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What it is, whether it's obligatory, which animals qualify, when to sacrifice, and how the meat is consumed and shared — one page, cited throughout.
Udhiyah (أضحية) is the ritual sacrifice of a qualifying animal on Eid al-Adha, in remembrance of Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son and Allah's ransom of a sheep in his place (see the story of Ibrahim). It is open to any Muslim who can afford it, performed wherever they are — not tied to Hajj or to Makkah.
وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍۢ جَعَلْنَا مَنسَكًۭا لِّيَذْكُرُوا۟ ٱسْمَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَىٰ مَا رَزَقَهُم مِّنۢ بَهِيمَةِ ٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ
"For every community We appointed a rite of sacrifice so that they may pronounce the Name of Allah over the sacrificial animals He has provided for them."
Quran 22:34
لَن يَنَالَ ٱللَّهَ لُحُومُهَا وَلَا دِمَآؤُهَا وَلَـٰكِن يَنَالُهُ ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ مِنكُمْ
"We have made sacrificial camels [and cattle] among the symbols of Allah, in which there is [much] good for you. So pronounce the Name of Allah over them when they are lined up [for sacrifice]. Once they have fallen [lifeless] on their sides, you may eat from their meat, and feed the needy — those who do not beg, and those who do." "Neither their meat nor blood reaches Allah. Rather, it is your piety that reaches Him."
Quran 22:36–37 (Arabic shown: 22:37)
فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنْحَرْ
"So pray and sacrifice to your Lord [alone]."
Quran 108:2
Most scholars — the Shafi'i, Maliki, and Hanbali schools — hold Udhiyah is sunnah mu'akkadah: a strongly emphasized, near-obligatory sunnah for anyone who can afford it, following the Prophet's ﷺ own consistent practice. A minority position, most associated with the Hanafi school, holds it wajib (obligatory) on anyone with the means.
"Whoever can afford it, but does not offer a sacrifice, let him not come near our prayer place."
Narrated by Abu Hurairah, Sunan Ibn Majah 3123
Whichever view a person follows, the practical takeaway is the same: for anyone with the financial means, skipping Udhiyah is not treated lightly in any of the four schools — see how the madhhabs differ for more on this kind of split.
"The Prophet ﷺ offered as sacrifices two horned rams, black and white in color. He slaughtered them with his own hands, mentioned Allah's Name over them, said the takbir, and put his foot on their sides."
Narrated by Anas ibn Malik, Sahih al-Bukhari 5565
A sheep or goat counts as one full share, sufficient for one household. A cow or camel can be shared between up to seven people, each share counting as a complete Udhiyah.
The companions "sacrificed a camel for seven persons and a cow for seven persons" — a practice from the Hudaybiyyah journey, understood by scholars as establishing the same seven-share principle for Udhiyah generally, not only that specific occasion.
Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah, Sahih Muslim 1318a
Which animals qualify, how many shares each carries, and the customary three-way split of the meat.
The eligible animals and the distribution of the meat. Eligible animals: a sheep or goat counts as one full share, sufficient for one household — a goat mature at about one year, and a jadha'ah sheep of six months to a year allowed when a mature animal is hard to find, per Sahih Muslim 1963. A cow can be shared between up to seven people, mature at about two years; a camel likewise up to seven people, mature at about five years — each share counting as a complete Udhiyah, per Sahih Muslim 1318a. The meat: a widely-taught custom divides it into rough thirds — one third eaten by you and your household, one third gifted to relatives, friends and neighbors, one third given to the needy. The equal three-way split is a scholarly convention, not mandated by a specific hadith; what Quran 22:36 itself requires is eating from the sacrifice and feeding the needy — those who do not beg, and those who do.
One full share — sufficient for one household. A goat about one year old; a jadhaʿah sheep (six months to a year, by school) when a mature animal is hard to find.
Shared between up to seven people, each share counting as a complete Udhiyah. Mature at about two years.
Likewise shared between up to seven people, each share a complete Udhiyah. Mature at about five years.
Sahih Muslim 1318a (seven shares) · Sahih Muslim 1963 (maturity)
You and your household — eating from it is commanded in 22:36.
Relatives, friends, and neighbors — customary, not textually fixed in proportion.
The needy — "those who do not beg, and those who do" (22:36) — the one distribution the text names directly.
Honest note: the equal thirds are a scholarly convention, not something a specific hadith mandates. What the text requires (22:36) is eating from it yourself and making sure it reaches the needy; the rest is generosity, not a fixed ratio.
Four are named as unacceptable for sacrifice: a crippled animal whose limp is obvious; a one-eyed animal whose blindness is obvious; a sick animal whose sickness is obvious; and an emaciated animal with no marrow left in its bones.
