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Statement on Udhiyah as one of the Central Rituals on Eid al-Adha
Author : The General Iftaa` Department
Date Added : 04-07-2023

Statement on Udhiyah as one of the Central Rituals on Eid al-Adha

 

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

 

The ritual of Udhiyah (Sacrificial animal offered during Eid al-Adha) is one of the great rituals of Allah, which includes the meaning of offering sacrifice for His sake, and promoting the values of social solidarity and cooperation between people through preserving human life, feeding the poor and needy, and spreading love among the people. Almighty Allah says {What means}: " It is not their meat nor their blood, that reaches God: it is your piety that reaches Him: He has thus made them subject to you, that ye may glorify God for His Guidance to you and proclaim the good news to all who do right." {Al-Haj, 37}. He also says {What means}:  "then eat ye thereof and feed the distressed ones in want." {al-Haj, 28}. 

 

Islam is the religion of mercy and kindness, which Allah the Almighty and His Noble Prophet have enjoined as far as dealing with all elements of life is concerned. Shaddad bin Aus (RAA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Verily, Allah has prescribed proficiency in all things. Thus, if you kill, kill in the least painful manner you can; and when you slaughter an animal, do it in the best possible way; and any of you should sharpen his blade so that the animal may be spared from the suffering of the slaughtering." {Transmitted by Muslim}. Therefore, the Muslim's view of the elements of the environment is not aggressive or vengeful. Rather, it rests on sustaining, reforming and preserving these elements, and this is one of the principles of Islamic law. Allah says {What means}: "Do no mischief on the earth, after it hath been set in order, but call on Him with fear and longing (in your hearts): for the Mercy of God is (always) near to those who do good." {Al-A`raf, 56}. It is not permissible for someone who does not understand the high meanings of Udhiyah to be led by deceptive emotions and illusionary mood to stir up sedition in society by criticizing one of the rituals of Allah for a suspicion that has come to his mind. This is in order not be amongst those addressed in the following verse: "But say not - for any false thing that your tongues may put forth,- "This is lawful, and this is forbidden," so as to ascribe false things to God. For those who ascribe false things to God, will never prosper." {An-Nahil, 116}. Verily, Allah, the Most High, Who has ordained sacrifice, is the Most Merciful and the Most Compassionate. No one is more merciful to His creation than He is. He is the Most Wise and the Most Knowing. Therefore, it is not permissible for anyone to transgress His rulings or to delve into them without knowledge. Allah says {What means}: " Yet there is among men such a one as disputes about God, without Knowledge, without Guidance, and without a Book of Enlightenment,-" {Al-Haj, 8}.

 

We also emphasize the fact that some people slaughtering these sacrificial animals without kindness and mercy is contrary to the guidance of the Prophet (PBUH) and his Sunnah and the rules of one of the greatest rites of Allah the Almighty. Allah says {What means}: "Such (is his state): and whoever holds in honour the symbols of God, (in the sacrifice of animals), such (honour) should come truly from piety of heart." {Al-Haj, 32}.

 

We ask Allah to protect our country from the evils of sedition, concealed and revealed. "But God tells (you) the Truth, and He shows the (right) Way." {Al-Ahzab, 4}. And all perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds.

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on waiving a debt owed by a debtor and counting it toward zakāh?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Waiving a debt owed by a debtor, with the intention of counting it toward zakāh, does not fulfill the zakāh obligation. Rather, it constitutes an ordinary act of charity, for which Allah rewards the giver generously — since one of the conditions for the validity of zakāh is that the person paying it must form the intention of zakāh at the actual moment the wealth is paid out. In this case, the debt has already been established as a standing obligation upon the borrower, so it is not valid to simply redirect the intention toward zakāh after the fact.
It is preferable, instead, for the creditor to first collect the debt from the debtor, and then return to him the amount of money he is required to pay as zakāh — or a portion of it — if the debtor happens to fall under one of the eight categories that Allah, the Exalted, has commanded be given from zakāh.
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik, from the books of the Shāfi‘ī school: "If someone gives [money] to a poor person, stipulating that the recipient return it to him in payment of a debt owed to him, or says, 'I am making what you owe me into zakāh, so take it [as such]' — this is not valid. But if he gives it to him with the [unstated] intention that the recipient will use it to repay him, or says, 'Repay what you owe me, so that I may [then separately] give it to you as zakāh,' or the debtor himself says, 'Give it to me, so that I may [then] repay you with it' — this is valid, and there is no binding obligation for the recipient to actually fulfill this [informal understanding]." And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

A woman made a wig for herself from her own [previously shed] hair, which she wears on her head after having lost her hair [due to hair loss]. Is this permissible?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Since the hair belongs to the woman herself, the wig can be removed during the obligatory ghusl (ritual bathing), and part of the head can still be wiped during wuḍū' (ablution), there is no sharī‘ah objection to making this wig — provided she does not appear wearing it in front of non-maḥram men (Any males outside a woman's immediate family whom she is permitted to marry under Islamic law), since it is not permissible for them to look at a woman's detached hair.
It is stated in Rawḍat aṭ-Ṭālibīn wa ‘Umdat al-Muftīn: "Whatever it is not permissible to look at while still attached [to the body] — such as the male genitalia, a free woman's forearm, the hair of her head, and a man's pubic hair, and similar matters — it remains unlawful to look at even after it has been detached [from the body], according to the more correct position (al-aṣaḥḥ)." And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

Is it permissible to pay the Fitr Zakah (obligatory charity) of Ramadan on behalf of a dead person?

The Fitr Zakah of Ramadhaan isn`t due on one who had passed away before the sunset of the last day of Ramadan. And Allah Knows Best.

If a woman becomes pure from menstruation shortly after Fajr in Ramadan, what is required of her?

If a woman becomes pure (from menstrual period) after Fajr, even shortly after, it is recommended (but not obligatory) for her to refrain from eating and drinking for the rest of the day. However, she must make up for that day after Ramadan.
She will be rewarded for both refraining from eating (imsak) and making up the fast (qada) since she was menstruating for part of the day.