Which Day of Sacrifice is Superior?
Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
❀ The View of the Scholars
Most scholars hold the view that offering the sacrifice on the first day is superior, because the Prophet ﷺ always practiced this. The Prophet ﷺ lived in Madinah for ten years and performed sacrifice every year. On the occasion of Hajjat al-Wada‘, he ﷺ sacrificed one hundred camels. In all these sacrifices, his consistent practice was to sacrifice on the first day.
This is also indicated by a Hadith:
① Hadith of al-Bara’ bin ‘Azib (RA):
“عن البراء بن عازب رضى الله عنه قال قال النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم إن أول ما نبدأ به فى يومنا هذا نصلى ثم نرجع فننحر ، مـن فـعـلــه فـقـد أصاب سنتنا“
Al-Bara’ bin ‘Azib (RA) reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The first thing we begin with on this day of ours is to perform the prayer, then return and slaughter. Whoever does this has acted in accordance with our Sunnah.”
[Bukhari: 5545, Kitab al-Adahi: Bab Sunnat al-Udhiyah]
From this Hadith, it is clear that whenever the Prophet ﷺ performed the Eid prayer, he would sacrifice on the same day—and Eid prayer is always on the first day.
② Hadith of Abdullah bin Qurṭ (RA):
“عن عبدالله بن قرط عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: إن أعظم الأيام عند الله يوم النحر ثم يوم القر“
Abdullah bin Qurṭ (RA) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “The greatest of days in the sight of Allah is the Day of Nahr (the first day of sacrifice), and then the Day of Qarr (the second day).”
[Sahih: Sahih Abu Dawood: 1552, Abu Dawood: 1765, Kitab al-Manasik: Bab al-Hady idha ‘uṭiba qabl an yablugh]
❀ Conclusion
From the above evidences, it becomes clear that the most superior day for sacrifice is the first day of Eid, and this was also the practice of the Prophet ﷺ.
However, if someone believes that offering sacrifice in the later days would bring more benefit to the poor and needy, then some scholars have considered such a sacrifice to be of equal merit to the first day.
