The time of sacrifice in the light of Qur'an and Sunnah

The time of sacrifice in the light of Qur'an and Sunnah

The time of sacrifice in the light of Qur'an and Sunnah

The rules of sacrifice in the light of the Qur'an and Sunnah This is an important issue. The reason for this is that Eid-ul-Adha is coming.

On this occasion, Muslims revive the Sunnah of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS). That is, they slaughter animals in the way of Allah. And we must know the rules of sacrifice. So that we do not make any mistake in this matter. With the help of Allah, we will explain this important issue in light of the Qur'an and Sunnah.

(1) When does the time of sacrifice begin?

A sacrifice is an act of worship. And there is a fixed time for this worship. If a person performs it before his time, then this act of his will not be accepted in the sight of Allah. Similarly, if a person deliberately delays it, his sacrifice will not be accepted in the sight of Allah.

The first time of sacrifice begins with the Eid prayer. Whoever slaughters his animal before the Eid prayers, his sacrifice will not be acceptable.

Hazrat Bara ibn Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: وَمَنْ ذَبَحَ قَبْلُ، فَإِنَّمَا هُوَ لَحْمٌ قَدَّمَهُ لِأَهْلِهِ، لَيْسَ مِنَ النُّسُكِ فِي شَيْءٍ۔ Whoever slaughters an animal before (the Eid prayer) is only meat for his family. There is no reward for sacrifice for this. (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 5545)

Hazrat Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: «مَنْ ذَبَحَ قَبْلَ الصَّلاَةِ فَإِنَّمَا ذَبَحَ لِنَفْسِهِ، وَمَنْ ذَبَحَ بَعْدَ الصَّلاَةِ فَقَدْ تَمَّ نُسُكُهُ، وَأَصَابَ سُنَّةَ المُسْلِمِينَ» Whoever slaughters an animal before (the Eid prayer) is only meat for his family. There is no reward for sacrifice for this. (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 5545)

Hazrat Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: مَنْ ذَبَحَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ فَلْيُعِدْ مَكَانَهَا أُخْرَى۔ Whoever slaughters an animal before the prayer should slaughter another animal in its place. (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 5562)

It is better for a person to slaughter his animal after Eid prayers after listening to both sermons. Hazrat Jundab (may Allah be pleased with him) says صَلَّى النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَوْمَ النَّحْرِ، ثُمَّ خَطَبَ، ثُمَّ ذَبَحَ۔On the day of sacrifice, the Prophet delivered a sermon after the prayer (Eid). Then he slaughtered the animal. (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 985)

(2) When does the time of sacrifice end?

A sacrifice is an act of worship. So it has a set time. We've outlined the start time. Now, with the help of Allah, we will state the time of its end. As soon as the days of Tashreeq end, its time also ends. The days of Tashreeq are 11, 12, and 13 Zul-Hajj. 

That is, there were four days of total sacrifice. One day is the day of 10 Zul-Hajj, ie Eid-ul-Adha and then three days of Tashreeq.

 Although the scholars differ on this point, the prevailing view is that the time for this act of worship ends when the days of Tashreeq come to an end. Allah said لِيَشْهَدُوا مَنَافِعَ لَهُمْ وَيَذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَعْلُومَاتٍ عَلَى مَا رَزَقَهُمْ مِنْ بَهِيمَةِ الأَنْعَامِ۔ People should be present at their place of benefit. And remember Allah because of what He has provided for them in the form of animals. (Surat al-Hajj, verse No. 28)

Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: الأيام المعلومات: يَوْم النحر وثلاثة أيام بعده(In the Qur'an) “الأيام المعلومات " refers to one day of Eid and three days after Eid. (Tafsir Ibn Abi Hatim, Hadith No. 13893)

Hazrat Nabisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH said: «أَيَّامُ التَّشْرِيقِ أَيَّامُ أَكْلٍ وَشُرْبٍ» The days of Tashreeq are the days of eating and drinking. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 1141)

Moreover, when the other commandments of those days are the same, like all these days are the days of semen, these are the days of throwing stones at the devils. 

Similarly, it is haraam to fast on all these days. When all these orders of the day are the same, how can we make the matter of slaughter special with the first two days?

Explanation of the word Mina:

Hazrat Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: وَمِنًى كُلُّهَا مَنْحَرٌ۔ And The whole of Mina Sara is the place of sacrifice. (Musnad Ahmad and its chain of transmission is Hasan. Hadith No.562)

Imam Ragheb says that "Mina"(مِنیٰ) means that a thick object bounces out. From this comes the word "semen"(مَنِی) because in it the human reproductive material jumps out. And this is where the word "desire"(تَمَنَّیٰ) comes from, because in desire, one's emotions jump out.

 So these four days are called the day of  Mina(مِنَیٰ) because the blood of animals comes out in them. So when Mina has these four days, it is obvious that these will also be the four days of sacrifice.

Sacrifice during the day is the best practice. But sacrifice is also permissible at night. Because when the day is absolutely mentioned, the night comes into it automatically. There is no disgust in doing this at night because there is no evidence of disgust.

In this short the discussion we have tried to describe the times of this great worship with the help of Allah. May Allah help us to understand religion and act accordingly. Ameen!