Sacrifice at the Musalla

With Eid soon approaching insha'Allah, I am re-posting more notes from Lesson 124 which are relevant to Dhul Hijjah. The following notes are related to the practice of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) of slaughtering animals at the musalla (place of Eid salah).

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Chapter 9: Chapter of Slaughtering of camels and other animals


Narrated Ibn Umar (رضى الله عنه)): The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) used to Nahr or Dhabh at the Musalla (on 'Id-ul-Adha) [Hadeeth 536, al Tajrid al Sarih]


Traditionally camels and other animals were slaughtered in the musalla (musalla simply means a place of prayer. It is a large open area reserved for Eid salah and other similar functions) and not at home or other locations.

An-Nahr refers to the slaughter of all animals other than camels for which the term Adh-Dhabh is used.

A person may ask why animals were slaughtered at the musalla and not at home. The reason for this is because the slaughter of animals is one of the traditions of Islam. The day of Eid is the day of sacrifice. We as Muslims should not have any reservations about the slaughter and nor be embarrassed or ashamed of this practice. It is narrated that Abdullah ibn Umar (رضى الله عنه) would purchase animals to slaughter and would openly ask his attendant to tell people that it was the animal of Abdullah ibn Umar (رضى الله عنه) which would be slaughtered. Once Abdullah ibn Umar (رضى الله عنه) was ill and he could not go for Eid salah. However, he still asked someone to slaughter his animal in the musalla (not at home). This incident shows how much importance the sahabah attached to the slaughter being conducted in public.

The important lesson drawn from this hadeeth is that the ulema all agree that the alternative is still permissible despite the clear hadeeth and actions of the sahabah i.e. the sahabah would diligently slaughter in the musalla but this is not the current practice. This is similar to the hadeeth covered in Lesson 123 with regard to the use of a minbar for the Eid khutbah (despite the hadeeth clearly stating that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would not use a minbar). In both cases, the ulema have ruled unanimously that we should accept the alternatives as being acceptable.

When to Pray the Eclipse Salah

Firstly, there was a problem with my email address which has now been rectified. So if anyone tried to contact me about my request ot work with me to keep this blog up-to-date, I apologise as the emails will have bounced. Please try again: info@bukhari.eu. Jazakumullahu khairan.

Alhamdulillah, I made it to Lesson 138, the beginning of "The Book of the Prostration of the Qur’an and its Method" (كتابُ سجود القراَن وسنتها ). Prior to posting notes from Hadeeth 569, I'll post notes from a question that was answered related to the previous lesson (138) and the Book of the Eclipse (كتابُ الكُسوف).

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Prior to beginning commentary on “The Book of the Prostration of the Qur’an and its Method”, Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq answered a question related to the previous lesson about when to pray the Eclipse salah (for a solar eclipse).

According to Imam Malik (رحمة الله عليه) – the timings are the same as for Eid salah i.e. after sunrise till noon. According to Imam Shafi (رحمة الله عليه) – one can pray at any time of the day even during makrooh times. According to Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (رحمة الله عليه) – one can pray at any time of the day except makrooh times.

According to all ulema, the lunar eclipse can be prayed at anytime at night according to all ulema.

However, and this is the important point – the eclipse salah cannot be prayed after the eclipse is over. For example, if eclipse occurs at 11 am, then you can pray according to all ulema. If the eclipse occurs at a makrooh time, then you can pray the salah according to Imam Shafi (رحمة الله عليه) but not according to Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (رحمة الله عليه).

All the ulema agree that once the eclipse is over, the salah cannot be prayed.

Kitab Sujood il-Qur'an wa Sunnah (كتابُ سجود القراَن وسنتها)

Alhamdulillah Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq completed commentary of Kitab al-Kusoof (Book of the Eclipses) on Friday 15th December 2006. Insha'Allah commentary of the next book, Kitab Sujood il-Qur'an wa Sunnah (كتابُ سجود القراَن وسنتها), will begin this Friday, 22nd December 2006. The first hadeeth is:

Narrated 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud رضى الله عنه : The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم recited Surat AnNajm (No. 53) at Makkah and prostrated while reciting it and those who were with him did the same except an old man who took a handful of small stones or earth and lifted it to his forehead and said, This is sufficient for me. Later on, I saw him killed as a disbeliever. (2:173O.B.)

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَرَأَ النّبِيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم النّجْمَ بِمَكّةَ, فَسَجَدَ فِيهَا وَسَجَدَ مَنْ مَعَهُ غَيْرَ شَيْخٍ, أَخَذَ كَفّا مِنْ حَصًى, أَوْ تُرابٍ, فَرَفَعَهُ إِلَى جَبْهَتِهِ, وَقَالَ: يَكْفِينِي هذَا, فَرَأَيْتُهُ بَعْدَ ذلِكَ قُتِلَ

Dhul Hijjah approaching

Assalamu alaikum,

The blessed month of Dhul Hijjah is approaching insha'Allah. We covered hadeeth related to the virtues of the first 10 days in Lesson 124, back in April 2006. I recommend that we listen to that lesson again to refresh our memories (you can buy the mp3 download from Al Kawthar Productions). The link to my notes from this lesson is below:

http://bukhariblog.blogspot.com/2006/04/virtuous-days-of-dhul-hijjah.html

Jazakumullahu khairan.

Wasalaam.