If a man bequeaths that a sacrifice be performed on his behalf after his death, is it called an udhiyah or a sadaqah, and is it prescribed to offer an udhiyah on behalf of a deceased person?
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The questioner : The sacrifices are on the day of the festival, immediately after the prayer... for the living, or for the dead?
The Shaykh : For the living.
The questioner : For the living, it is possible that... he asks you why the slaughter is valid for him, then.
The Shaykh : It is the one Abu Rada asked about.
The questioner : Do you understand that this is called an udhiyah, with the name of Allah and Allahu Akbar after the festival prayer?
The Shaykh : Why did I say that the udhiyah Abu Rada asked about is during the days of the festival? So that I know that it is an udhiyah.
The questioner : I asked whether it is prescribed to offer an udhiyah for the dead? That is my question. So he calls this an udhiyah, but is it prescribed after his death for the deceased to have it called an udhiyah and to be treated as an udhiyah is treated?
The Shaykh : Who slaughters an udhiyah on behalf of the deceased on the day of the festival? The question you mean: is it his son or someone else?
The questioner : I am not his son, but he bequeathed from his wealth that a sacrificial animal be slaughtered for him.
The Shaykh : Well, is this bequest an act of disobedience or obedience?
The questioner : No, it is obedience. But is this bequest called an udhiyah because the man is dead? Is it called an udhiyah, or is it a sadaqah among the sadaqahs? When...
The Shaykh : Yes, but when the bequest is to slaughter an udhiyah for him, what does udhiyah mean? It is slaughtered during the days of 'Id al-Adha.
The questioner : Is this prescribed for the deceased on the day of 'Adha?
The Shaykh : Like if he bequeathed...
The questioner : I am a stranger to him, I am not his son.
The Shaykh : Like if he bequeathed that someone perform Hajj on his behalf, what is the difference between this and that?
The questioner : But I only know the udhiyah for the living.
The Shaykh : Let me know what you know. What do I want from what you know? And you also know Hajj for the living.
The questioner : For every living Muslim household, there is an udhiyah, and this is from the words of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). For the dead, it is considered a sadaqah... As for calling it an udhiyah, the udhiyah is for the living. This is from Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. You know that it is for him and his household.
The Shaykh : You are tormenting yourself, Professor. From Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. Who is the family of Muhammad? Only the living?
The questioner : Or the dead as well?
The Shaykh : Of course, the family of Muhammad, even in the second hadith, and from whom is it? ...
The questioner : From those who did not sacrifice from the Ummah of Muhammad, for the living.
The Shaykh : No, also for those who said the word of tawhid in the hadith, in the general sense, also in the prayer.
The questioner : ... from whoever uttered this word.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is not its meaning. Even those who did not come, not just the living. In any case, yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, yes. That means the hadith is general. Nevertheless, I am not in the position of discussing the hadith. The original rule in all acts of worship is that the one obligated is the living. And acts of worship are divided into two categories, as you know: some are obligatory (fard) and some are voluntary (nafilah). Well, it is obligatory for the able one, as we said and as is well known, to perform Hajj for himself. If he performed Hajj for himself and wrote a bequest that someone perform Hajj for him, is it permissible for them to perform Hajj on his behalf?
The questioner : I did not contradict you; I only asked about the udhiyah. May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. When I ask you about Hajj, you tell me you did not contradict me. In my knowledge, you do not contradict me in this. I take this as a way to convince you in that which you contradict me in. What is the difference between the...
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Be patient, be patient a little. What is the difference between a person who bequeathed a bequest containing one of two things: "Perform Hajj for me for one year and sacrifice for me for five years, an udhiyah every year." What is the difference between this and that?
The questioner : But as for... the udhiyah for the deceased, I, when...
The Shaykh : I did not understand you. What is wrong with it? And you are contradicting me in this, the second time.
