Slaughtering the udhiyah in another country

Praise be to Allah.

It is better for
a person to slaughter his udhiyah himself, because of
the report narrated by Anas ibn
Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him), that the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) sacrificed two horned black
and white rams, placing his foot on their sides; he said the name of Allaah and said takbeer, and
slaughtered them with his own hand.

Narrated
by al-Bukhaari (5558) and Muslim (1966).

It is
permissible to appoint someone to slaughter the sacrifice on one’s behalf, even
without a reason to do so, because of the report narrated by Jaabir according to which the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) slaughtered sixty-three [animals] with his own hand. Then
he handed over to ‘Ali who slaughtered the rest. Narrated by Muslim (1218)

Dr. Wahbah az-Zuhayli (may Allah
preserve him) said: It is mustahabb for the one who
wants to offer a sacrifice to slaughter it himself if he is able to do so,
because it is an act of worship and doing an act of worship oneself is better
than delegating someone else to do it. But if a person is not skilled in
slaughtering, it is better to delegate it to a Muslim who is good at it; in
this case it is mustahabb to witness the sacrifice,
because of the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
to Faatimah (may Allah be pleased with her): O Faatimah, go to your udhiyah and
witness it. And the madhhabs are unanimously agreed
on that.

End quote from al-Fiqh al-Islami wa Adillatuhu
(4/237)

With regard to
offering the udhiyah outside of one’s country, there
is a difference of opinion among the scholars concerning that.

Dr. Wahbah az-Zuhayli (op. cit.,
4/282) said: As for transferring udhiyah to another
country, the Hanafis said: It is makrooh
to transfer it, like zakaah, from one country to
another, unless he is transferring it to his relatives or to people who are in
greater need of it than the people in his own country. If he transfers it to
anyone else, it is valid although it is makrooh. The Maalikis said: it is not permissible to transfer it the
distance at which shortening prayers becomes permissible or more, unless the
people in that place are in greater need of it than the people in the place
where it should be offered. In that case, he should transfer most of it to them
and keep a smaller portion for his own family.

The Hanbalis and Shaafa‘is, like the Malikis, said: It is permissible to transfer it no more
than the distance at which shortening prayers becomes permissible, from the
country in which the udhiyah is due. But it is haraam to transfer it, as in the case of zakaah, the distance at which shortening prayers becomes permissible,
although it is valid. End quote.

A number of
contemporary scholars are of the view that it is permissible to offer the udhiyah outside one’s own country, so as to give to the
Muslims who are in greater need and are poorer.

Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (may Allah have mercy
on him) was asked: The Global Islamic Aid Council in Saudi Arabia, conveys its
warmest greetings to you and asks Allah to continue to benefit the Muslims
through your knowledge and to reward you immensely for your efforts.

I refer to your
fatwa which says that it is permissible for the Council to accept the cost of udhiyah from its supporters and to buy udhiyahs
with it to be slaughtered at the time of sacrifice and distributed to poor
Muslims in countries that are poorer and in greater need. Some Saudi charities
have been working in this field for several years on the basis of this fatwa,
whereas the Council is in an embarrassing situation vis-à-vis the poor Muslims
in other countries because it has stopped offering the udhiyah
to them in their countries. Hence we hope that you will do us the honour of stating the shar‘i
opinion on this matter.

He replied:

We have received
your message with your request for information on the ruling on sending the
value of the udhiyah to be slaughtered in other
countries and distributed among poor Muslims, as you read in a fatwa of ours
that it is permissible for the Council to take the price of the udhiyahs from its supporters and use it to buy the animals
to be slaughtered at the time of sacrifice and distributed to the Muslims in a
country that is poorer and in greater need. We said that on the basis that the
wisdom behind offering a sacrifice is to revive the Sunnah
and bring some relief to Muslims on the days of Eid
which are days of joy and happiness, because in this country there are people
who are wealthy and want to do good, and they had left instructions to
slaughter udhiyah so that in one household a great
number of udhiyahs are being offered, but there are
few poor people who need to eat it during those days. So we thought that it was
more appropriate to send the money to a poor country with which to buy the
animals and slaughter them during the days of Eid in
the name of the donors, and divide them among the poor Muslims of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah.
This is better than leaving the meat frozen to be eaten over a number of
months. However, if there are poor people in one’s own country, then it is
better to give it to them so as to meet their needs. This is what we think, but
you may ask others for fatwas. May Allah bless us all
and send blessings and peace upon Muhammad and his family and companions.

End quote from
the Shaykh’s website.

