This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Zubair Ali Zai Rahimahullah's Book on the Rules and Issues of Qurbani.
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلوٰة والسلام على رسوله الامين، اما بعد:
In Dolat Nagar (Gujrat District), Mr. Khurram Irshad Mohammadi Sahib is doing great work in the propagation and invitation of the Ahl-e-Hadith sect, and due to his commendable efforts, the true sect (Ahl-e-Hadith) is spreading well in this area. As far as I know: more than one hundred and fifty (150) people have come out of the darkness of blind imitation and adopted the path of the Book and Sunnah through his hard work. Alhamdulillah.
Khurram Sahib wrote me a detailed letter demanding research on the days of sacrifice, so in response to that letter, I wrote a research article, which was later sent to several Ahl-e-Hadith scholars (may Allah protect them). When no response came from them for several months, then after Khurram Sahib’s continuous demand for publication, the article dated
Reference: 2/May 2007
titled "There are three days of sacrifice" was published in the monthly Al-Hadith Hazro, issue:
Reference: 44 (January 2008)
. Now, after a considerable time, the reaction to this research article has been published in the weekly Ahl-e-Hadith Lahore
Reference: (Vol. 420, Issue 47, 28 November to December 2009)
by Dr. (Professor) Hafiz Muhammad Sharif Shakir Sahib under the title "Four days of sacrifice"
Reference: (pp. 17-20)
.Some observations regarding this article are as follows:
1: The doctor has written: "The days of sacrifice are Eid al-Adha and the three days following it: this is the view of Hazrat Ali and this is the true belief"
Reference: (p. 17)
Respectfully, in which book is this statement attributed to Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه mentioned with an authentic or good chain of narration? Please provide a reference!
There is no need to present the sayings of Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim and Allama Nawawi, because they did not provide any authentic or good continuous chain of narration for the sayings attributed to Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه, and it is known even to common people that Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه was martyred centuries before the birth of these two scholars. Later, the doctor, based on the unsourced references of Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim and Allama Nawawi, also wrote: "The author quoted the three-day sacrifice statement of Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه but why is the following four-day statement of Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه missing??"
Reference: (p. 19)
It is requested that before discussing what is missing, please first present the authentic or good chain of narration for this statement!
2: The professor wrote: "And there is also a difference in the reports, so the author follows the agreed upon sect of Ahl al-Hadith"
Reference: (p. 17)
It is requested: Were Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar رضي الله عنهما outside the sect of Ahl al-Hadith who stated that after the day of sacrifice, two days are for sacrifice?
Reference: (Muwatta Imam Malik vol. 2 p. 638, with authentic chain)
3: The doctor wrote: "According to the rules of Hadith, a good chain of narration is inferior to an authentic chain, not superior, so under which principle is the author considering a good chain superior to an authentic chain?"
Apart from the alleged and supposed rules of Hadith, it is requested to note that it is established from Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه that the days of sacrifice are three. (And this is good) If you have any authentic chain against this, then present it, and if it is not authentic, then present a good chain, and if there is no continuous chain at all, then it is wrong to pit a good chain against an unknown authentic one.
4: The professor quoted Allama Qurtubi that according to Ibn Arabi رحمه الله, the days are four.
Reference: (p. 20 summarized under: The second statement of Ibn Umar رضي الله عنهما)
It is requested that this second statement is unsupported due to lack of chain and is therefore unproven and rejected, so what kind of opposition is this? What is the benefit of presenting unsupported statements against authentic chains?
5: The doctor wrote citing Shawkani al-Yamani: "Abdullah bin Abbas said that the days are limited to four."
Reference: (p. 20)
It is requested that this unsupported statement is rejected in comparison to the narration in Ahkam al-Quran by al-Tahawi, in which it is stated that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas رضي الله عنهما said: "After the day of sacrifice, two days are for sacrifice, and the best sacrifice is on the day of slaughter."
Reference: (Ahkam al-Quran al-Tahawi: 205/2 hadith 1571, with good chain, see Al-Hadith Hazro 44 p. 10)
6: At the end of this article with unsupported statements, the professor wrote: "Only the author can tell which companions are included in the majority of the companions?"
Reference: (p. 20)
It is requested that if the reports of Sayyiduna Abu Imamah رضي الله عنه (a minor companion) are not considered among the majority of the companions, then the reports of Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar رضي الله عنهما, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas رضي الله عنهما, and Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik رضي الله عنه are not the reports of the majority of companions, then what is meant by the majority? Remember that the report of Sayyiduna Abu Imamah رضي الله عنه is: "Then they slaughter on the last day of Dhu al-Hijjah after Eid al-Adha"
Reference: (Al-Hadith: 44 p. 11)
which neither the doctor nor the professor accept, as they believe in four days of sacrifice, and secondly, this report contradicts the above-mentioned majority of companions. 7: The professor wrote: "Hafiz Zubair Ali Zai claims that 'the days of sacrifice are three and his first evidence for this claim is that the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم initially forbade keeping the meat of sacrifice for more than three days.'"
Reference: (p. 17)
It is requested that this is not my first evidence but a subsidiary and supporting evidence, because the first evidence is the reports of Sayyiduna Ali رضي الله عنه and the majority of the companions, which are exactly in accordance with my claim. It is wrong for the professor to attribute my subsidiary evidence as the first evidence.
وما علينا إلا البلاغ
Reference: (25/November/2009)
Reference: Maqalat 261/3
