The Udhiyah and the discussion of its prescription.

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
As for what follows:
This is the ninety-second session of the Open Door sessions, which takes place on Thursday, the fourth of the month of Dhul-Hijjah in the year 1415, in which we now speak about the Udhiyah:
The Udhiyah is prescribed by the consensus of the Muslims. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: , and He, the Exalted, said: .
Some scholars have said that it is obligatory, and that whoever is able and does not offer the sacrifice is sinful. This is the position of Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him), and it was chosen by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah.
The Udhiyah is prescribed for the living, as it is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or from the Companions that they offered sacrifices for the dead independently. Rather, a man would offer a sacrifice for himself and his household. It is to be from camels, cattle, or sheep. For this reason, we say that the conditions for what is offered as a sacrifice are four:
First: That it be of the species established by the Shari'ah as being offered as a sacrifice, which are camels, cattle, and sheep. If one offers a horse, for example, it is not accepted from him, because it is not of the species that is offered as a sacrifice, even if it is more expensive than camels, cattle, and sheep. The evidence for this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): meaning: it is returned to him.
Second: That it reach the age considered valid by the Shari'ah. This is half a year for sheep, one year for goats, two years for cattle, and five years for camels, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): .
The third condition: Freedom from defects that prevent sufficiency, which are mentioned in the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): . "Al-'ajfua" means: emaciated. "La tanqi" means: it has no marrow. These four defects prevent sufficiency, meaning: if a person offers a sacrifice with a sheep that is obviously blind, it is not accepted. If he offers a sacrifice with a sheep that is obviously lame, it is not accepted. If he offers a sacrifice with a sheep that is obviously sick, it is not accepted. If he offers an emaciated sheep that has no marrow, it is not accepted. Likewise, what is in the meaning of these defects or more severe than them, such as being blind, for example. If he offers a blind sheep, it is not accepted from him, just as if he offered a sheep that is obviously blind. Likewise, one with a cut-off hand or leg, because if the sacrifice with a lame one is not sufficient, then one with a cut-off hand and leg is even more so.
The sacrifice is not sufficient with what has been struck by a cause of death, such as one in difficult labor until it is safe, and likewise the gored, the beaten to death, the gored by a horn, the trampled, and what was eaten by a wild beast. All of these are not sufficient because they are even more so in not being sufficient than the sick one.
As for defects that are less than these, they are sufficient, even if there is some of these defects in it, but the more complete it is, the better it is.
So, if something is cut from its ear, or from its horn, or from its tail, it is sufficient, but the more complete is better. There is no difference between the cut being small or large, even if the entire horn, or the entire ear, or the entire tail is cut off, it is sufficient, but the more complete it is, the better it is.
The fourth condition: That the Udhiyah be in the time specified by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), which is from the prayer of the festival to the last day of the days of Tashriq. So the days of slaughter are four: the day of the festival and the three days after it. Whoever slaughters before the prayer has no Udhiyah, even if he is ignorant, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed the people and informed them that whoever slaughters before the prayer has no act of worship. So a man known as Abu Burdah ibn Niyar stood up and said: , and he said: , and he said: .
Likewise, whoever offers a sacrifice after the end of the days of Tashriq has no Udhiyah, because he offered it outside the time. These are the conditions for what is offered as a sacrifice:
That it be from the livestock, which are camels, cattle, and sheep, and that it reach the age considered valid by the Shari'ah, being a two-year-old from camels, cattle, and goats, or a one-year-old from sheep. The third condition: That it be free from defects that prevent sufficiency. The fourth condition: That it be in the specified time.
Then, the Sunnah is not to exaggerate in Udhiyah by increasing the number, because this is extravagance. Some people now, you find a man offers a sacrifice for himself and his household with one Udhiyah, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the righteous Salaf did. But the wife comes and says, "I want to offer a sacrifice," and the daughter comes and says, "I want to offer a sacrifice," and the sister comes and says, "I want to offer a sacrifice," so multiple sacrifices gather in the house. This is contrary to what the righteous Salaf did. The most noble of creation, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), did not offer a sacrifice except with one for himself and his household. It is known that he had nine wives, meaning: nine households, and yet he did not offer a sacrifice except with one for himself and his household, and he offered another for his slave (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
And the Companions, a man would offer a sacrifice with one sheep for himself and his household. So what many people do today is extravagance.
And we say to those who offer these sacrifices: If you have surplus wealth, there are people in the land who need it from the Muslims, like Bosnia and Herzegovina, and likewise in Africa, many cities of this kind, and also in the Russian republics that were liberated from the grip of communism, they have great need.
