– The lame animal whose lameness is obvious (al-ʿarjāʾ al-bayyin ʿarajuhā): al-ʿarjāʾ is an animal that limps on its leg or foot, whether the condition is congenital or the result of a later injury; the masculine form is aʿraj and the feminine ʿarjāʾ. “Obvious lameness” means that the animal cannot keep up with healthy members of the flock when walking.
– lā tunqī: pronounced with ḍamma on the initial tāʾ and kasra on the qāf, with a silent nūn in between. It refers to an animal that contains no niqī (bone marrow); niqī, plural anqāʾ, is the marrow inside the bone.
What is derived from the ḥadith:
1 – The ḥadith shows that the four types it describes are not acceptable, and it says nothing about other defects. The Ẓāhirīs therefore hold that no defect beyond these four disqualifies the animal, whereas the majority rule by analogy that anything equal to or more serious than them—such as blindness or a severed leg—is likewise invalid; some of their further comments will follow.
2 – Among the defects is the one-eyed animal whose defect is manifest, meaning its eyeball is sunken. If the eye remains in place, the sacrifice is valid even if the animal cannot see with it.
3 – By even stronger reason, a totally blind animal is unacceptable, even if its eyeballs are intact, because blindness prevents it from walking with its companions and from sharing in the fodder.
4 – An animal suffering from an evident illness—such as scabies—is likewise unacceptable, for disease stops it from eating, spoils its flesh, and emaciates its body.
5 – A lame animal whose lameness is manifest—one that cannot walk with sound animals to the pasture—does not suffice; an animal with a broken leg is, a fortiori, invalid.
6 – Nor is an emaciated animal that lā tunqī—one devoid of bone marrow—acceptable. Some narrations of this ḥadith state: “nor the lean ʿajfāʾ that lā tunqī.” The term ʿajfāʾ refers to an emaciated animal with no marrow at all.
7 – Al-Nawawī said: There is unanimous agreement that an animal bearing the defects mentioned in the ḥadith of al-Barāʾ does not