a year-old goat for either the Eid sacrifice or the pilgrimage offering, for the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said to Abū Burdah: “It will suffice for you, but it will not suffice for anyone after you.”

They did, however, differ about a year-old sheep. The majority of scholars permit it for both hady and uḍḥiyah. Ibn ʿUmar used to say, “Nothing suffices as a pilgrimage offering except a thaniyy animal from each species,” and all agree that the more valuable the animal, the better the offering.

Al-Zubayr would advise his sons: “My sons, let none of you dedicate to Allah an animal he would be embarrassed to present to an honored guest; for Allah is the most generous of the generous and the One most entitled to receive the best.”

The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—was asked, with regard to emancipating slaves, “Which slave is best to free?” He replied, “The one with the highest price and the greatest worth in the eyes of its owners.”

There is no fixed number for hady; the Prophet’s own offering numbered one hundred.

As for how the hady is driven, it is by collaring and marking it so that it is plainly known to be an offering, for the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—set out in the year of al-Ḥudaybiyah, and when he reached Dhū al-Ḥulayfah he placed collars on his animals, marked them, and entered into iḥrām.

When the offering consists of camels or cattle, there is unanimous agreement that a sandal—or two—is hung around its neck, or something similar if sandals are not available.

The jurists disagreed about collaring sheep. Mālik and Abū Ḥanīfah held that sheep are not collared, whereas al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad, Abū Thawr, and Dāwūd said that they are, citing the report of al-Aʿmash from Ibrāhīm from al-Aswad from ʿĀʾishah that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—once sent sheep to the Sacred House and placed collars on them.

They recommend turning the animal toward the qiblah when collaring it. Mālik preferred the marking (ishʿār) to be done on the left side, relying on what he narrated from Nāfiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar: whenever Ibn ʿUmar dispatched a hady from Madinah he would collar it and mark it at Dhū al-Ḥulayfah, collaring it before marking it, both in the same place while it faced the qiblah. He would hang two sandals around its neck, mark it on the left flank, then drive it along until he stationed it with the people at ʿArafah, moving on with them when they moved on. Upon arriving at Minā on the morning of the Day of Sacrifice he would slaughter it before shaving or trimming his hair; he slaughtered his offering with his own hand, lining the animals up standing, facing them toward the qiblah, and then eating from it and feeding others.

Al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad, and Abū Thawr preferred that the marking be on the right side, basing themselves on the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās: “The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—performed the noon prayer at Dhū al-Ḥulayfah, then called for his sacrificial camels, marked them on the right side of their hump, wiped away the blood, and placed two sandals as collars on them…"