Narrated by al-Bara' ibn Azib, Jami' at-Tirmidhi 1497
Udhiyah is performed after the Eid al-Adha prayer — not before. Beyond Eid day, the schools differ on how far the window extends: the Hanafi, Maliki, and Hanbali majority allow slaughter through sunset on the 12th of Dhul-Hijjah (three days in total), while the Shafi'i school — along with one Hanbali position, and preferred by Ibn Taymiyyah — extends it through all the days of Tashreeq, to sunset on the 13th (four days). The extension itself is a scholarly position rather than one single direct hadith; follow your madhhab or local scholars on the end date.
When a companion, Abu Burda, slaughtered his sheep before the Eid prayer, the Prophet ﷺ told him "your slaughtered sheep was just mutton" (not a valid sacrifice) and permitted him a substitute. He ﷺ then stated the general rule: "Whoever slaughtered his sacrifice before the Eid prayer, he only slaughtered for himself; whoever slaughtered it after the prayer, he offered his sacrifice properly and followed the tradition of the Muslims."
Narrated by al-Bara' ibn Azib, Sahih al-Bukhari 5556
"He who has a sacrificial animal with him whom he intends to offer as sacrifice, and he enters the [first ten days of the] month of Dhul-Hijjah, should not get his hair cut or nails trimmed until he has sacrificed the animal."
Narrated by Umm Salamah, Sahih Muslim — site reader no. 4984
This applies specifically to the person offering the sacrifice (or having it offered on their behalf) — not to their family generally, and not to those not sacrificing at all.
The Quran itself sets the shape: eat from it, and feed the needy — those who don't ask, and those who do (22:36), echoed again at 22:28. A widely-taught custom divides the meat into rough thirds — one for the household, one gifted to relatives and friends, one given to the poor — but it's worth being honest: this exact three-way split is a scholarly convention, not something a specific hadith mandates. The two things the text does require are eating from it yourself and making sure it reaches the needy; how you apportion the rest is a matter of generosity, not a fixed ratio.
Explicitly commanded in 22:36 — this isn't only charity, it's meant to be shared at your own table too
To relatives, friends, and neighbors — customary, not textually fixed in proportion
To the needy — "those who do not beg, and those who do" (22:36), the one distribution the text names directly
The Prophet ﷺ instructed Ali ibn Abi Talib to distribute the meat, skins, and saddle-cloths of the sacrificed camels in charity — and explicitly not to give the butcher anything from it as his fee. "We would pay him ourselves," Ali said.
Narrated by Ali ibn Abi Talib, Sahih Muslim 1317a
The two are easy to conflate but structurally distinct. Hady (see the Hajj guide) is the sacrifice specifically tied to pilgrimage — required when Umrah and Hajj are combined (Qiran or Tamattu, Quran 2:196), or owed as compensation for a missed Hajj rite, and performed at or near Makkah as part of the pilgrimage itself. Udhiyah is the general Eid al-Adha sacrifice (22:34, 22:36–37, 108:2), open to any able Muslim, performed anywhere, with no connection to being on Hajj at all. A pilgrim performing Qiran or Tamattu owes a Hady for the pilgrimage. Whether that pilgrim also offers an Udhiyah is itself a fiqh question: many scholars — the Maliki school explicitly, and the view preferred by Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim — hold that Udhiyah is not prescribed for the pilgrim, the Hady standing in its place, though a pilgrim may still arrange an Udhiyah back home on behalf of their household. Ask a scholar of your madhhab which applies.
The most magnificent Hady in the Sunnah was the Prophet's ﷺ own, on the Farewell Hajj (Ḥajjat al-Wadāʿ), 10 AH. He brought one hundred camels as his offering and, on the Day of Sacrifice (Yawm al-Naḥr) at Minā, slaughtered sixty-three of them with his own noble hand — matching the sixty-three years of his blessed life — then handed the spear to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allah be pleased with him), who slaughtered the remaining thirty-seven. He then ordered that a piece from every camel be cooked, and he ate of the meat and drank of its broth.
In the long narration of the Farewell Hajj: "…then he went to the place of sacrifice and slaughtered sixty-three [camels] with his own hand, then he gave [the rest] to ʿAlī and he slaughtered what remained, and shared him in his sacrificial animal. Then he ordered that a piece of meat from each animal be taken and put in a pot; it was cooked, and they both ate of its meat and drank of its broth."
Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah, Sahih Muslim 1218
Udhiyah from start to finish — what it is, whether it's obligatory, which animals qualify, when to sacrifice, and how the meat is shared — with every proof cited, in one PDF.
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