Sharh-ul-Usool-ith-Thalaathah : Lesson 25 Part B
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan | Dawud Burbank [Audio|English]
Adh-Dhabh (Sacrificing or Slaughtering), its Types and its Proof
Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhaab (rahimahullaah) said:
And the proof for sacrificing is His saying He the Most High:
قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
Say: My prayer and my sacrificing and my living and my dying are all for Allaah alone, the Lord of the whole of creation [6:162]
And from the sunnah:
لَعَنَ اللهُ مَنْ ذَبَحَ لِغَيْرِ الله
“Allaah has cursed the one who sacrifices for other than Allaah.”[1] 25
[25]: Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan’s Explanation:
adh-Dhabh (sacrificing or slaughtering) is of four types:
Firstly: sacrificing which is done to seek closeness and to honour and venerate someone, and this is not permissible except for Allaah the Perfect and Most High, because it is an act of worship involving wealth. So therefore it is not permissible to sacrifice for the jinn nor for the devils nor for the kings nor for the leaders in order to show honour and veneration of them, because this is worship – it is not permissible except for Allaah the Mighty and Majestic.
So those people who sacrifice for the jinn in order to gain safety from their evil, or in order for a sick person to be cured, as is done by the soothsayers and by the astrologers, those who claim to be able to heal or cure, and who say to the people, “if you sacrifice such and such in order to cure your sick person and do not mention the Name of Allaah upon it” – this is major shirk which takes a person outside of the religion and this is what Allaah the Most High has said in warning against doing it for other than Allaah:
قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
Say: My prayer and my sacrificing and my living and my dying are all for Allaah alone, the Lord of the whole of creation [6:162]
And He said:
فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ
So pray for your Lord and sacrifice to Him [108:2]
Meaning: make sacrifice for your Lord.
The second type of sacrifice is: slaughtering an animal in order to obtain meat to eat. This, there is no harm in it, because it is not something slaughtered to draw closer to anyone or to venerate anyone, it is just being sacrificed for a need, and eating is from that; so this, there is no harm in it, because it is not a type of worship, and it can be slaughtered in order to sell the meat.
The third type of sacrifice is: sacrificing which is done at times of joy and happiness, on the occasion of a marriage or on the occasion of settling in a new home or someone returning after an absence, or the like of that, by gathering one’s relatives and then performing a sacrifice in order to show one’s happiness and joy at what has occurred. This, there is no harm in it, because it does not contain veneration of anyone, and it is not seeking to draw closer to anyone, rather it is just a case of joy and happiness at something that has occurred.
Fourthly: sacrificing in order to give meat away in charity for the poor people and the needy and the destitute, this is counted as being a sunnah, and it enters into worship.
Footnotes:
[1] Reported by Muslim (1978) from a hadeeth of Alee ibn Abee Taalib radiy Allaahu ‘anhu.
`Alee (radiyallaahu `anhu) said: Allaah’s Messenger (salallaahu `alaihi wassallam) narrated to me four words, saying:
- “Allaah curses whoever slaughters to other than Allaah.
- Allaah curses whoever curses his parents.
- Allaah curses the one who shelters an innovator or wrongdoer.
- Allaah curses the one who alters the boundaries of a land.”
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Listen to the Full Audio Series:
Sharh Usool-ith-Thalaathah – Shaykh Fawzan | Dawud Burbank
Book Study Resources – Three Fundamental Principles
Related Links:
- https://abdurrahman.org/ibadah-worship
- https://abdurrahman.org/category/islam/animal-sacrifice
- https://abdurrahman.org/jinn-shayateen-devils
- https://abdurrahman.org/innovated-groups-sects/sufism-soofiyyah
- https://abdurrahman.org/innovated-groups-sects/quburiyyoon
- https://abdurrahman.org/innovated-groups-sects/shia-raafidah