The questioner : We are discussing the text of the udhiyah. The udhiyah, I know it is prescribed for every Muslim household, for its living members. This is the udhiyah.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : As for the deceased, it is not customary, and I do not know this... that an udhiyah is sacrificed for the deceased. I do not know this. As for the deceased, no udhiyah is sacrificed for him; rather, a sadaqah is given on his behalf. A sadaqah, meaning we do not know of a living person or a man who sacrificed for the dead and said, "This is the udhiyah of so-and-so, who is dead." This...
The Shaykh : My brother... what happened with that issue? The discussion was about a man who bequeathed that an udhiyah be sacrificed for him. What happened with this discussion? Did we agree that it is permissible to execute the bequest? Did we agree?
The questioner : The bequest is executed, but...
The Shaykh : We agreed that this...
The questioner : This bequest.
The Shaykh : There is no power or strength except with Allah. No.
The questioner : As for me, I mean, so that it is not... that this bequest.
The Shaykh : Very well.
The questioner : The bequest, we consider it... like a trust (amanah).
The Shaykh : Of course.
The questioner : So this trust, this bequest. He bequeathed that an udhiyah be sacrificed from within the thousand pounds.
The Shaykh : An udhiyah, yes.
The questioner : The udhiyah, does the executor of the bequest, the one to whom it was bequeathed, mean...
The Shaykh : The beneficiary, yes. The one to whom it was bequeathed, yes.
The questioner : The bequeather himself.
The Shaykh : The one entrusted with executing the bequest, to eat from it.
The questioner : To eat from it, it is considered a trust with him.
The Shaykh : I tell you, if it is known that the original ruling in the udhiyah is that the one who sacrifices eats from it, gives charity, and stores some, and this beneficiary is like an agent for the bequeather, then he has the right, just as the bequeather himself would have if he slaughtered it himself, to eat from it if he wishes. So the beneficiary, meaning the one entrusted with executing this bequest from the bequeather, has the right to eat from it if he wishes. Unless the text of the bequeather specifies that this udhiyah is to be distributed to the poor and that neither the bequeather nor his closest relatives eat from it. In that case, the condition of the bequeather is executed. But if he left it general, the original ruling of the udhiyah applies to this udhiyah that this bequeather bequeathed.
The questioner : Another question?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : For the living.
The questioner : For the living, it is possible that... he asks you why the slaughter is valid for him, then.
The Shaykh : It is the one Abu Rada asked about.
The questioner : Do you understand that this is called an udhiyah, with the name of Allah and Allahu Akbar after the festival prayer?
The Shaykh : Why did I say that the udhiyah Abu Rada asked about is during the days of the festival? So that I know that it is an udhiyah.
The questioner : I asked whether it is prescribed to offer an udhiyah for the dead? That is my question. So he calls this an udhiyah, but is it prescribed after his death for the deceased to have it called an udhiyah and to be treated as an udhiyah is treated?
The Shaykh : Who slaughters an udhiyah on behalf of the deceased on the day of the festival? The question you mean: is it his son or someone else?
The questioner : I am not his son, but he bequeathed from his wealth that a sacrificial animal be slaughtered for him.
The Shaykh : Well, is this bequest an act of disobedience or obedience?
The questioner : No, it is obedience. But is this bequest called an udhiyah because the man is dead? Is it called an udhiyah, or is it a sadaqah among the sadaqahs? When...
The Shaykh : Yes, but when the bequest is to slaughter an udhiyah for him, what does udhiyah mean? It is slaughtered during the days of 'Id al-Adha.
The questioner : Is this prescribed for the deceased on the day of 'Adha?
The Shaykh : Like if he bequeathed...
The questioner : I am a stranger to him, I am not his son.
The Shaykh : Like if he bequeathed that someone perform Hajj on his behalf, what is the difference between this and that?
The questioner : But I only know the udhiyah for the living.
The Shaykh : Let me know what you know. What do I want from what you know? And you also know Hajj for the living.
The questioner : For every living Muslim household, there is an udhiyah, and this is from the words of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). For the dead, it is considered a sadaqah... As for calling it an udhiyah, the udhiyah is for the living. This is from Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. You know that it is for him and his household.