And he (may
Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Is it permissible to send the meat of one’s
sacrifice outside the Kingdom, to needy and poor people, such as those in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sudan, African countries and other Muslim countries,
because of great need there? Please advise us, may Allah protect you

He replied:

It is preferable
to slaughter it in the country where you are, so that you may be present at the
slaughter and say the name of Allah over it, and eat from it, give some as
gifts and give some in charity, by thirds. But if it is a rich country and
there are no poor people there, and if you give to some of them they will store
it for several days and they have abundant meat throughout the year, then it is
permissible to send it to those who need it in poor countries where meat is
scarce and they only have it rarely. But it is essential to make sure that the
sacrifice is done during the days of sacrifice, and that the animal is of the
right age and free of defects, and that the person appointed to do that is
trustworthy.

End quote from
the shaykh’s website.

In the
Almoslim.net website, supervised by Dr. Naasir al-‘Umar (may Allah preserve him), there is a fatwa about
transferring the udhiyah outside the land where the
sacrifice was offered.

The issue is:
the ruling on the one who is offering the sacrifice transferring his udhiyah to be slaughtered in a place other than his own,
whether that is in the same country or in another country, on the grounds that
there are Muslims in that country who are in greater need of the udhiyah meat than the Muslims in his own country.

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and blessings and peace
be upon His Noble Messenger and upon his family and companions.

It should be
noted that one of the major issues to which Islam pays attention, and one of
its greater aims, is to promote what is in people’s interests and to take care
of needy and poor Muslims. One of the important issues in this regard is the
permissibility of transferring the udhiyah from the
land of the one who is offering the sacrifice to another land, especially as
there is nothing in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah
of His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to suggest that
this is not allowed. The basic principle in that regard is that it is
permissible. If it is permissible in the case of zakaah,
which is obligatory according to consensus, to transfer it from one land to
another land to serve a greater interest and meet a greater need, then how
about the udhiyah, which is mustahabb?

Some scholars
disallowed it, on the grounds that it means missing out on practising
this ritual, and Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And the Budn (cows, oxen, or camels driven to be offered as
sacrifices by the pilgrims at the sanctuary of Makkah.)
We have made for you as among the Symbols of Allah, therein you have much good.
So mention the Name of Allah over them when they are drawn up in lines (for
sacrifice). Then, when they are down on their sides (after slaughter), eat
thereof, and feed the beggar who does not ask (men), and the beggar who asks
(men). Thus have We made them subject to you that you
may be grateful”

[al-Hajj 22:36].

But quoting this
verse as evidence is a matter that is subject to further discussion, for two
reasons:

1.    
Not everyone has their udhiyah offered outside their own countries; rather there
are still some who offer the sacrifice in their own countries, so practising the ritual is still being done..

2.    
Even if we assume that all people
are having their udhiyahs sacrificed outside their
country, the basic principle of practising the ritual
is still being carried out. It is being more strongly manifested in another
country, even if it is less so in the country of the one who is offering the
sacrifice, and that is done on the basis of need and serving an interest.

The aim of
offering the sacrifice is to practise the ritual in
every country and to benefit the poor Muslims. Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“It is neither
their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah, but it is piety from you that
reaches Him”

[al-Hajj 22:37].

In as-Saheehayn it is narrated via Abu ‘Aasim,
from Yazeed ibn Abi ‘Ubayd that Salamah ibn al-Akwa‘ (may
Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever among you offers a sacrifice, nothing of it
should be left in his house after the third day.” The following year, they
said: O Messenger of Allaah, should we do what we did
last year? He said: “No, that was a year when people were hard-pressed, and I
wanted (the meat) to be distributed among them.”

When the
Lawgiver looked at people’s poverty, they were forbidden to store the meat for
more than three days, but when that reason no longer applied, the prohibition
was lifted.

In that case we
do not see anything wrong with the fatwa which permits transferring the udhiyah from one country to another, if the Muslims have a
need for that. There are large numbers of Muslims who are sleeping under the
stars (homeless) and are starving and may die of hunger, so there is an urgent
need to help them and come to their aid with zakaah
and charity, and to transfer the udhiyah to their
countries. It is not essential for the udhiyah to be
offered in the place where the one who is offering it is; if he misses out on
the Sunnah of eating from his sacrifice he will not
miss out on helping poor and needy Muslims. And Allah knows best. May Allah
send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family and companions. End quote.

http://almoslim.net/node/82242

Based on that:

There is nothing
wrong with giving money to someone to slaughter the udhiyah
for you in Somalia, on condition that he is trustworthy and that he will
slaughter it during the days of sacrifice which are the days of at-tashreeq.

And Allah knows best.