He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked about people living in Cairo who take their sacrificial animals and slaughter them at al-Qarāfah.

He replied:

It is not prescribed for anyone to slaughter an Eid sacrifice, or any other animal, at graves. Indeed, none of the primary acts of worship, such as prayer, fasting or charity, is prescribed at graves. Whoever thinks that offering sacrifices at graves is recommended, or that doing so is better, is ignorant and astray, opposing the consensus of the Muslims. Rather:

“The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, prohibited slaughtering animals at graves.”

Some people in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance used to do this: when a prominent person among them died, they would slaughter animals at his grave. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade taking graves as places of prayer and cursed those who did so, warning his community against resembling the polytheists who venerated graves until they worshipped their occupants. How, then, can anyone make a grave a place of sacrifice, deliberately seeking to offer sacrifices there? This too is an imitation of the polytheists.

The intimate friend of Allah—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—said:

“Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of all worlds.”

One must therefore be sincere in one’s devotion to Allah and dedicate prayer and sacrifice to Him, even if the worshipper does not intend to slaughter