❖ Shar‘i Ruling on Consuming Meat from a Vowed Sacrificial Camel ❖
This writing is excerpted from the book “500 Questions and Answers for Women” based on the Fatwas of the Scholars of the Haramain, translated by Hafiz Abdullah Saleem.
A woman, along with her children, fell seriously ill. One of her children passed away, and she herself was in a critical condition in the hospital—between life and death. She had no knowledge of the condition of her children at home, whether they were alive or dead.
In that desperate state, she made a vow that:
“If I recover and reunite with my living children, I will sacrifice a she-camel and will not eat any part of it. I will also fast for one month.”
Later, she fulfilled the vow:
The question is:
Will the sacrificed camel be accepted as fulfilling the vow? Or must she offer another she-camel in its place?
Since she vowed to sacrifice the she-camel for the sake of Allah as charity, and the vow was one of obedience, fulfilling it becomes obligatory (wājib).
Hence:
Since she did eat from the meat, she is not required to sacrifice another camel.
However, she must compensate by:
✔ Purchasing an equivalent amount of meat (equal to what she consumed), and
✔ Distributing it among the poor.
In shā’ Allāh, by doing so, her vow will be considered fulfilled.
(Shaykh Ibn Jibreen ḥafiẓahullāh)
This writing is excerpted from the book “500 Questions and Answers for Women” based on the Fatwas of the Scholars of the Haramain, translated by Hafiz Abdullah Saleem.
❖ Question:
A woman, along with her children, fell seriously ill. One of her children passed away, and she herself was in a critical condition in the hospital—between life and death. She had no knowledge of the condition of her children at home, whether they were alive or dead.
In that desperate state, she made a vow that:
“If I recover and reunite with my living children, I will sacrifice a she-camel and will not eat any part of it. I will also fast for one month.”
Later, she fulfilled the vow:
- She sacrificed the she-camel,
- She fasted for one month,
- However, she ended up eating some of the camel's meat.
The question is:
Will the sacrificed camel be accepted as fulfilling the vow? Or must she offer another she-camel in its place?
❖ Answer:
Since she vowed to sacrifice the she-camel for the sake of Allah as charity, and the vow was one of obedience, fulfilling it becomes obligatory (wājib).
Hence:
- The entire camel should have been distributed in charity (i.e., given to the poor and needy),
- And she had clearly stated she would not eat from it herself.
Since she did eat from the meat, she is not required to sacrifice another camel.
However, she must compensate by:
✔ Purchasing an equivalent amount of meat (equal to what she consumed), and
✔ Distributing it among the poor.
In shā’ Allāh, by doing so, her vow will be considered fulfilled.
(Shaykh Ibn Jibreen ḥafiẓahullāh)
