— he is obliged to slaughter it within that period; if it dies beforehand through no fault of his, the original liability still stands on the sounder view. An explicit intention at the moment of slaughter is required whenever no prior designation has been made, and—according to the stronger opinion—even when one has already said, “I have made this my uḍḥiyah.”

If he appoints someone else to perform the slaughter, the agent may either hand the animal over to him or slaughter it on his behalf.

He may eat from a voluntary sacrifice and may feed the wealthy with it, yet without transferring ownership to them. He should consume one-third of the meat—another opinion allows one-half—but the preferred position is that some portion must be given in charity, while the best practice is to donate all of it, reserving only a few blessed morsels for himself. Its hide should likewise be given away in charity, though personal use of it is permissible. Should an obligatory sacrificial animal give birth, its offspring must also be slaughtered, and he may eat all of that meat and drink whatever milk is surplus to the dam’s needs.

A slave does not offer a sacrifice; if his master authorizes it, the reward goes to the master. A mukātib (slave purchasing his freedom) may not sacrifice without permission. One may not sacrifice on behalf of another person without his consent, nor on behalf of a deceased person unless the latter left instructions to that effect.

Section

It is recommended to perform an ʿaqīqah: two sheep for a boy and one for a girl. The required age, soundness, and the rules governing eating and charity are the same as for the uḍḥiyah. It is Sunnah to cook the meat without breaking any bones, to slaughter on the seventh day after birth, to name the child on that day, to shave the newborn’s head after the slaughter and give in charity gold or silver equal to the weight of the hair, to call the adhān in the infant’s ear at birth, and to perform taḥnīk by rubbing a softened date on the baby’s palate.