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 of udhiya in non-Muslim lands

• 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 for udhiya

• 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.

The udhiya 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 on udhiya in non-Muslim lands

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.