The questioner says: One of my relatives fell ill, and I vowed that if he recovered from his illness, I would slaughter a sacrificial animal. On one occasion, we received aid and slaughtered animals from some of the relatives, and some of it remained. I gave one of them in charity. Does this suffice or not? And it was said that the one who gives charity from it may not eat from it. Is this correct?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : One of my relatives fell ill, and I vowed that if he recovered from his illness, I would slaughter a sacrificial animal. On one occasion, we received aid and slaughtered animals from some of the relatives, and some of it remained. I gave one of them in charity. Does this suffice or not? And it was said that the one who gives charity from it may not eat from it. Is this correct?
The Shaykh : It suffices for you to fulfill your vow from this sheep that came to you. As for eating from it, it depends on the intention. If the one who vowed, who vowed that if Allah healed his sick relative he would slaughter a sheep, intended by this slaughter to draw near to Allah, then this is an act of worship and obedience, so he should give it all in charity to the poor, because the poor are the recipients of lawful wealth and charity. And if his intention in vowing to slaughter this sheep was to rejoice in it and be pleased, similar to how a traveler shows joy when he returns from his journey, then this is a permissible vow, and it is permissible for him to do so, meaning he slaughters the sheep he vowed and eats from it, gives charity, and sends gifts. It is also permissible for him to leave it and not slaughter it, but he must expiate with the expiation of an oath, because the ruling on a permissible vow is that the one who vowed is given the choice between doing what he vowed and expiating with the expiation of an oath.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : It suffices for you to fulfill your vow from this sheep that came to you. As for eating from it, it depends on the intention. If the one who vowed, who vowed that if Allah healed his sick relative he would slaughter a sheep, intended by this slaughter to draw near to Allah, then this is an act of worship and obedience, so he should give it all in charity to the poor, because the poor are the recipients of lawful wealth and charity. And if his intention in vowing to slaughter this sheep was to rejoice in it and be pleased, similar to how a traveler shows joy when he returns from his journey, then this is a permissible vow, and it is permissible for him to do so, meaning he slaughters the sheep he vowed and eats from it, gives charity, and sends gifts. It is also permissible for him to leave it and not slaughter it, but he must expiate with the expiation of an oath, because the ruling on a permissible vow is that the one who vowed is given the choice between doing what he vowed and expiating with the expiation of an oath.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.