When Can I Perform the Ritual Slaughter for a Deceased?

Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas

Question: Assalam aleykum

1. Can the sacrifice (udhiya) be done in the name of a deceased person related by marriage and not by blood?

2. Do the rules related to personal grooming apply to all performing udhiya?

3. Does a single woman who has possessed the nisab in jewelry for years, owe charity for past udhiya done in her name but paid for by her parents?

Answer: wa alaykum assalam

1. Yes, one can perform a ritual-slaughter in the name of the deceased in order to donate the reward of the sacrifice to them. One can also intend to include oneself when performing a sacrifice on behalf of the deceased.

2. It is recommended to avoid personal upkeep for anyone sacrificing an animal during these days.

3. The basis is that every adult (i.e. some who is pubescent) possessing the zakatable minimum is required to perform a sacrifice individually. A parent may sacrifice on behalf of their adult child with their permission and knowledge. This would be valid even if the parents paid for the udhiya.

Further, given the widespread practice of parents sacrificing on behalf of their adult children, such permission would be deemed implicitly present in most contexts.

[Ustadh] Salman Younas

Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Salman Younas  graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Political Science and Religious Studies. After studying the Islamic sciences online and with local scholars in New York, Ustadh Salman moved to Amman where he spent five years studying Islamic law, legal methodology, belief, hadith methodology, logic, Arabic, and tafsir. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Oxford and continues his traditional studies with scholars in the United Kingdom.