the towns (1), and three days in Minā; for those days there are devoted to the pilgrimage rites of stoning, circumambulation, and shaving the head, and are therefore days for slaughtering, unlike the situation of those in the towns.

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Part of his guidance was that anyone intending to offer a sacrifice should not remove any of their hair or skin once the first ten days of Dhū al-Hijjah begin. The prohibition of this is established in Sahīh Muslim (2). Al-Dāraqutnī (3), however, said: “In my judgment, the correct attribution of this report goes no further than Umm Salamah herself.”

His guidance also included choosing a fine sacrificial animal, free from defects. He forbade sacrificing an animal with a mutilated ear or horn—that is, one with half or more of an ear cut off or half or more of a horn broken off. This was reported by Abū Dāwūd (4). He instructed that the eyes and ears be carefully examined—that is, checked for soundness—and that no animal blind in one eye, nor any muqābalah, mudābarah, sharqā’, or kharqā’, be sacrificed. A muqābalah is an animal with the front part of its ear cut off; a mudābarah has the rear part of its ear cut off; a sharqā’ has a split ear; and a kharqā’ has a pierced ear. This was reported by Abū Dāwūd (5).