This excerpt is taken from Professor Dr. Fazl Elahi's book Masail-e-Qurbani.
Eating, feeding, giving to the poor, and storing the meat of sacrifice are all established forms according to the Quran and Sunnah. Regarding this, by the grace of Allah Almighty, four evidences are presented below:
➊ Allah Almighty said: ﴿فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا الْبَائِسَ الْفَقِيرَ﴾
"So eat of it yourselves and feed the needy who are hungry."
Reference: (22-Al-Hajj:28)
➋ The Lord, the Exalted, also said about this: ﴿فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا الْقَانِعَ وَالْمُعْتَرَّ﴾
"So eat of their meat yourselves and feed those who are content and those who ask."
Reference: (22-Al-Hajj:36)
➌ Imam Muslim narrated from Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
”إنما نهيتكم من أجل الدافة التى دقت، فكلوا، وادخروا وتصدقوا.“
I forbade you from storing the meat of sacrifice for more than three days due to the arrival of needy people, so now eat, store, and give in charity.
Reference: Sahih Muslim, Book of Sacrifices, Chapter on the prohibition of eating sacrificial meat after three days in early Islam and its abrogation and permissibility for as long as one wishes, part of hadith number 28 - (1971) 1561/3
➍ Imam Bukhari narrated from Hazrat Salama bin Akwa (may Allah be pleased with him) that he stated the Messenger of Allah said:
”كلوا، وأطعموا، وادخروا.“
Eat, feed, and store.
Reference: Sahih Bukhari, Book of Sacrifices, Chapter on what is eaten from sacrificial meat and what is stored from it, part of hadith number 24/10, 5569.
From the above verses and hadiths, it becomes clear that eating, feeding, storing, and giving the meat of sacrifice to the poor are all valid and correct forms. At this point, the scholars of Tafsir and Hadith raised two questions. The first question is whether it is obligatory for the one who offers the sacrifice to eat the meat of his sacrifice?
① According to Imam Ibn Hazm, it is obligatory for the one who offers the sacrifice to eat the meat of his sacrifice, even if he takes only one bite. Similarly, it is obligatory for him to give from this meat to the poor and needy, whether he gives little or much.
Reference: See: Al-Muhalli, Issue 54/8,985.
② According to the majority of the scholars of the Ummah, it is permissible and recommended for the one who offers the sacrifice to eat from the meat of the sacrifice.
Hafiz Ibn Jawzi wrote in the Tafsir of ﴿فَكُلُوا۟ مِنۡهَا وَأَطۡعِمُوا۟ ٱلۡبَاۤىِٕسَ ٱلۡفَقِيرَ﴾:
This ruling is for permissibility because the people of the pre-Islamic era considered eating the meat of their sacrifices unlawful, so Allah Almighty informed them that eating their meat is permissible.
Reference: Zad al-Masir 426/5.
Imam Qurtubi wrote in the Tafsir of فكلوا منها:
According to the majority, the imperative form is intended as encouragement (to eat the meat of sacrifice), and it is recommended that the person who offers the sacrifice eat from his Hajj and Eid al-Adha sacrifice.
Reference: Tafsir al-Qurtubi 44/12
Hafiz Ibn Kathir also wrote the same
Reference: See: Tafsir Ibn Kathir 240/3
and... Allah Almighty knows best the truth... this seems to be the correct view.The second question is how should the meat of sacrifice be distributed?
➊ According to Imam Shafi'i, it is recommended to divide it equally into three parts: one-third to eat oneself, one-third to give as charity, and one-third to feed others.
Reference: See: Fath al-Bari 27/10.
This opinion is supported by the verse ﴿فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا الْقَانِعَ وَالْمُعْتَرَّ﴾ (So eat of their meat yourselves and feed those who are content and those who ask)
Reference: (22-Al-Hajj:36)
and the Prophet said كلوا، وأطعموا، وادخروا [Eat, feed, and store] see the hadith authentication
Reference: p. 73
.➋ According to some scholars, it is recommended to eat half of the meat and feed the other half to others.
Reference: See: Fath al-Bari 27/10.
This opinion is supported by the verse ﴿فَكُلُوا۟ مِنۡهَا وَأَطۡعِمُوا۟ ٱلۡبَاۤىِٕسَ ٱلۡفَقِيرَ﴾ (So eat of the sacrifice meat yourselves and feed the hungry poor).
➌ According to some scholars, there is no such restriction on the division of the meat. This opinion is supported by the hadith narrated by Imam Muslim from Hazrat Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him), who stated that the Messenger of Allah said:
”نهيتكم عن لحوم الأضاحي فوق ثلاث، فأمسكوا ما بدا لكم.“
I forbade you from eating the meat of sacrifices for more than three days, so now keep as much as you want (for eating).
Reference: Sahih Muslim, Book of Sacrifices, Chapter on the prohibition of eating sacrificial meat, part of hadith number 37 (1977), 1562/3-1564.
And in Jami' at-Tirmidhi it is stated:
”فكلوا ما بدا لكم، وأطعموا، وادخروا.“
So eat as much as you want, feed, and store.
Reference: Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Chapters on Sacrifices, Chapter on the concession to eat after three days, part of hadith number 82, 83 / 5, 1546
Sheikh Albani declared it (Sahih).
Reference: (See: Sahih Sunan at-Tirmidhi 92/2)
From this hadith, it is clearly understood that there is no restriction to eat one-third or half. Imam Shawkani wrote: This hadith is evidence that the amount of meat eaten is not fixed. The person who offers the sacrifice may eat as much as he wants from it, whether the amount is large, but he should take care not to eat so much that the matter of أطعموا [feeding] is nullified.
Reference: Nail al-Awtar 22/5.
This opinion... and Allah Almighty knows best the truth... seems correct because the Prophet (peace be upon him) clearly said, eat as much as you want. Moreover, the verses or hadiths used to support dividing into three or two equal parts do not specify that the division must be equal.
