for cattle, it is what has completed two full years, and for goats, what has completed one.

A single sheep suffices for one person in the hady, whereas in the udhiyah it suffices for one person together with the members of his household. A camel or a cow counts for seven persons in both hady and udhiyah, because Jabir reported: “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded us to share a camel or a cow—seven of us in each.” Related by Muslim.

Abu Ayyub, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “In the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, a man would sacrifice a sheep on his own behalf and on behalf of his household; they would eat from it and give others to eat.” Reported by Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, and al-Tirmidhi, who declared it sound. A single sheep is therefore better than one-seventh of a camel or cow.

Nothing is acceptable for hady or udhiyah except an animal that is sound—free of illness, defect, and extreme emaciation. The following, therefore, do not suffice: an obviously one-eyed animal, a blind animal, a skeletal beast so thin that there is no marrow in its bones, a lame animal that cannot keep up with a healthy one, a toothless animal whose front teeth have fallen out at the root, a goat whose udder has dried up from old age, or any animal whose sickness is plainly evident. This is based on the hadith of al-Baraʾ ibn ʿAzib, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stood among us and said, “Four animals are unacceptable for sacrifice: the one-eyed whose defect is obvious, the sick whose sickness is obvious, the lame whose lameness is obvious, and the emaciated that has no marrow.” Related by Abu Dawud and al-Nasaʾi.