The 'Id sacrifice.
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Its purpose and the ruling on sending it to poor countries
Is it better in this time to send the sacrificial animals to poor countries or to slaughter them here?
This is an important question regarding sending the value of the sacrificial animals to poor countries to be sacrificed there. Some people do this, and indeed go further by placing advertisements in newspapers or other media to encourage people to send sacrificial animals to other countries. This usually stems from ignorance of the objectives of the Shari'ah and ignorance of the legal ruling.
The purpose of the udhiyah: The first objective is to draw near to Allah the Exalted by slaughtering them, for slaughtering is one of the greatest acts of worship.Rather, He joined it with prayer: [Al-Kawthar: 2], [Al-An'am: 162], on the view that the ritual here refers to slaughtering.
Slaughtering itself is an act of worship; this worship can never be achieved if you send money to another country as the price of a sacrificial animal and that animal is slaughtered on your behalf.And Allah the Exalted said in His Book: [Al-Hajj: 37].
The second purpose: If a person sends it to another country, he misses the mention of the name of Allah over it. Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Hajj: 34], making the mention of the name of Allah the operative cause of these rituals that Allah Mighty and Majestic established. This mention will be missed if the slaughter takes place there, and perhaps the one who slaughters it does not even mention the name of Allah.
The third purpose: If he sends it abroad, he misses eating from it. Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Hajj: 28], and the command to eat from it is obligatory according to the opinion of many scholars. If you send it abroad, you miss fulfilling this command, whether it is obligatory or recommended.
The fourth purpose: If he sends it abroad, the great ritual that Allah the Exalted established in the lands of the Muslims in place of the great ritual that Allah the Exalted established in Makkah becomes hidden.The ritual that takes place in Makkah is: The hady, and the ritual that takes place in the other lands of the Muslims is: the udhiyah. So Allah Blessed and Exalted is He established these rituals: slaughtering the hady in Makkah and slaughtering the udhiyah in the other lands, so that the rituals are established in all the lands of Islam. For this reason, Allah Blessed and Exalted is He gave one who intends to sacrifice some of the characteristics of ihram, such as avoiding cutting hair, for example.
The fifth purpose: This ritual may die out with regard to our sons and daughters. If the udhiyah is in the house, the whole family feels it and feels that they are in obedience. If money is sent, what makes them aware of it? So this ritual is missed.
So we say: It is a clear error to send the value of the sacrificial animals outside the country to be sacrificed there, because all these benefits, and perhaps other things that do not come to my mind now, are missed by this action.
The sixth purpose: People begin to look at the udhiyah with a purely material view.and she: Feeding the hungry: and this is also a harm.And Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Hajj: 37] And if you are sincere in worshipping Allah with the udhiyah and benefiting your Muslim brothers, sacrifice in your country and send money, food, and clothing to the other countries.
What prevents you? For this reason, I hope from you—may Allah reward you—that you make it clear to people that this is an error, and that they should not send the value of their sacrifices to other countries, but rather sacrifice in their homes.
And it is not a valid response to this that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) entrusted Ali ibn Abi Talib with slaughtering his hady, or that he sent the hady from Madinah to Makkah; because sending the hady from Madinah to Makkah is necessary, since there is no hady except in Makkah. If he had slaughtered it in Madinah, it would not have been hady.
As for entrusting Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) entrusted him because he was occupied with the affairs of the people, and the people needed him to be free for them. Nevertheless, he ordered a piece from every camel to be put in a pot and cooked, so he ate from its meat and drank from its broth; so he did not leave off eating from it.
So we hope—may Allah reward you—that you strive to educate the people.And that you say: The issue is not that the poor benefit from the meat, but the most important thing is drawing near to Allah in the slaughter that Allah made a companion to prayer. And you are not prevented from benefiting your brothers, so you send them money; there is no harm in that.
We ask Allah to accept from us and from you, and until the next meeting, if Allah wills.
Is it better in this time to send the sacrificial animals to poor countries or to slaughter them here?
