Chapter: Regulations concerning the pilgrimage sacrificial animal (hady) and the Eid sacrifice (udhiyah)

Hady is whatever animal—whether camel, cow, sheep, or the like—is taken to the Sacred Precinct and slaughtered there, so called because it “leads” its giver to Allah, Exalted is He.

The udhiyah—pronounced with either ḍammah or kasrah on the hamzah—is the animal slaughtered in people’s homes on the Day of Eid and the Days of Tashrīq as a means of drawing near to Allah.

The Muslims are unanimously agreed that both practices are legislated.

Al-ʿAllāmah Ibn al-Qayyim said, “The offering presented to the Creator takes the place of the ransom owed for one’s own soul and for whatever is liable to perish. Allah the Exalted said: ‘For every nation We have appointed a rite so that they may mention the name of Allah over what He has provided them of grazing livestock’ (Q 22:34). Thus the slaughtering of sacrificial animals and the shedding of blood in the name of Allah have remained prescribed in every religious community.” End quote.

The best hady is a camel, followed—when a whole animal is offered—by cattle, because of their greater price and the wider benefit they provide to the poor, and after that come sheep.

Within each category, the most virtuous animal is the fattest, then the one of highest price, in accordance with His words: “Whoever reveres the symbols of Allah—indeed, that stems from the piety of hearts” (Q 22:32).

Nothing is acceptable except a jadhaʿ from sheep—one that has completed six months of age—or a thani from camels, cattle, or goats; the thani of camels is what has completed five years.