Muslim

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: According to unanimous agreement among Muslims, a small animal is to be laid on its left side, so that the knife can be held in the right hand and the animal’s head can be held with the left hand, making the slaughtering easier. And from this hadith it is established that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would offer only one sacrifice on behalf of himself and his household.

According to Imam Malik and Imam Ahmad, a person may offer one sacrifice on behalf of himself and his family. Imam Nawawi has adopted this as his own position and that of the majority, and has stated: According to Thawri and the Hanafis, offering one sacrifice on behalf of everyone is disliked (makruh). However, Khatib al-Sharbini and Ramli have written that this is participation in reward, not participation in the sacrifice itself (Takmila, vol. 3, p. 564).

Thus, according to the Hanafis and Shafi‘is, others may be included in the reward, but the sacrifice will not be on their behalf. That is, according to the Hanafis, the sacrifice is only obligatory upon the wealthy, so there is no sacrifice required for dependent children and wives. But the question is: Did the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) ever command that every wealthy member of the household must offer a sacrifice? Did he command his wives to offer a sacrifice?

And to say that if one goat is sufficient for more than one person, then a cow should be permissible on behalf of more than seven people, is not correct, because a cow is divided into seven shares; it does not mean that it is on behalf of seven individuals. Similarly, to say that if a goat is on behalf of a household, and that household has five members, then each person’s share is one-fifth, is also incorrect, because the purpose of the hadith is that the sacrifice of the head and guardian of the family is on behalf of all, and there is no separate sacrifice required for each individual.

Benefits and Issues:
➊
The sacrificial animal should be healthy and appear pleasing.
If the aforementioned qualities are present, then it is excellent.

➋
The knife should be very sharp.

➌
Offering sacrifice on behalf of the Ummah of Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was a particular characteristic of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).
Every person should offer sacrifice on his own behalf and on behalf of his family,
or on behalf of the one who has made a bequest for it.

➍
From this hadith, evidence has been taken that it is permissible to offer sacrifice on behalf of the deceased,
because the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) offered sacrifice on behalf of his Ummah, and among them were those
who had already passed away,
and there was also a large number who were born after the Prophet’s (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) passing.
However, this inference is not correct,
because offering sacrifice on behalf of the Ummah was a particular characteristic of the Noble Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam),
which is not permissible for others to act upon,
as has already been clarified (in the benefits of Hadith 2791).