandfather, this is the supper for my maternal aunt,” or “the supper for one’s parents”—is likewise not legislated, unless a person slaughters the animal merely for its meat, not as an act of drawing near to Allah through slaughter. If it is the former, there is nothing wrong with it. He may say, “I do not want to go to the slaughterhouse; I want to slaughter the sheep at my own home and simply eat its meat”—not seeking nearness to Allah through the slaughter, nor out of pride, so that it may be said, “He slaughtered a sheep for his father,” or something similar. There is nothing wrong with this.

The hady offering may be obligatory or voluntary. The obligatory hady is that required for tamattuʿ and qirān pilgrimage. A voluntary hady is when a person seeks nearness to Allah by slaughtering a sheep, camel, or cow in Mecca, in order to give it in charity to the poor, without any particular cause.

As for the blood-sacrifice required due to committing a prohibited act or omitting an obligatory duty, this is called a fidyah (expiatory sacrifice), and its owner may not eat any of it.