This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Farooq Rafi Sahib's book Qurbani, Aqiqah, and Ashra Zil-Hijjah.
The person who does not slaughter the sacrificial animal himself is not required to be present at the time of slaughter, because the Prophet ﷺ sacrificed a cow on behalf of his wives, and the wives were not present at the time of slaughter; rather, they were informed of the sacrifice when they received the meat.
Reference: (Sahih Bukhari: 5548)
Also, the narrations that command being present at the time of sacrifice are weak and not authoritative.❀ Sayyiduna Imran bin Husain رضي الله عنه reports that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
يا فاطمة: قومي إلى أضحيتك فاشهديها، فإنه يغفر لك عند أول قطرة تقطر من دمها كل ذنب عملتيه
O Fatimah! Go to your sacrifice and be present at its slaughter, for by this act, at the first drop of blood that falls, all your past sins will be forgiven.
Reference: Very weak: Mustadrak Hakim: 222/4. Tabrani Kabir: 15002. Tabrani Awsat: 2609. Sunan Bayhaqi: 283/9.
Nazar bin Ismail Bajali is weak, and Thabit bin Abi Safiyah, Abu Hamzah Shumali are very weak narrators.
The same narration
Reference: (Mustadrak Hakim: 222/4, Musnad Bazzar: 1202, Sunan Bayhaqi: 283/9)
is narrated from Abu Saeed Khudri رضي الله عنه and its chain is also weak; it includes Abu Dawood bin Abdul Hameed who is weak and Atiyah bin Saad bin Janadah Awfi who is abandoned. This narration is also narrated in Musannif Abdul Razzaq:
Reference: (8128)
from Zahri and its chain is extremely weak, including Abdullah bin Muharrar who is abandoned and Zahri’s mursal (missing link).Slaughtering the sacrificial animal at the Eidgah is a recommended act, the evidences are as follows:
① An-Nafi' (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
كان عبد الله ينحر فى المنحر، قال عبيد الله يعني منحر النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم
Our master Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to slaughter the sacrifice at the Eidgah, that is, the Prophet's (peace be upon him) Eidgah.
Reference: Sahih Bukhari, Book of Sacrifices, Chapter on Eid and Slaughtering at the Musalla: 5551. Sunan Bayhaqi: 240/5.
② Our master Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) states:
كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يذبح وينحر بالمصلى
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to slaughter and sacrifice at the Eidgah.
Reference: Sahih Bukhari, Book of Sacrifices, Chapter on Eid and Slaughtering at the Musalla: 5552. Sunan Abi Dawood, Book of Sacrifices, Chapter on the Imam Slaughtering at the Musalla: 4371. Sunan Ibn Majah, Book of Sacrifices, Chapter on Slaughtering at the Musalla: 3161.
(These hadiths are evidence that) slaughtering and sacrificing the sacrificial animal at the Eidgah is recommended, and the wisdom in slaughtering the sacrificial animal at the Eidgah is that the act of slaughtering is done in front of the poor so that they can receive the meat of the sacrifice.
Reference: Nail al-Awtar: 129/5.
