Conditions of the udhiyah and time of slaughter: age, defects and dividing the meat

The udhiyah has conditions in species, age and soundness, and a fixed window in which the slaughter is valid. This page is rulings and tables, not a tool page.

The basis of the sacrifice

First condition: it must be livestock

Only camels, cattle, sheep and goats are valid. Birds, horses and other animals do not count, whatever their price.

Second condition: accepted age

Sheep are considered better than goats by the majority. Cattle and camels each cover seven participants, while a single sheep covers a man and his household.

Third condition: freedom from defects

The summarising hadith names four that are not valid: the clearly one-eyed, the clearly ill, the clearly lame, and the one so broken down it has no marrow.

Fourth condition: the time of slaughter

This is where most mistakes happen. It begins after the eid prayer, not after fajr, and ends at sunset on the last day of tashriq.

So there are four days in total: eid and the three days after it. Where no eid prayer is held, the window starts once the time it would take has passed in the nearest praying town. For the eid date and the days of tashriq see the hijri calendar, and for the prayer and sunset times in your city see prayer times.

Dividing the meat into thirds

Dividing into thirds is recommended, not obligatory: a third for the household, a third gifted to relatives and friends, a third given to the poor. Giving more in charity, or keeping more for the family in case of need, is allowed. None of the meat or hide may be sold, and the butcher may not be paid from it; he may be given a gift after his fee is paid from elsewhere.

Frequently asked

• Who should offer it? A confirmed sunnah according to the majority, and obligatory on the able according to others. The able is whoever has its price spare of his own and his dependants' needs.
• On behalf of the deceased: valid if he bequeathed it, and many scholars allowed it voluntarily or by including him in the household's sacrifice.
• Shared sacrifices: a cow or camel for seven; a sheep is not shared between seven as an independent sacrifice, though it covers the household of the one offering it.
• Whoever intends to sacrifice: it is recommended to refrain from cutting hair and nails from the start of Dhul Hijjah until the slaughter. This does not bind the rest of the household.
• Delegating the slaughter: valid inside or outside one's country; witnessing it is better where possible.
• The words at slaughter: in the name of Allah, and Allah is greatest, then naming oneself and those included.
• Sacrifice and zakat: two different acts. The sacrifice is not a substitute for zakat; work out zakat on the zakat calculator.

Udhiyah, hady and aqiqah

Three steps before buying

1. Check species and age against the table above; this is where buyers are misled most.
2. Inspect the eye, the walk and the general state on level ground; every disqualifying defect is visible.
3. Fix the slaughter time from the hijri calendar and the eid prayer and final sunset from prayer times before booking the butcher.