1177 – Al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood before us and said, ‘Four kinds of animals are not permissible for sacrifice: the one-eyed whose defect is obvious, the sick whose illness is evident, the lame whose lameness is manifest, and the aged, feeble animal that contains no marrow.’ ” Reported by Aḥmad and the Four Sunan compilers, and declared authentic by al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Ḥibbān.⦗1⦘

Hadith grading:
This ḥadith is ṣaḥīḥ. It was narrated by Imām Aḥmad and the Four Sunan compilers, authenticated by al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Ḥibbān, and al-Ḥākim—who said, “It meets the criteria of both al-Bukhārī and Muslim.” Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar remarked, “Although al-Bukhārī and Muslim did not record it, it is sound; the authors of the Sunan produced it with authentic chains.” Imām Aḥmad said, “What an excellent ḥadith this is,” and al-Tirmidhī classified it as “sound and good.”

Vocabulary:
• al-ʿawrāʾ (one-eyed): an animal that has lost the sight of one eye, whether the eyeball remains or has disappeared; this is the stronger opinion.
• bayyin ʿawaruhā (whose defect is obvious): according to our scholars, the defect is counted as “obvious” when the eye has visibly sunken in. If the eye still appears normal, the animal is acceptable even if sight has been lost.