Darulifta Ahlesunnat
(Dawateislami)
Question
What do the
scholars of Islam and the Muftis of Shari’ah say
regarding the following matter: I have seen a blessed Hadith on a social media
post. Sayyiduna Ata Bin Yasaar
رَحْمَةُ
الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه has said: I asked Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub Ansari رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ
عَـنْهُ, ‘How were
sacrifices performed during the era of Allah’s Messenger
صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم?’ He said, ‘In the era of the Holy Prophet
صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, a man would sacrifice a goat from himself and on behalf of his
household, and all his family members would eat some of it and distribute some
to others. Then people started to boast (i.e., started to do more than one
sacrifice just to show off and outrank others) and you can see what the
condition is like now.’ (Sunan Ibn-e-Majah,
Hadith, 3147)
After the Hadith, the following note was
also mentioned: In Islam, the word ‘Household’ means: a married couple and
their children. If there is more than one married couple in the house, every
couple will be considered as a different household. And there is only a single
sacrifice or a single share (of big animals like cows, etc.) upon each
household.
Please guide about the Hadith and the note
mentioned after that in the light of Shari’ah.
بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ
الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
Sacrificing a single goat or taking just a single share of
a sacrificial animal on behalf of many individuals for whom the sacrifice is Wajib is not correct. When sacrifice becomes Wajib for multiple individuals, it is compulsory for each
one of them to sacrifice a goat or perform the sacrifice of a share of a big
sacrificial animal (cow, camel etc.) separately because there cannot be more
than one share in the sacrifice of a nanny goat or a billy goat; therefore, one
sacrifice can be performed by one particular individual. Likewise, one share of
a big animal can only suffice for a single person, one share of a big animal
cannot suffice for multiple individuals for their Wajib.
Therefore, when the sacrifice becomes Wajib for
different members of a house or a family and they perform just a single
sacrifice or make the sacrifice of just a single share, the sacrifice of none
of the members will be fulfilled.
As far as the meaning of the Hadith is concerned, either this
Hadith has been abrogated or the sacrifice discussed in this Hadith does not
refer to Wajib but rather it refers to the Nafl. In this case, the Hadith would be interpreted in the
following way: Those Sahabah رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُم for whom
the sacrifice would not have become Wajib because
they did not possess the minimum threshold (Nisab),
would perform Nafl sacrifice of a single goat
exclusively on their own behalf and would eat that meat and would feed it to
their family too.
The blessed Hadith
mentioned is regarding Nafl sacrifice as Imam
Muhammad رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه
elaborates this Hadith in the following manner:
”کان الرجل یکون محتاجا فیذبح الشاۃ
الواحدۃ یُضحّی بھا عن نفسہ فیاکل و یطعم اھلہ ،
فاما شاۃ واحدۃ تذبح عن اثنین او ثلثۃ اضحیۃ
فھذہ لا یجزئ و لا یجوز شاۃ الا عن واحد و ھو قول ابی حنیفۃ
و العامۃ من فقھائنا “
Translation: (In those days) a person would
not own a Nisab and he would sacrifice a goat on
behalf of himself and would eat it himself and feed his family members as well.
However, slaughtering a single goat on behalf of two or three individuals as Wajib sacrifice is not sufficient. Sacrificing one goat (as
Wajib) is permissible only for one person. And this
is the saying of Imam-e-A’zam and the majority of
Islamic jurists رَحِمَهُمُ الـلّٰـهُ. (Al-Mauta-lil-Imam Muhammad, p. 282, published in Karachi)
A single sacrifice
is not permissible on behalf of an entire household. Therefore, Shaykh Abdul Haq Muhaddith Dehlvi
رَحْمَةُ
الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه has written regarding the
Hadith mentioned in the question: There is another Hadith narrated, that says,
‘A single goat from the entire household will suffice’ but the ruling on it is the same mentioned earlier that this is
abrogated too. (Ashi’a-tul-Lam’aat
(Translated), vol. 2, p. 693, published by Fareed book Stall, Lahore)
One goat’s sacrifice can only suffice for one individual. The
(writer of the) book Mirqat Sharh
Mishkat holds the same opinion as it says,
”الغنم الواحد لا یکفی عن اثنین
فصاعدا“
Translation: One
goat does not suffice for two and more than two people. (Mirqat-tul-Masabih,
vol. 3, p. 561, published in Multan)
Banaya Sharah Hidayah
upholds the same, as it says,
”و اعلم ان الشاۃ لا تجزئ الا عن واحد ۔۔۔
و قد روی عن ابن عمر رضی اللہ عنہ انہ قال الشاۃ عن واحد ،
ملخصا “
Translation: And
know that one goat will suffice for only one person. And the same has been
narrated by Sayyiduna Ibn-e-Umar رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ as he has stated, “One goat is permissible only from one person.” (Al-Banaya Ma
Al-Hidayah, vol. 14, p. 353, Multan)
A big animal can have seven shares in total and one share can be
sacrificed on behalf of only one individual. And if one share is sacrificed on
behalf of more than one individual, each individual will share in less than one
and it is impermissible. Hence, the sacrifice from none will be valid.
Therefore, it has been mentioned in Tanveer-ul-Absaar and Al-Durr Al-Mukhtar,
” تجب شاۃ او سبع بدنۃ ھی الابل
و البقر ۔۔۔ و لو لاحدھم اقل من سبع لم یجز عن واحد ،
ملخصا “
Translation: One
goat or one Badanah (i.e. one-seventh
share) of a camel or a cow is Wajib (as the
sacrifice) and if any of the participants (in a big animal’s sacrifice) holds a
share less than one-seventh, it will render the sacrifice of all the
participants invalid. (Tanveer Al-Absaar and Al-Durr Al-Mukhtar, vol. 9, pp. 521-525, published in Multan)
It has also been
mentioned in Khulasa-tul-Fatawa,
”لو کانت الشرکاء فی البدنۃ او البقرہ
ثمانیۃ لم یجزھم ، و لو کانوا اقل من ثمانیۃ الا ان
نصیب واحد منھم اقل من السبع لا یجوز ایضا “
Translation: If eight people share in the sacrifice of a cow or a
camel, it will not be permissible. And if they are less than eight but one of
them has a share less than one-seventh, it will not be permissible either. (Khulasa-tul-Fatawa, vol. 4, p. 315, published in Quetta)
Sayyidi A’la
Hazrat رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه has written, “One sacrifice cannot suffice for all (i.e., more
than one person), nor is it Wajib for anyone other
than Sahib-e-Nisab (i.e., the one who owns minimum
threshold). If any one of his adult children is Sahib-e-Nisab,
that child of his must sacrifice separately.” (Fatawa Razawiyyah, vol. 20, p.
369, published by Raza Foundation, Lahore)
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَرَسُوْلُہ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ
وَسَلَّم
Answered
By :
Mufti Muhammad Qasim Attari
05th
of Zul Hajja-til-Haraam,
1441 A.H./ July 27, 2020
Ruling on not performing Qurbani previous years
How is it to eat Qurbani-meat in Muharram-ul-Haraam?
Qurbani for Isal-e-Sawab
Method for doing Tahneek
Rulings about ‘Aqiqah
The Qurbani sacrifice of an animal whose horns have been removed
The Qurbani sacrifice of a bull with no adult teeth
Giving Sadaqah of the amount of previous sacrifices/doing Heelah for the amount of sacrifice