13. The Prophet’s Guidance Regarding the Hadi, Eid Sacrifice and `Aqiqah119
a. His Guidance About the Hadi120
* He (Peace be upon him) offered sheep and camels as hadi and offered cattle on behalf of his wives. He (Peace be upon him) offered a hadi at his residence as well as during his Hajj and Umrah.

* It was his practice to garland sheep to mark them but not cut or brand them. When he (Peace be upon him) sent a hadi from his residence, nothing permissible would be prohibited to him.

* When he (Peace be upon him) offered camels as hadi he used to garland them and mark them by slightly cutting the right side of their hump until blood trickled.
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119 Zadul-Ma`ad (2/285).
120 A sacrificial animal slaughtered in Mina or Makkah for the acceptance of Allah.
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* If he (Peace be upon him) was sending his hadi, he would tell his messenger that when anything happened on the way to cause a defect in it, he should slaughter it, dip his sandal in its blood, hang it on its side and not eat from it or let those accompanying eat from it; 121 rather, its meat should be distributed.

* He (Peace be upon him) would share in a hadi with his companions. Seven of them would share in the sacrifice of a camel and seven would share in a cow.

* He (Peace be upon him) allowed the man who was delivering ahadi to ride it when necessary until he found another mount.

* It is his guidance to slaughter camels while they were standing with the left leg tied up, and he would say: "Bismillah, Allahu akbar" when slaughtering.

* He (Peace be upon him) used to slaughter his sacrifices with his own hand, but at times appointed someone to do a portion of them.
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121 Perhaps to protect it from being slaughtered for food before the defect was obvious.
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* When slaughtering a sheep, he (Peace be upon him) would place his foot on its side, say "Bismillah, Allahu akbar" and slaughter.

* He (Peace be upon him) permitted his ummah to eat from their hadi and sacrifices and keep some of the meat.

* Sometimes he (Peace be upon him) distributed the meat of the hadi and sometimes he would say, "Whoever wishes may cut a piece."

* His practice was to slaughter the hadi of Umrah at Marwah and the hadi of Hajj in Mina.

* He (Peace be upon him) always slaughtered his hadi after ending the state of ihraam and after sunrise following the first stoning. He (Peace be upon him) never allowed slaughter before sunrise.
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b. His guidance in the Eid Sacrifice122
* He (Peace be upon him) never missed offering the sacrifice. He used to slaughter two rams after Eid prayer. He (Peace be upon him) said: “All the days of tashreeq123 are days of slaughter.”

* He (Peace be upon him) said: “Whoever slaughtered before the [Eid] prayer has not done a sacrifice; it is only some meat he has presented to his family.”124

* He (Peace be upon him) told them to slaughter a six month old sheep or a five year old camel or a cow that had begun its third year.

* It was his guidance to select a good animal for sacrifice without any defects, and he prohibited offering a sacrifice with a cut ear, broken horn, blind eye, lame or weak. He (Peace be upon him) also ordered confirming the soundness of the eyes and the ears.
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122 Zadul-Ma`ad (2/289)
123 The days that pilgrims remain in Mina for stoning the pillars.
124 Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
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* He (Peace be upon him) ordered whoever intended to offer a sacrifice not to remove anything from his hair or body from the beginning of Dhul-Hijjah.

* It was his guidance to slaughter his sacrifice at the musalla (place of prayer).

* It was of his guidance that a sheep was sufficient as a sacrifice for a man, including his family, regardless of their number.

c. His Guidance for the `Aqiqah125
* It was authentically related that he (Peace be upon him) said: "Every child is dependent on his `aqiqah. It should be slaughtered for him on the seventh day, his hair shaved and he should be given a name."126

* He (Peace be upon him) also said: “It is two sheep for a boy and one for a girl."127
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125 The sacrifice of a sheep for a newborn. Zadul-Ma`ad (2/396)
126 Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi and an-Nasa'i.
127 Abu Dawud and an-Nasa'i.
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