Etiquettes of the Sacrifice while Observing Eid-al-Adha

1. Narrated Abu Bakra: The Prophet said, “Time has come back to its original state which it had on the day Allah created the Heavens and the Earth. The year is twelve months, four of which are sacred, three of them are in succession, namely Dhul-Qa’da, Dhul Hijja and Muharram, (the fourth being) Rajab Mudar which is between Juma’da ath-thani and Sha’ban.” The Prophet then asked, “Which month is this?” We said, “Allah and his Apostle know better.” He kept silent so long that we thought that he would call it by a name other than its real name. He said, “Isn’t it the month of Dhul-Hijja?” We said, “Yes.” He said, “Which town is this?” We said, “Allah and His Apostle know better.” He kept silent so long that we thought that he would call it by a name other than its real name. He said, “Isn’t it the town (of Makkah)?” We replied, “Yes.” He said, “What day is today?” We replied, “Allah and His Apostle know better.” He kept silent so long that we thought that he would call it by a name other than its real name. He said, “Isn’t it the day of Nahr?” We replied, “Yes.” He then said, “Your blood, properties and honor are as sacred to one another as this day of yours in this town of yours in this month of yours. You will meet your Lord, and He will ask you about your deeds. Beware! Do not go astray after me by cutting the necks of each other. It is incumbent upon those who are present to convey this message to those who are absent, for some of those to whom it is conveyed may comprehend it better than some of those who have heard it directly.” [Muhammad, the sub-narrator, on mentioning this used to say: The Prophet then said, “No doubt! Haven’t I delivered (Allah’s) Message (to you)? Haven’t I delivered Allah’s message (to you)?”]  ~ Bukhari

2. Narrated Al-Bara: The Prophet said (on the day of Eid-al-Adha), “The first thing we will do on this day of ours, is to offer the (Eid) prayer and then return to slaughter the sacrifice. Whoever does so, he acted according to our Sunnah (tradition), and whoever slaughtered (the sacrifice) before the prayer, what he offered was just meat he presented to his family, and that will not be considered as Nusak (sacrifice).” (On hearing that) Abu Burda bin Niyar got up, for he had slaughtered the sacrifice before the prayer, and said, “I have got a six-month-old ram.” The Prophet said, “Slaughter it (as a sacrifice) but it will not be sufficient for any-one else (as a sacrifice after you).” [Al-Bara’ added: The Prophet said, “Whoever slaughtered (the sacrifice) after the prayer, he slaughtered it at the right time and followed the tradition of the Muslims.”]  ~ Bukhari

3. Narrated Nafi’: ‘Abdullah (bin ‘Umar) used to slaughter his sacrifice at the slaughtering place (i.e., the slaughtering place of the Prophet). Ibn ‘Umar said, “Allah’s Apostle used to slaughter (camels and sheep, etc.,) as sacrifices at the Musalla.”

4. Narrated Anas: “The Prophet slaughtered two rams, black and white in color (as sacrifices), and I saw him putting his foot on their sides and mentioning Allah’s Name and Takbir (Allahu Akbar). Then he slaughtered them with his own hands.”

5. Narrated ‘Aisha: Allah’s Apostle entered upon me at Sarif while I was weeping (because I was afraid that I would not be able to perform the Hajj). He said, “What is wrong with you? Have you got your period?” I replied, “Yes.” He said, “This is a matter Allah has decreed for all the daughters of Adam, so perform the ceremonies of the Hajj as the pilgrims do, but do not perform the Tawaf around the Ka’ba.” Allah’s Apostle slaughtered some cows as sacrifices on behalf of his wives.

6. Narrated Jundab bin Sufyan Al-Bajali: I witnessed the Prophet on the Day of Nahr (Sacrifice). He said, “Whoever slaughtered the sacrifice before offering the Eid prayer, should slaughter another sacrifice in its place; and whoever has not slaughtered their sacrifice yet, should slaughter now.”

7. Abu ‘Ubaid, the freed slave of Ibn Azhar narrated that he witnessed the Day of ‘Eid-al-Adha with ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab. ‘Umar offered the ‘Eid prayer before the sermon and then delivered the sermon before the people, saying, “O people! Allah’s Apostle has forbidden you to fast (on the first day of) each of these two ‘Eids, for one of them is the Day of breaking your fast, and the other is the one, on which you eat the meat of your sacrifices.” Abu Ubaid went on to say: “Then I witnessed the ‘Eid with ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan, and that was on a Friday. He offered the prayer before the sermon, saying, “O people! Today you have two ‘Eids (festivals) together, so whoever of those who live at al-‘Awali (suburbs) would like to wait for the Jumuah prayer, he may wait, and whoever would like to return (home) is granted my permission to do so.” Then I witnessed (the ‘Eids) with ‘Ali bin Abi Talib, and he too offered the ‘Eid prayer before the sermon and then delivered the sermon before the people and said, “Allah’s Apostle has forbidden you to eat the meat of your sacrifices for more than three days.”

8. Narrated Jabir bin ‘Abdullah: During the lifetime of the Prophet we used to take with us the meat of the sacrifices (of Eid-al-Adha) to Medina. (The narrator often said, ‘The meat of the Hadi’).

9. Narrated Salama bin Al-Aqua’: The Prophet said, “Whoever has slaughtered a sacrifice should not keep anything of Its meat after three days.” When it was the next year, the people said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Shall we do as we did last year?” He said, “Eat of it and feed of it to others and store of it, for in that year, the people were having a hard time and I wanted you to help (the needy).”

10. Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri narrated that he was once not present (at the time of Eid-al-Adha) and when he came, some meat was presented to him, and the people said (to him), “This is the meat of our sacrifices.” He said, “Take it away; I shall not taste it.” (In his narration) Abu Sa’id added: “I got up and went to my brother, Abu Qatada (who was his maternal brother and was one of the warriors of the battle of Badr) and mentioned that to him. He (i.e., Abu Qatada) said, “A new verdict was given in your absence (i.e., meat of sacrifices was allowed to be stored and eaten later on).”