(1) Al-‘atirah: According to Abu Ubayd, it is the “Rajabiyyah,” an animal sacrificed in pre-Islamic times during the month of Rajab as an offering to idols. Others explain that al-‘atirah was a votive practice: when a person’s herd reached a set number, he vowed to slaughter one head out of every ten during Rajab. Ibn Sidah reports that a man in the Jahiliyyah would say, “If my camels reach one hundred, I shall perform an ‘atirah from them,” and al-Sihah specifies that this took place in Rajab. Abu Dawud (Sunan, 3/252) restricts it to the first ten days of Rajab. The author cites the report in al-Mizan, 2/583, through the chain: Ahmad b. al-Furat – ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Qays – Hammad b. Salamah – Abu al-‘Ashra al-Darimi – his father: the Prophet ﷺ was asked about al-‘atirah and approved it. He adds that Abu Dawud transmitted the same narration outside his Sunan through Zubanj from ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Qays. Abu Bakr b. Abi Dawud relates: “My father said, ‘I mentioned this report to Ahmad b. Hanbal; he deemed it sound and remarked, ‘It belongs to Bedouin traditions; dictate it to me.’ So I dictated it and he copied it from me.” The commentator notes: ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Qays al-Dhubbi al-Za‘farani was branded a liar by Ibn Mahdi and Abu Zur‘ah; al-Bukhari said, “His hadith is abandoned,” and Ahmad declared, “He is worthless.” Al-Hafiz in al-Taqrib sums him up as “rejected.” Abu al-‘Ashra is unknown (majhul). For further material on al-‘atirah and its legal status, see Fath al-Bari, 9/515, 517, Book of ‘Aqiqah, chapter “al-‘Atirah.” (*) al-Jarh wa-l-Ta‘dil, 7/10; Tahdhib al-Kamal, no. 1093; Tadhhib al-Tahdhib, 3/135 b; Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, 8/258; Khulasat Tadhhib al-Kamal, 308.