—neither their flesh nor their blood; rather, what reaches Him is the piety you cultivate. Thus We have subjected them to you so that you may exalt Allah for the guidance He has granted you. And give glad tidings to the people of excellence. ⦗al-Ḥajj 22:36-37⦘

These sacrifices are part of the creed of Abraham—whose way we have been commanded to follow—and through them the story of the intended victim is recalled. How, then, could it be acceptable for the whole Muslim community to abandon this rite so that not a single person carries it out? For all Muslims to neglect it would be more serious than omitting the pilgrimage in certain years.

The scholars have said that the pilgrimage every year is a communal obligation because it is one of Islam’s public rites, and the sacrificial offerings on the Day of Slaughter (ʿĪd al-Naḥr) are the same. Indeed, these offerings are performed in every land, alongside the Prayer itself. Through them the worship of Allah, His remembrance, slaughtering for His sake, and dedicating acts of devotion exclusively to Him are manifested in a way that the pilgrimage does not reveal—just as Allah’s remembrance is displayed by the takbīr proclaimed during the festivals.

Prophetic reports have come commanding the sacrifice. In fact, the view that it is obligatory is stated within the Ḥanbalī school; it is also the position of Abū Ḥanīfah, and one of the two opinions in the Mālikī school—indeed, it is the apparent sense of Mālik’s doctrine.

Those who deny that it is obligatory possess no textual proof. Their main evidence is the Prophet’s saying: “Whoever intends to offer a sacrifice and the first ten days (of Dhū al-Ḥijjah) have begun, let him not take anything from his hair or his nails.”