The Shaykh : You are tormenting yourself, Professor. From Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. Who is the family of Muhammad? Only the living?
The questioner : Or the dead as well?
The Shaykh : Of course, the family of Muhammad, even in the second hadith, and from whom is it? ...
The questioner : From those who did not sacrifice from the Ummah of Muhammad, for the living.
The Shaykh : No, also for those who said the word of tawhid in the hadith, in the general sense, also in the prayer.
The questioner : ... from whoever uttered this word.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is not its meaning. Even those who did not come, not just the living. In any case, yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, yes. That means the hadith is general. Nevertheless, I am not in the position of discussing the hadith. The original rule in all acts of worship is that the one obligated is the living. And acts of worship are divided into two categories, as you know: some are obligatory (fard) and some are voluntary (nafilah). Well, it is obligatory for the able one, as we said and as is well known, to perform Hajj for himself. If he performed Hajj for himself and wrote a bequest that someone perform Hajj for him, is it permissible for them to perform Hajj on his behalf?
The questioner : I did not contradict you; I only asked about the udhiyah. May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. When I ask you about Hajj, you tell me you did not contradict me. In my knowledge, you do not contradict me in this. I take this as a way to convince you in that which you contradict me in. What is the difference between the...
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Be patient, be patient a little. What is the difference between a person who bequeathed a bequest containing one of two things: "Perform Hajj for me for one year and sacrifice for me for five years, an udhiyah every year." What is the difference between this and that?
The questioner : But as for... the udhiyah for the deceased, I, when...
The Shaykh : I did not understand you. What is wrong with it? And you are contradicting me in this, the second time.
The questioner : We are discussing the text of the udhiyah. The udhiyah, I know it is prescribed for every Muslim household, for its living members. This is the udhiyah.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : As for the deceased, it is not customary, and I do not know this... that an udhiyah is sacrificed for the deceased. I do not know this. As for the deceased, no udhiyah is sacrificed for him; rather, a sadaqah is given on his behalf. A sadaqah, meaning we do not know of a living person or a man who sacrificed for the dead and said, "This is the udhiyah of so-and-so, who is dead." This...
The Shaykh : My brother... what happened with that issue? The discussion was about a man who bequeathed that an udhiyah be sacrificed for him. What happened with this discussion? Did we agree that it is permissible to execute the bequest? Did we agree?
The questioner : The bequest is executed, but...
The Shaykh : We agreed that this...
The questioner : This bequest.
The Shaykh : There is no power or strength except with Allah. No.
The questioner : As for me, I mean, so that it is not... that this bequest.
The Shaykh : Very well.
The questioner : The bequest, we consider it... like a trust (amanah).
The Shaykh : Of course.
The questioner : So this trust, this bequest. He bequeathed that an udhiyah be sacrificed from within the thousand pounds.
The Shaykh : An udhiyah, yes.
The questioner : The udhiyah, does the executor of the bequest, the one to whom it was bequeathed, mean...
The Shaykh : The beneficiary, yes. The one to whom it was bequeathed, yes.
The questioner : The bequeather himself.
The Shaykh : The one entrusted with executing the bequest, to eat from it.
The questioner : To eat from it, it is considered a trust with him.
The Shaykh : I tell you, if it is known that the original ruling in the udhiyah is that the one who sacrifices eats from it, gives charity, and stores some, and this beneficiary is like an agent for the bequeather, then he has the right, just as the bequeather himself would have if he slaughtered it himself, to eat from it if he wishes. So the beneficiary, meaning the one entrusted with executing this bequest from the bequeather, has the right to eat from it if he wishes. Unless the text of the bequeather specifies that this udhiyah is to be distributed to the poor and that neither the bequeather nor his closest relatives eat from it. In that case, the condition of the bequeather is executed. But if he left it general, the original ruling of the udhiyah applies to this udhiyah that this bequeather bequeathed.
The questioner : Another question?
The Shaykh : Yes.