Does sacrificing one sheep avail for the entire household?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
In Islamic jurisprudence, the sacrifice (Udhiyah) is considered a Communal Sunnah (Sunnah Kifayah) for the members of a single household who share the same financial support.
If one member of the household performs the sacrifice—even if they are not the primary breadwinner, such as the wife or one of the children—the religious request is fulfilled on behalf of the entire household. This is similar to the Funeral Prayer (Salat al-Janazah), where the obligation is dropped for the community if some perform it.
While the communal request is satisfied by one person's action, the specific spiritual reward (Thawab) for the act of worship belongs only to the person who sacrificed, unless that individual explicitly intends to include the other family members in the reward.
A single sacrifice also avails for a man who is married to more than one wife. And Allah the Almighty knows best.
Is it permissible to sacrifice imported livestock (Such as Romanian, Australian, etc.)?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
As long as the sheep meets the prescribed Sharia age and is free from disqualifying defects, it is valid for sacrifice regardless of its country of origin. Therefore, it is permissible to offer sacrifices from various sources, such as: Romanian, Australian, Spanish, Indian, Sudanese, local (Baladi) livestock, and others. And Allah the Almighty knows best.
What is the ruling on purchasing sacrificial animals and authorizing their slaughter via telephone?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is preferable for the one offering a sacrifice (udhiyah) to slaughter the animal himself, in adherence to the Sunnah, or to be present at the slaughter if possible.
It is valid to authorize a butcher to purchase a sacrificial animal on his behalf and slaughter it, regardless of whether the animal is owned by the butcher or the butcher is acting as an agent in its sale—according to the Hanbali school—provided that the butcher specifically designates and purchases the animal for the person offering the sacrifice before slaughtering it. And Allah Almighty knows best.
What is the ruling on someone who prays but does not fast, without a valid excuse?
Fasting is one of the pillars of Islam, and a Muslim's faith is incomplete if they neglect the obligation of fasting while being physically capable of observing it.
