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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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The Shari'ah's Non-Specification of the Number of Sacrificial Animals

Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Her second question is: Did Islam specify the number of sacrificial animals a Muslim should sacrifice on the Day of 'Id al-Adha, and what is that number if one exists?
Answer: There is no fixed number. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer two sacrificial animals; one was on behalf of himself and his household, and the other was on behalf of the Muslims of the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). So if a person offers one, two, or more, there is no harm. Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
We used to sacrifice a single sheep in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and we would eat and feed others, then people began to compete with one another in this afterward.كنا نضحي في عهد النبي ﷺبالشاة الواحدة فنأكل ونطعم، ثم تباهى الناس بعد ذلك
.
So the conclusion is that one animal is sufficient. If a person sacrifices one sheep at home on behalf of himself and his household, the recommended practice (sunnah) is achieved by this. And if he sacrifices more, two, three, four, or a camel or a cow, there is no harm. He eats, feeds others, and gives charity; all of this is good if the meat is consumed. However, it is not permissible to slaughter during the 'Id and throw the meat into the markets; this is a waste of wealth. But if he slaughters something that is eaten and distributed to the poor or relatives, that is good, whether little or much. But the minimum is one... the minimum is one. It is slaughtered on behalf of the man and his household, even if they are many, on behalf of him, his wife, his children, his parents, and the like of those who are with him in the house. Yes.
Source binbaz.org.sa

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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