al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-Hajj Masadiruha wa Masarifuha

al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-Hajj: Masadiruha wa Masarifuha (Sacrificial Animals in the Rites of Hajj: Their Sources and Distribution) is a legal treatise written by the Egyptian scholar Ahmad Ali Taha Rayan (d. 1442 AH / 2021 CE) while serving as an assistant professor at the College of Hadith and Islamic Studies at the Islamic University of Madinah al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1. The study examines the jurisprudential rulings governing the causes, timing, locations, and beneficiaries of sacrificial animals (hady and expiatory blood offerings) in Hajj and Umrah, while addressing contemporary challenges regarding surplus meat and distribution al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1.

Background and Purpose

The treatise was published as an academic research paper in the journal of the Islamic University of Madinah Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl…. In it, Rayan explores how animal sacrifice serves as a vehicle of worship and social solidarity in the Muslim community al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1. He contextualizes the research within modern demographic and economic realities: the unprecedented rise in pilgrim numbers, faster modern transport reducing the length of stay in the holy sites, rising pilgrimage costs that restrict poorer pilgrims who previously consumed the meat, organized lodging services providing pre-arranged meals, and improved economic conditions in Saudi Arabia al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1. These factors combined to create a substantial surplus of sacrificial animals during the days of Tashriq, exceeding local demand and necessitating practical legal solutions for distribution to impoverished Muslims abroad al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1.

Legal Grounds of Sacrificial Blood

Rayan categorizes the textual and jurisprudential causes that require or recommend slaughtering cattle (camels, cattle, or sheep/goats) during the pilgrimage al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…:

• Tamattu': Performing Umrah during the months of Hajj followed by Hajj in the same year al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-….
• Qiran: Combining Hajj and Umrah in a single state of ihram al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-….
• Ihsar: Being prevented from completing the pilgrimage rites due to an enemy, sickness, or related impediments al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-….
• Fidya for harm: Expiation incurred when a pilgrim is compelled by ailment or injury to shave hair or wear sewn garments al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-….
• Hunting penalties (jaza' al-sayd): Compensation for killing terrestrial game while in ihram, assessed by two upright arbiters to find an equivalent domestic animal, with exceptions for pests and dangerous animals permitted to be killed al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1.
• Invalidation (ifsad): Incurring a sacrifice and a makeup pilgrimage due to nullifying intercourse prior to completing the rites al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-….
• Missing the standing (fawat al-wuquf): Failing to reach Arafat on time due to miscalculation or travel delays, requiring Umrah release, a makeup Hajj, and an offering al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1.
• Voluntary offerings (tatawwu') and fulfilled vows (nadhr) designated for the poor al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-….

He notes that the obligation of sacrifice is verified by the pilgrim's personal knowledge or consultation with scholars, except in the case of game penalties, where two upright and knowledgeable arbiters are mandatory to determine the equivalent animal al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1.

Place, Timing, and Methods of Slaughter

Rayan outlines the physical and temporal parameters of sacrifice according to classical jurisprudence:

• Location: Slaughter is restricted to the sacred precinct (al-Haram), specifically Mina for Hajj offerings and Mecca (such as al-Marwah) for Umrah, with exceptions for prevented pilgrims (muhsar) or sacrificial animals that suffer incapacitating injury ('atab) prior to reaching the Haram al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1.
• Timing: Slaughter begins on the Day of Sacrifice (Yawm al-Nahr), either at dawn or after sunrise by an interval equivalent to the Eid prayer, which Rayan prefers as the safer view al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…. He compares two main opinions on the end of the slaughter period: sunset of the third day (supported by Malik ibn Anas, Abu Hanifa, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal) and sunset of the fourth day, the final day of Tashriq (supported by al-Shafi'i, al-Awza'i, al-Hasan al-Basri, and Ata ibn Abi Rabah), favoring the latter for granting greater ease to pilgrims al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1.
• Manner: Following the prophetic practice, camels are slaughtered (nahr) standing with the left foreleg bound, while cattle and sheep are laid down (dhabh), invoking the name of God and pronouncing the takbir al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-….

Consumption and Beneficiaries

Rayan divides the distribution channels into two main categories: the pilgrim's personal consumption and distribution to the needy al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-….

For voluntary sacrifices, tamattu', and qiran, the pilgrim is permitted and encouraged to eat from the meat, based on Quranic instructions such as فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا ("So eat of them") and the Prophet's practice al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1. Rayan cites the majority opinion that eating from one's own hady is recommended (nadb) or permissible (ibaha), rather than obligatory al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…. There is no rigid fractional quota (such as one-half or one-third) binding the pilgrim al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…. In contrast, pilgrims and their companions are prohibited from consuming voluntary offerings that perish prematurely before arrival, as well as vowed offerings dedicated specifically to the poor, hunting penalties, and fidya expiations al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1.

Regarding recipients, while Hanbali jurists restricted distribution strictly to the poor of the Haram, Rayan demonstrates from general scriptural texts and prophetic reports that the poor among Muslims at large are legitimate beneficiaries, though poor residents of the Haram retain priority when in need al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1.

Proposed Contemporary Solutions

To prevent the waste of surplus sacrificial animals, Rayan presents three potential alternatives rooted in legal principles al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…:

1. Cash Substitution: Paying the monetary equivalent of the sacrifice to a dedicated agency that transfers the funds to needy Muslim populations for direct distribution or charitable educational and medical projects, drawing an analogy to paying Zakat in monetary value al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1.
2. Commercial Slaughter and Marketing: Slaughtering the animals within their designated sacred locales and having a specialized entity market the meat, subsequently dispatching the proceeds to impoverished Muslim regions, analogized to the positions of al-Awza'i, Ahmad, and Ishaq permitting the sale of skins and coverings of sacrificial animals to disburse the proceeds as charity al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1.
3. Meat Canning and Industrial Preservation: Constructing dedicated meat preservation and canning factories to process the sacrificial meat during the Hajj season and distribute the packaged food to impoverished Muslim communities worldwide al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1. Rayan addresses the objection of factory downtime outside the season by pointing to seasonal industrial models (such as Egyptian sugar processing plants) and suggesting the facility could process imported meats during the remainder of the year al-Dhabaih fi Manasik al-…+1.