Its place of slaughter, according to most scholars, is wherever he was prevented, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, slaughtered the sacrificial offering at al-Hudaybiyyah itself. Another group held that the prevented pilgrim remains in ihram and sends his sacrificial offering to the Sacred Precinct, arranging with the person who will slaughter it there, after which he may release himself from ihram. This was the view of the scholars of Iraq.

There was disagreement concerning the prevented pilgrim who cannot find a sacrificial offering. According to one view, there is no substitute for it (1): he may release himself from ihram, while the offering remains due from him until he finds one. The second view is that it has a substitute. On this view, there was further disagreement. According to one opinion, he must observe the fast prescribed for tamattu‘. According to another, the sheep is assessed in dirhams, and the dirhams are used to purchase food, which he then gives in charity. If he is unable to provide food, he fasts one day for every mudd-measure of food, just as in the expiation for using perfume or wearing sewn clothing. Thus, if a person in ihram needs to cover his head because of heat or cold, or needs to wear a shirt, or falls ill and requires treatment with a medicine containing perfume, he may do so, but he is liable for expiation. His expiation is to be carried out in sequence and assessed by equivalence: he must slaughter a sheep; if he cannot find one, he assesses the sheep's value in dirhams and uses them to purchase food, which he gives in charity; and if he is unable to do this, he fasts one day for every mudd-measure.

Then, if the prevented pilgrim had entered ihram for an obligation that had already become binding upon him, that obligation remains due from him. But if it was for a voluntary Hajj, must he make it up? They differed on this. A group held that he does not have to make it up; this was the view of Malik and al-Shafi‘i. Others held that he must make it up; this was the view of Mujahid, al-Sha‘bi, al-Nakha‘i, and the proponents of legal reasoning.

Allah Most High says: “Then whatever sacrificial offering is available.” [That is, he must offer whatever sacrificial animal is readily available.] (2) The word “whatever” is construed in the nominative case. It was also said to be construed in the accusative case, meaning: offer whatever sacrificial offering is readily available. The term hady, meaning a sacrificial offering, is the plural of “gift,” and denotes everything offered to Allah’s House as a means of drawing near to Him. What is readily available of the sacrificial offering is a sheep, according to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib and Ibn ‘Abbas, because it is the easiest option. Al-Hasan and Qatadah said: its highest form is a camel, its middle form a cow, and its lowest form a sheep.

Allah Most High says: “And do not shave your heads until the sacrificial offering reaches its place of sacrifice.” They differed concerning the place which the prevented pilgrim’s offering must reach before he may release himself from ihram. Some said that it is to be slaughtered at the place where he was prevented, whether that place lies outside or within the Sacred Precinct. The meaning of its place of sacrifice is the place where its slaughter and consumption are lawful.

‘Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us; Ahmad ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Nu‘aymi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Isma‘il informed us; ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad informed us; ‘Abd al-Razzaq informed us; Ma‘mar informed us; al-Zuhri informed me; ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr informed me, from al-Miswar ibn Makhramah, in the account of al-Hudaybiyyah, who said:

“When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, had concluded the terms of the treaty, he said to his Companions: ‘Rise, slaughter your offerings, and shave your heads.’ By Allah, not a single man among them rose until he had said this three times. When none of them stood up, he went in to Umm Salamah and told her what he had encountered from the people. Umm Salamah said: ‘O Prophet of Allah, would you like this to be done? Go out, and do not speak a word to any of them until you have slaughtered your camel and summoned your barber to shave your head.’ So he went out and did not speak to any of them until he had done so: he slaughtered his camel and summoned his barber, who shaved his head. When they saw this, they rose and slaughtered their offerings, and some of them began