Udhiya in non-Muslim lands: organizations and practices

The Muslim in the West performs his udhiya in one of three ways: local slaughter, a national or international organisation, or sending abroad. The classical rules of sacrifice apply everywhere, and the contemporary bodies have clarified the case of mechanised abattoirs.

The basic rule

• The sacrifice is not limited to Mecca: it is the sunna of the Muslims of every land at the time of the Eid (sura al-Hajj 34), the practice of the Companions in conquered territory;
• the time: after the Eid prayer until sunset of the 13 of Dhul-Hijja according to the majority;
• the animal and the slaughterer: conditions of age and absence of defects (see the conditions page), a Muslim slaughterer with the basmala and takbir.

Mechanised slaughter and the meat of the land

• The European Council for Fatwa and Research published a "criterion of halal food and ritual slaughter" and fatwa no. 29 (5th session) on stunning: slaughter remains valid if the animal is alive at the moment of bleeding, whether that bleeding is manual or mechanical, the name of Allah being pronounced;
• the Standing Committee for Fatwas and Ibn Baz: the same principle: mechanised slaughter is valid when a Muslim performs the tasmiya and the animal is not dead before bleeding; stunning that kills the animal invalidates the sacrifice;
• the meat of the People of the Book bought on site: lawful by default (sura al-Ma'ida 5) as long as nothing forbidden is known, following the method of the Prophet reported from the Companions: not multiplying investigations when the slaughterer is a man of the Book.

Sacrifice organisations

• The agency (wakala): entrusting the sacrifice to an organisation is valid if the sacrifice is real, within the fixed time, and the meat handled according to the intention; require evidence and reports;
• the destination: distributing to the poor of the country, abroad, or sharing with one's family: all three lawful; sending to famine zones is accepted by contemporary scholars;
• the family share: eating of one's animal, storing and giving is the reported Sunna; the organisation may reserve a share for the household;
• the hide: no sale without replacement (see the sharing page).

Practical note

Choose a certified organisation (veterinary control, transparency of distribution), fix the intention and the date, and involve the children: the udhiya is the yearly education of giving.