The Ear and Eye Being Free from Defects
The condition for the validity of the sacrifice is that the eyes and ears of the sacrificial animal must be free from all defects.
① Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
أمرنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أن نستشرف العين والأذن
“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to carefully examine the eyes and ears (of the sacrificial animal).”
② Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
أمرنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أن نستشرف العين والأذن ولا نضحي بعوراء ولا مقابلة ولا مدابرة ولا خرقاء ولا شرقاء
“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to carefully examine the eyes and ears (of the sacrificial animal), and not to sacrifice an animal whose ears are cut and hanging from the front, or whose ears are cut and hanging from the back, or whose ears are torn in length and width, or whose ears have a round hole.”
In the mentioned books, the chain includes Abu Ishaq Sabi’i. Abu Ishaq Sabi’i is a mudallis narrator. The presence of a mudallis narrator in the chain is a sign of weakness in the hadith, but in Mustadrak Hakim
it is stated that Qais bin Rabi’ said:
قلت لأبى إسحاق : سمعته من شريح، قال : حدثني ابن أشوع عنه
I asked Abu Ishaq Sabi’i if he heard this hadith from Shurayh bin Nu’man. He said, he narrated to me this hadith from Ibn Ashu’, who narrated it from Shurayh. Ibn Ashu’s full name is Sa’id bin Amr bin Ashu’ al-Hamdani. Therefore, this clarification removes the tadlis (concealment) of Abu Ishaq Sabi’i. Shurayh bin Nu’man is a truthful narrator.
Benefits:
① The eyes of the sacrificial animal should be free from deafness and blindness, and thorough examination of eye diseases should be conducted when selecting the sacrificial animal. For the health of the sacrifice, it is necessary that the animal be free from deafness and blindness.
② The ears of the sacrificial animal should not be cut or torn, nor should there be holes in the ears. Therefore, the sacrifice of an animal whose ears are cut, torn, or have holes is not valid. However, if the animal has a scratch or wound on the ears that does not cause the ear to be cut, torn, or have holes, then the sacrifice of such an animal is permissible.
