Islamic Fiqh > Udhiya and aqiqa > The 10 days of Dhu al-Hijja and the udhiya's time
What the Muslim does during the 10 days of Dhu al-Hijja: fasting, dhikr, sacrifice, and the forbidding of cutting hair and nails for the sacrificer.
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Updated on 06 October 2026 at 10:50 PM
The time of the udhiya is strictly bounded: it opens on the day of the sacrifice (10 Dhu al-Hijja) after the rites of the Eid and closes at the end of the following days. The encyclopedia examines the beginning, the end, the night and the case of missed time.
Whoever slaughtered before the prayer must repeat it; whoever slaughtered after the prayer has completed his rite and reached the sunna of the Muslims.
al-Bukhari 1962 ; Muslim 1962
No school allows slaughtering before the time begins. When does it begin? The Hanafis answer: after dawn on the day of the sacrifice, with one condition for city dwellers, that the Eid prayer has passed; an imam who delays does not keep people waiting beyond midday. Malikis start the time after the imam or his delegate slaughters.
Shafi'is require the sun to have risen a spear's height and 2 light rakas and 2 khutbas to have passed, whether one prayed or not, based on Bara's hadith: « the first thing we did on this day was to pray, then return and sacrifice ».
Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis close the time at sunset of the third day: the day of the sacrifice and 2 days after, based on the hadith « the Prophet forbade keeping the meat of the sacrifices beyond 3 days » (al-Bukhari 5107 ; Muslim 1970). Shafi'is extend it to sunset of the last day of the days of tashriq, 4 days in all, based on the saying: « all the days of tashriq are days of slaughter » (Ahmad 16797 ; Ibn Hibban 3854). The first of the 3 days keeps preference, in hastening the offering.
The majority (Hanafis, Malikis in one view, Shafi'is, Hanbalis in the mazhab) allows slaughtering at night, with dislike, fearing a mishandled cut and delay in sharing the meat. Malik in the most widespread view and the Hanbalis in one transmission refuse it, relying on the verse « mention the name of Allah on appointed days » (al-Hajj 28), the day designating the span from dawn to sunset.
The schools diverge. For the Hanafis, the wealthy person who did not slaughter gives the animal's value in charity, since the obligation still weighs on him; the poor person who had bought the animal or vowed it does the same. Malikis allow free disposal, sale included: an animal not slaughtered in time is no longer an udhiya. Shafi'is and Hanbalis order a make-up slaughter when the sacrifice was obligatory; for the voluntary one, the time is gone and the meat may be distributed, the offering then being obtained through the distribution.
This page focuses on the time frame; the qualities of the animal and the use of its meat are treated separately.