Is it permissible to eat meat from an animal that was sacrificed for anyone other than Allah?

Sacrifice is an act of worship, and worship can only be done for Allah alone; the one who does it for anyone other than Allah is a mushrik (polytheist). Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say (O Muhammad): ‘Verily, my Salaah (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists).

163. ‘He has no partner. And of this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims’”

[al-An’aam 6:162-163]

“Forbidden to you (for food) are: Al‑Maitah (the dead animals — cattle — beast not slaughtered), blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which Allah’s Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering (that which has been slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah, or has been slaughtered for idols) and that which has been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by the goring of horns — and that which has been (partly) eaten by a wild animal — unless you are able to slaughter it (before its death) ‑ and that which is sacrificed (slaughtered) on An‑Nusub (stone‑altars)”

[al-Maa’idah 5:3]

“Verily, We have granted you (O Muhammad ) Al‑Kawthar (a river in Paradise).

2. Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only)”

[al-Kawthar 108:1-2]

Muslim (1978) narrated that ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “may Allah curse the one who offers a sacrifice to anything other than Allah.”

If a person offers a sacrifice to anyone other than Allah, whether he mentions the name of Allah over it or not, it is major shirk that puts one beyond the pale of Islam and the meat slaughtered by him is not halaal; rather it is dead meat and it is haraam to eat it.

Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

As for that which is sacrificed to anyone other than Allah, what this means is that it is slaughtered in a name other than the name of Allah, such as one who offers a sacrifice to an idol or to the cross, or to Moosa or ‘Eesa (peace be upon them), or to the Ka’bah and so on. All of that is haraam, and this meat is not halaal, whether the one who slaughtered it is a Muslim or a Christian or a Jew. This was stated by al-Shaafa’i, and our companions agreed on that. If, in addition to that, he intended to venerate the one for whom he sacrificed it other than Allah, may He be exalted, and to worship him, this is kufr, and if the one who offered this sacrifice was a Muslim before that, he becomes an apostate by offering this sacrifice. End quote.

The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas said:

Offering a sacrifice to anyone other than Allah is shirk, and the ruling on the meat is the same as the ruling on dead meat: it is not permissible to eat it, even if the name of Allah was mentioned over it, if it is established that it was sacrificed for someone other than Allah. End quote.

Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 1/226

They were also asked:

What is the ruling on offering a sacrifice to a dead person who it is claimed was a wali (close friend of Allah or “saint”) and on whose tomb a structure has been built?

They replied: Offering a sacrifice to the dead person mentioned, who it is claimed is a wali (close friend of Allah or “saint”) is a kind of shirk (associating others with Allah), and the one who offers the sacrifice to the wali is an accursed mushrik, and it is dead meat that it is haraam than a Muslim to eat. End quote.

Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 1/194

Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan said:

The words of Allah “and that on which Allah’s Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering (that which has been slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah, or has been slaughtered for idols)” include two things: that which has been offered as a sacrifice to anyone other than Allah, even if the name of Allah has been mentioned over it, and it includes that which has not been slaughtered as a sacrifice, rather it has been slaughtered for meat, but a name other than the name of Allah has been said over it at the time of slaughter. End quote.

Al-Muntaqa min Fatawa al-Fawzaan, 3/49.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:

Offering a sacrifice to anyone other than Allah is major shirk, because offering a sacrifice is an act of worship, so the one who offers a sacrifice to anyone other than Allah is a mushrik whose shirk has put him beyond the pale of Islam — Allah forbid — whether he offered that sacrifice to one of the angels, or one of the Messengers, or one of the Prophets, or one of the caliphs, or one of the awliya’ (“saints”), or one of the scholars. All of that is shirk or associating partners with Allah — may He be glorified and exalted — and puts him beyond the pale of Islam.

With regard to eating meat from these sacrifices, it is haraam, because the name of Allah was not mentioned over it while slaughtering and it was offered as a sacrifice to someone other than Allah, and everything that the name of Allah was not mentioned over it or that was slaughtered on a stone altar is haraam. End quote.

Majmoo’ al-Fatawa, 2/148.

So you have to advise these people and explain to them the error of what they are doing and the seriousness thereof, and tell them that it is something that puts them beyond the pale of Islam. We ask Allah to guide them to the right path.

And Allah knows best.