The udhiyah in his country is very expensive; can he send money to do the udhiyah in another country?

The Sunnah with
regard to the udhiyah is for the Muslim to offer the udhiyah in his own
country, because that serves many interests and enables one to do acts of
worship that will be missed out on if the Muslim offers the udhiyah
elsewhere than in his own country via charities to whom he gives money to
slaughter the udhiyah in another country.

1.

Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

… on the other
hand, some people send their money for the udhiyah to be slaughtered in
other places, and this is wrong. Some people give money to Hay’at al-Ighaathah
or other charities to offer the udhiyah for them in other places, but in
that case they will not have performed the udhiyah. The udhiyah is a ritual
that should be performed in one’s own land. By the blessing of Allah, may He
be glorified and exalted, when He singled out the pilgrims to offer the
hadiy (sacrificial animals) as a means of drawing closer to Allah during the
days of Eid, He also prescribed that those who are not performing Hajj
should offer the udhiyah, so that they may join the pilgrims in some of the
symbols ordained by Allah, may He be glorified and exalted.
“And
the Budn (cows, oxen, or camels driven to be offered as sacrifices by the
pilgrims at the sanctuary of Makkah.) We have made for you as among the
Symbols of Allah”
[al-Hajj 22:36].
As this is the purpose of the udhiyah, we say: Do not offer the udhiyah
outside your house; offer the udhiyah in your country; perform this ritual.
Offering the udhiyah by sending your money elsewhere is contrary to the
Sunnah and causes you to miss out on many benefits, of which we may note the
following:

Firstly: it is
causing one of the symbols and rituals ordained by Allah to disappear in
your own land, namely the udhiyah.

Secondly: it
causes you to miss out on drawing closer to Allah, may He be exalted, by
slaughtering it, because what is prescribed in the case of the udhiyah is
for the individual to slaughter it with his own hand. If he is not able to
do that, then the scholars said that he should be present at its slaughter,
but in this case (if he sends money abroad), he misses out on doing that.

Thirdly: it
causes you to miss out on mentioning the name of Allah over it, because if
the udhiyah is done in your presence in your country, then you will be the
one who mentions the name of Allah over it. Allah refers to this benefit in
the verse in which He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And
for every nation We have appointed religious ceremonies, that they may
mention the Name of Allah over the beast of cattle that He has given them
for food”
[al-Hajj 22:34].
If you send your udhiyah far away, you do not know whether the name of Allah
will be mentioned over it or not, and you are depriving yourself of being
able to mention the name of Allah over it yourself.

Fourthly: it
causes you to miss out on eating from it, because if it is done in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, or in Chechnya, or in Somalia, or elsewhere, how can you
eat from it?! You will miss out on eating from it, but Allah, may He be
glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Then
eat thereof and feed therewith the poor who have a very hard time”
[al-Hajj 22:28]
and “eat thereof, and feed the beggar who does not ask (men), and the
beggar who asks (men)” [al-Hajj 22:36]. Eating is mentioned first,
therefore some of the Muslim scholars are of the view that eating from the
udhiyah is obligatory; just as giving it in charity is obligatory, it is
also obligatory to eat from it, and this will definitely be missed if you
offer the udhiyah in another country.

Fifthly: you
will miss out on distributing the meat as is required. What is required in
the case of the udhiyah is to eat some of it, give some of it as gifts and
give some of it in charity, but this will be missed. If it is distributed in
another country, you do not know whether it will be given in charity to the
poor or as gifts to the rich, or as gifts to people who are not Muslims.

Sixthly: you are
depriving people in your own country of benefitting from these udhiyahs, and
you will be deprived of giving some of the udhiyah as gifts to your
neighbours and friends, and as charity to the poor in your own country. If
it goes there, you will miss out on all of that.

Seventhly: you
do not know whether it will be slaughtered in the best manner, or in some
other manner. It may be slaughtered before the prayer, or it may be delayed
until after the days of at-tashreeq, and perhaps the slaughterman will not
mention the name of Allah over it. All of this may happen, but if it is with
you, you can slaughter it as you want, in the best manner.

Therefore we
advise you not to send money for the udhiyah to be offered elsewhere. Rather
you should offer your udhiyah here. We also advise anyone who has surplus
wealth to give it in charity to his needy brethren in any Muslim country,
and let him do his udhiyah without extravagance or falling short.

Al-Liqa’
ash-Shahri
(no. 26)

2.

Shaykh Saalih
al-Fawzaan (may Allah preserve him) said:

O Muslims, the
udhiyah is a confirmed Sunnah for the one who is able to afford it. People
should slaughter the udhiyah in their houses, eat from it in their houses,
give some of it as gifts to their neighbours, and give some of it to the
poor around them.

With regard to
what some people have introduced of sending the cost of the udhiyah to
charitable organisations so that it may be slaughtered in another country,
far away from the home of the person who wants to offer the udhiyah, this is
contrary to the Sunnah and is changing the act of worship. What should be
done is to refrain from this act and to slaughter the udhiyah in one’s own
house, in the country of the one who is offering the udhiyah, as is
indicated by the Sunnah and as was the practice of the Muslims from the time
of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) until
this new practice was introduced. I am afraid that it may be an innovation (bid‘ah),
and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever
introduces anything into this matter of ours that is not part of it, it will
be rejected.” And he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“Beware of newly introduced matters, for every newly introduced matter is an
innovation, and every innovation is a going astray.”

Whoever wants to
give charity to the needy, the door of charity is wide open, but acts of
worship should not be changed from the prescribed manner in the name of
charity. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And
whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him)) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it) ,
and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Severe in punishment”
[al-Hashr 59:7].

Majallat ad-Da‘wah,
issue no. 1878 (27/11/1423)

If the price of
the udhiyah is high, then whoever is rich let him offer the udhiyah, and he
will have the reward thereof with Allah, may He be exalted, commensurate
with what he spends. Whoever is poor and cannot afford to buy the udhiyah,
then Allah does not burden any soul with more than it can bear, and he is
not obliged to offer the udhiyah.

Whoever wants to
give charity to his Muslim brothers, let him give whatever he wants of
wealth, but with regard to the udhiyah, he should not offer the udhiyah
anywhere but in his own country.

And Allah knows
best.