—the ear being completely cleft into two or more parts—whereas a kharqāʾ is an animal whose ear has a round perforation. The ḥadith likewise prohibits sacrificing the muqābala and the mudābira, which fall under the same heading as the sharqāʾ and the kharqāʾ.
Some scholars explain that a muqābala is an animal from whose ear a piece has been cut at the front and left dangling, so that it hangs like a small lobe, while a mudābira is the same treatment applied to the back of the ear. An aʿḍab al-qarn is one that has lost half of its horn.
According to Mālik, there is no harm in offering a toothless ewe (hiymāʾ) provided the teeth were lost through old age and the animal is still plump; but if the teeth have fallen out while it is young, it may not be sacrificed, for that is a significant defect. In fact, every deficiency is disliked, though there is no objection to a castrated, naturally hornless animal. Mālik disapproved of an animal whose horn is broken and bleeding; if it is not bleeding, it is treated like a naturally hornless one (jalḥāʾ) and is acceptable.
As for an abtar—an animal whose tail has been cut—if the entire tail is gone the sacrifice is invalid. If only a small portion, such as the very tip, is missing, it is acceptable; but if one-third or more of the tail has been removed, it is not valid. Others allow it so long as the animal is not completely tailless.
A mangy animal is unacceptable if the mange is active, for it harms the meat. There is no objection to a camel that has a slight sore on its back, but if the sore is pronounced the sacrifice is invalid.
It is permissible to sacrifice a sheep that suffers from mild giddiness (thawlāʾ) provided it is fat, whereas a ḥumrāʾ sheep—one that has become bloated from overeating, like a horse sickened by too much barley—may not be offered because its illness is obvious.
If, after slaughtering his sacrificial animal, a person discovers in it a defect attributable to the seller, and the defect is of the type that does not invalidate the sacrifice, he may claim a rebate equal to the loss in value, benefit from the meat, and count it as his offering; it is commendable for him to give some of it in charity.