This excerpt is taken from Professor Dr. Fazl Elahi's book Masail-e-Qurbani.
It is established from numerous authentic ahadith that sacrificing one goat on behalf of the entire household is sufficient for the purpose of Qurbani. The following six narrations are related to this:
➊ The hadith narrated by Imam Muslim on the authority of Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) has already been mentioned, in which the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) slaughtered a ram and said:
بسم الله اللهم تقبل من محمد وآل محمد ومن أمة محمدﷺ
“In the name of Allah, O Allah! Accept it on behalf of Muhammad, the family of Muhammad, and the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him).”
(For the authentication of this hadith, see
Reference: 36
.)From this noble hadith, it is understood that the Prophet (peace be upon him) slaughtered one ram on behalf of himself and his family, and also included the Ummah in it. Imam Khattabi wrote:
”وفي قوله تقبل من محمد وآل محمد ومن أمة محمد ﷺ
دليل على أن الشاة الواحدة تجزئ عن الرجل وأهله وإن كثروا“
“His statement [تقبل من محمد وآل محمد ومن أمة محمدﷺ] indicates that one goat [as a sacrifice] suffices for a man and his household, even if their number is large.”
Reference: Ma'alim al-Sunan 228/2.
➋ Imam Hakim and Imam Bayhaqi narrated from Hazrat Abdullah bin Hisham (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
”كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يضحي بالشاة الواحدة عن جميع أهله“
“The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to sacrifice one goat on behalf of his entire household.”
Reference: Al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn, Kitab al-Adhahi, 229/4; and Al-Sunan al-Kubra, Kitab al-Dhahiya, chapter: A man sacrifices on behalf of himself and his household, hadith no. 450/9/19052
Imam Hakim declared it authentic and Hafiz Dhahabi endorsed it.
Reference: (See: Al-Mustadrak 229/4, and Al-Talkhis 229/4).
➌ The Imams Malik, Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah narrated from Ata bin Yasar who said: “I asked Hazrat Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him): How did people perform sacrifices during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)?”
He said:
”كان الرجل يضحي بالشاة عنه وعن أهل بيته فيأكلون ويطعمون حتى تباهى الناس فصارت كما ترى“
“A man used to give one sacrifice on his own behalf and on behalf of his household, and they would eat from it and feed others as well. Then people began to show off, and the situation has reached what you see now.”
Reference: Al-Muwatta, Kitab al-Adhahi, partnership in sacrifices, and how many cows and bulls are slaughtered? Hadith no. 486/2/10; Jami' al-Tirmidhi, chapters on sacrifices, chapter on one sheep sufficing for the household, hadith no. 75/5,1541; and Sunan Ibn Majah, chapters on sacrifices, who sacrifices a sheep on behalf of his family, hadith no. 3185, 208/2.
The wording is from Jami' al-Tirmidhi. Imam Turmadi classified it as Hasan Sahih and Sheikh Albani declared it Sahih.
Reference: (See: Jami' al-Tirmidhi 76/5; Irwa' al-Ghalil 355/4)
➍ Imam Ibn Majah narrated from Hazrat Abu Suraihah (may Allah be pleased with him) [who was among the companions who participated in the Pledge of Ridwan. His honorable name is Hudhayfah bin Asid (may Allah be pleased with him).
Reference: See: Footnote of Al-Mustadrak 228/4
] who said:”حملني أهلي على الجفاء بعد ما علمت من السنة كان أهل البيت يضحون بالشاة والشاتين والآن يبخلنا جيراننا“
“My household tried to persuade me to a wrong practice, while I knew the Sunnah that [during the time of the Messenger] one household used to slaughter one or two goats [for sacrifice], and now if we do that, our neighbors start calling us stingy.”
Reference: Sunan Ibn Majah, chapters on sacrifices, who sacrifices a sheep from his family, hadith no. 3186, 208/2 -
Allama Sindhi, Allama Shawkani, and Sheikh Albani declared its chain authentic.
Reference: (See: 'Awn al-Ma'bud 3/8, Nayl al-Awtar 210/5; Sahih Sunan Ibn Majah (202/2).
➎ Imam Bayhaqi narrated from Ikrimah that:
”كان أبو هريرة رضي الله عنه يجيء بالشاة فيقول أهله: وعنا فيقول: وعنكم“
“When Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) brought a goat for sacrifice, his household would say: ‘And on our behalf as well,’ to which he would reply: ‘And this goat is also on your behalf.’”
Reference: Al-Sunan al-Kubra, Kitab al-Dhahiya, chapter: A man sacrifices on behalf of himself and his household, hadith no. 450/9,19056
➏ Imam Bayhaqi narrated from Abdullah bin Abi Qatada (may Allah be pleased with him) that his father [Hazrat Abu Qatada (may Allah be pleased with him)] used to sacrifice one goat on behalf of his household.
Reference: Al-Sunan al-Kubra, hadith no. 19054, 450/9.
From the above narrations, it is clear that slaughtering one goat or ram on behalf of a man and his household suffices.
Warning:
More than one sacrifice can be offered with the intention of earning reward; in fact, doing so is preferable.
