at Minā. It has also been said that it means the Eid prayer followed by sacrifice, and that the verse was revealed in Medina. As for Hajj, there is no Eid prayer during it. Another interpretation is that it means placing the right hand over the left during prayer at the nahr, meaning the chest. Yet another interpretation is facing the qiblah during prayer with your face and nahr—that is, your chest. Allah knows best.
Ibn Habīb said that the Eid sacrifice is one of those sunnahs whose observance is meritorious and whose neglect is sinful, and that it is better than charity, however great, and better than freeing slaves. A similar statement appears in al-Mudawwanah concerning someone who buys a sacrificial animal but does not sacrifice it before the days of sacrifice have passed: he is sinful. On this basis, it is obligatory.
The upshot of Mālik’s position is that it is one of those sunnahs which people are instructed and encouraged to observe, and which they are not given leave to abandon. He said: “Even if a man is poor and possesses nothing but the price of a sheep, let him offer a sacrifice; if he cannot find the means, let him borrow.” It has been related from him, may Allah have mercy on him, that sacrifice is better than charity; it has also been related from him that charity is better than sacrifice. According to this latter view, he did not regard it as obligatory, and a person does not sin by omitting it, even if well-off, unless he does so out of aversion to observing the sunnahs.
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There is great merit in offering sacrifices. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:
“We have made the sacrificial camels for you among the symbols of Allah; in them there is good for you.” [al-Hajj: 36]
This means reward laid up in store. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“No expenditure, after that spent on maintaining ties of kinship, earns a greater reward with Allah than shedding the blood of sacrificial animals.”
It is also related that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“No deed a human being performs on the Day of Sacrifice is dearer to Allah than shedding the blood of a sacrificial animal. It will indeed come on the Day of Resurrection in his qarn, with its horns, hooves, and hair. Its blood is accepted by Allah before it reaches the ground, so offer it with a willing heart.”
His words “in his qarn” mean in his record of good deeds. His words “with its horns, hooves, and hair” mean that none of it will be lost to him: he will find it and be rewarded for it. For this reason, it is recommended that the sacrificial animal be large, with a full coat and a sound, complete body. The reports concerning this are numerous.