Nasai

(1) Your intent is that slaughtering in the name of Allah Ta’ala is correct, but one should do that act which brings greater benefit. People used to slaughter the animal as soon as it was born, but there was no benefit in this. The meat would only be in the form of scraps, which were not even fit for eating, and so little that it was difficult to distinguish between flesh and skin. Due to grief, the she-camel would even stop giving milk. In other words, no one benefited; rather, it was a loss for the household. Therefore, it is better to let it grow until it becomes fit for riding, and then it may be given for riding in jihad fi sabilillah (striving in the path of Allah), or given to a widow, or the animal may be given to a needy or poor person so that they may benefit from it.

(2) Fara‘, that is, slaughtering the firstborn of an animal or slaughtering an animal upon the completion of a hundred animals, is permissible. Before Islam, such an animal was considered a means of attaining the pleasure of idols and false deities, and it was slaughtered for their sake. But in Islam, this concept was uprooted. Slaughtering an animal for other than Allah was declared haram, while slaughtering an animal as charity for the pleasure of Allah Ta’ala was deemed recommended (mustahabb). This is still recommended and is an excellent means of attaining reward and averting calamity. And Allah knows best.

(3) From this hadith, it is also understood that charity is not limited to slaughtering an animal and feeding its meat to people; rather, the concept of fi sabilillah (in the path of Allah) is very broad, and within it are many better forms that bring much greater reward and merit for the one giving charity.

(4) Slaughtering newborn animals or separating them from their mothers is absolutely not desirable. Firstly, because it causes pain to the mother and she becomes restless and agitated, and secondly, because doing so also reduces the mother’s milk.