excerpt from Shaykh Mubashar Ahmad Rabbani's book "Ahkām wa Masā'il Kitāb wa Sunnat kī Roshnī Mein":
Question:
Is it permissible to sacrifice a single goat on behalf of an entire household?
Answer:
Yes, one sacrifice is sufficient on behalf of the entire household.
❖ ʿAtā bin Yasār narrates:
"I asked Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī رضي الله عنه how the sacrifice was performed during the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?"
He replied:
"At the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, a man would offer one animal as a sacrifice on behalf of himself and the members of his household."
Arabic Text of the Hadith:
عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَبَا أَيُّوبَ الْأَنْصَارِيَّ كَيْفَ كَانَتِ الضَّحَايَا فِي عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ؟ فَقَالَ: "كَانَ الرَّجُلُ يُضَحِّي بِالشَّاةِ عَنْهُ وَعَنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ".
A single goat (or one small animal) can suffice for one man and his household, as practiced in the time of the Prophet ﷺ. This practice has basis in authentic Hadith and is permissible.
Question:
Is it permissible to sacrifice a single goat on behalf of an entire household?
Answer:
Yes, one sacrifice is sufficient on behalf of the entire household.
❖ ʿAtā bin Yasār narrates:
"I asked Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī رضي الله عنه how the sacrifice was performed during the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?"
He replied:
"At the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, a man would offer one animal as a sacrifice on behalf of himself and the members of his household."
Arabic Text of the Hadith:
عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَبَا أَيُّوبَ الْأَنْصَارِيَّ كَيْفَ كَانَتِ الضَّحَايَا فِي عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ؟ فَقَالَ: "كَانَ الرَّجُلُ يُضَحِّي بِالشَّاةِ عَنْهُ وَعَنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ".
Reference: Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, Kitāb al-Aḍāḥī, Bāb Mā Jā’a Anna al-Shāh al-Wāḥidah Tujzī ʿan Ahl al-Bayt: 1905
Conclusion:
A single goat (or one small animal) can suffice for one man and his household, as practiced in the time of the Prophet ﷺ. This practice has basis in authentic Hadith and is permissible.