This is an important question regarding sending the value of the sacrificial animals to poor countries to be sacrificed there. Some people do this, and indeed go further by placing advertisements in newspapers or other media to encourage people to send sacrificial animals to other countries. This usually stems from ignorance of the objectives of the Shari'ah and ignorance of the legal ruling.
The purpose of the udhiyah: The first objective is to draw near to Allah the Exalted by slaughtering them, for slaughtering is one of the greatest acts of worship.Rather, He joined it with prayer:
So pray to your Lord and sacrifice [to Him alone].
فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْSay, "Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.
قُلْ إِنَّ صَلاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَSlaughtering itself is an act of worship; this worship can never be achieved if you send money to another country as the price of a sacrificial animal and that animal is slaughtered on your behalf.And Allah the Exalted said in His Book:
Their meat will not reach Allah, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you
لَنْ يَنَالَ اللَّهَ لُحُومُهَا وَلا دِمَاؤُهَا وَلَكِنْ يَنَالُهُ التَّقْوَى مِنْكُمْThe second purpose: If a person sends it to another country, he misses the mention of the name of Allah over it. Allah the Exalted said:
And for all religion We have appointed a rite [of sacrifice] that they may mention the name of Allah
وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ جَعَلْنَا مَنْسَكاً لِيَذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِThe third purpose: If he sends it abroad, he misses eating from it. Allah the Exalted said:
So eat of them and feed the miserable and poor.
فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا الْبَائِسَ الْفَقِيرَThe fourth purpose: If he sends it abroad, the great ritual that Allah the Exalted established in the lands of the Muslims in place of the great ritual that Allah the Exalted established in Makkah becomes hidden.The ritual that takes place in Makkah is: The hady, and the ritual that takes place in the other lands of the Muslims is: the udhiyah. So Allah Blessed and Exalted is He established these rituals: slaughtering the hady in Makkah and slaughtering the udhiyah in the other lands, so that the rituals are established in all the lands of Islam. For this reason, Allah Blessed and Exalted is He gave one who intends to sacrifice some of the characteristics of ihram, such as avoiding cutting hair, for example.
The fifth purpose: This ritual may die out with regard to our sons and daughters. If the udhiyah is in the house, the whole family feels it and feels that they are in obedience. If money is sent, what makes them aware of it? So this ritual is missed.
So we say: It is a clear error to send the value of the sacrificial animals outside the country to be sacrificed there, because all these benefits, and perhaps other things that do not come to my mind now, are missed by this action.
The sixth purpose: People begin to look at the udhiyah with a purely material view.and she: Feeding the hungry: and this is also a harm.And Allah the Exalted said:
Their meat will not reach Allah, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you
لَنْ يَنَالَ اللَّهَ لُحُومُهَا وَلا دِمَاؤُهَا وَلَكِنْ يَنَالُهُ التَّقْوَى مِنْكُمْWhat prevents you? For this reason, I hope from you—may Allah reward you—that you make it clear to people that this is an error, and that they should not send the value of their sacrifices to other countries, but rather sacrifice in their homes.
And it is not a valid response to this that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) entrusted Ali ibn Abi Talib with slaughtering his hady, or that he sent the hady from Madinah to Makkah; because sending the hady from Madinah to Makkah is necessary, since there is no hady except in Makkah. If he had slaughtered it in Madinah, it would not have been hady.
As for entrusting Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) entrusted him because he was occupied with the affairs of the people, and the people needed him to be free for them. Nevertheless, he ordered a piece from every camel to be put in a pot and cooked, so he ate from its meat and drank from its broth; so he did not leave off eating from it.
So we hope—may Allah reward you—that you strive to educate the people.And that you say: The issue is not that the poor benefit from the meat, but the most important thing is drawing near to Allah in the slaughter that Allah made a companion to prayer. And you are not prevented from benefiting your brothers, so you send them money; there is no harm in that.
We ask Allah to accept from us and from you, and until the next meeting, if Allah wills.