Facing the Sacrificial Animal Towards the Qiblah – A Sunnah Practice
Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
◈ Evidence from the Sunnah
It is Sunnah to face the sacrificial animal towards the Qiblah at the time of slaughter.
Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh رضي الله عنه narrated:
The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ, on the day of sacrifice, slaughtered two horned, white, castrated rams. When he had turned them towards the Qiblah, he said:
وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِيَ لِلَّذِي فَطَرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ، إِنَّ صَلاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَبِذَلِكَ أُمِرْتُ، وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، اللَّهُمَّ مِنْكَ وَلَكَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدٍ وَأُمَّتِهِ، بِسْمِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ
Then he slaughtered them.
Abū Dāwūd: 2795, Kitāb al-Aḍāḥī(This narration has been graded ḍaʿīf by Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله, though other scholars considered it to reach the level of ḥasan.)
◈ Derived Ruling
- The Prophet ﷺ turned the animals towards the Qiblah before slaughtering.
- Therefore, this practice is considered Sunnah.
Hādhā mā ʿindī wa-Allāhu Aʿlam bi-ṣ-ṣawāb.