And what should be noted and pointed out is what has become widespread and publicized of the Relief Organization asking people for money to offer sacrifices with in other places. This is contrary to the Sunnah. The Sunnah is that a person offers a sacrifice in his house for himself and his household, they eat and enjoy it, and they thank Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, for this blessing.
Transferring the Udhiyah to another country causes many benefits to be missed, among them:
The manifestation of the religious symbol. If one offers a sacrifice in another place, the religious symbol is hidden in the country, and perhaps with the passage of time, there will be no Udhiyah at all in the country, so it is sent abroad, especially if it is said to people that it is cheaper abroad than here, and that if you offer one sacrifice here, you can offer three sacrifices in other countries. There is no doubt that the concealment of religious symbols is harm.
And among the benefits that are missed is that if a person offers a sacrifice in another country, the mention of the name of Allah over it is missed. The mention of the name of Allah over it is among the best of deeds, as He, the Exalted, said: .
And among them is that it is missed for him to eat from it. Eating from it is emphasized, and Allah, the Exalted, placed it before charity, saying: . For this reason, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave one hundred camels as a gift, he ordered that a piece be taken from each camel, placed in a pot, cooked, and he ate from its meat and drank from its broth, in realization of the command of Allah, the Exalted, in His saying: .
And among them, meaning: among the benefits that are missed by offering the sacrifice outside the country: that a person is not reassured how it was distributed, and whether it was distributed in a prescribed manner, or in a manner that is not prescribed?
And if he is reassured and distributes it himself or through his agent who watches over it.
And among them is that if it is offered in another country, he does not know when it will be sacrificed. It may be sacrificed before the time due to ignorance of the one sacrificing, and it may be sacrificed after it. Then he is connected to it, because he does not take anything from his hair or his skin, or from his nails until he sacrifices. And he does not know when this Udhiyah will be slaughtered, so he remains suspended all the days of the festival, not taking anything from his hair or his nail or his skin, because he does not know whether the Udhiyah was slaughtered or not. Especially if it is in Eastern countries, for they are usually a day later than us, and perhaps they are two days later, so he remains suspended from the festival to the three days of Tashriq to the fourth added day or the fifth.
Among the benefits that are lost is the specific designation, which is a matter of great importance. If, for example, they gather a thousand heads of livestock and then wish to slaughter them, they do not say, "This one is for so-and-so," because that is difficult for them, so they do not designate them. If they are not designated, it may be said that they do not suffice, because if one is slaughtered from the thousand and asked, "For whom is this?" and the answer is, "For one of these thousand," then which one? Since they do not have lists with the names written on them, and they bring the livestock and slaughter them according to such a list, this is a serious matter, because it may be said that the sacrifice does not suffice in this case if it is not designated for a specific person.
The sacrificial animals are not like food that is gathered and distributed, with each person receiving the reward of their charity, nor are they like dirhams that are gathered and distributed, with each person having the reward of their charity. These are acts of drawing near to Allah, whereby a person draws near to Him by slaughtering the specific sacrificial animal that belongs to him. This is certainly not possible if one sacrifices in another country.
Among the dangers that arise is this: if, for example, thousands of sacrificial animals gather in this place, are they able to slaughter them during the time of sacrifice?
They may not be able to, as happened in the slaughterhouses in Mina. In one of the years, they were unable to slaughter all the sacrificial animals before the days of Tashriq passed, and in that case, the sacrifice is not slaughtered except after the time has passed.
The conclusion is that anything in which a person fails to adhere to what is prescribed results in dangers.
Therefore, what is prescribed is to slaughter the sacrificial animal in one's own country, and it is better for a person to slaughter it in his home, where his family and children can see it, so that the love of this ritual is imprinted in their hearts. Let him know that the purpose of the sacrifice is not material benefit, meaning eating or money, as Allah the Exalted said: . The evidence for this is that Allah established prohibitions prior to the sacrifice, and the Shari'ah took care of it. When the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah enter and a person intends to sacrifice, it is forbidden for him to take anything from his hair, skin, or nails. We ask: if he intended to give a thousand riyals in charity on the day of Eid, would it be forbidden for him to take anything from his hair, skin, or nails when the ten days enter?
No. So we know that the sacrifice is an independent act of worship with its own entity and importance, and the purpose is not meat for the poor to eat or the like. We ask Allah, the Exalted and Sublime, to grant us and you insight in His religion and to help us to act upon it, for He is capable of all things. On this occasion, I wish to ask my Muslim brothers not to be swept away by emotions, but rather they must seek what is in accordance with the Shari'ah. Yes.