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4785416/01/2005

One sacrifice is sufficient on behalf of the members of a household even if they are one hundred strong

Question: 45916

Is one sacrifice sufficient on behalf of all the members of a household, even if they are many?.

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

One sacrifice is
sufficient on behalf of all the members of a household, no matter how many
of them there are.  

Al-Tirmidhi (1505) narrated that ‘Ata’ ibn Yassaar said: I
asked Abu Ayyoob: How was the sacrifice done at the time of the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? He said: A man
would offer a sheep on behalf of himself and the members of his family, and
they would eat some and feed others with some.” Classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi. 

It says in Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi: 

This hadeeth clearly
states that a single sheep is sufficient on behalf of a man and the members
of his household, even if they are many, and that is correct. 

Al-Haafiz ibn al-Qayyim said in Zaad al-Ma’aad: The
teaching of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
that a sheep is sufficient on behalf of a man and the members of his
household, even if they are many in number.  

Al-Shawkaani said in Nayl al-Awtaar: In fact a single
sheep is sufficient on behalf of the members of a household, even if there
are one hundred or more, as is indicated by the Sunnah. End quote. 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said in al-Sharh al-Mumti’
(5/275): 

There is no limit to how many people may share in the reward.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) offered a
sacrifice on behalf of his entire ummah, and a man may offer a single sheep
on behalf of himself and the members of his household, even if they are one
hundred strong. End quote. 

The Standing Committee was asked: There are twenty-two people
in this family, and they have one income and one budget. On Eid al-Adha they
offer a single sacrifice, and I do not know whether that is sufficient or
whether they should offer two sacrifices? 

They replied: 

If the family is big but they live in one house, one
sacrifice is sufficient for them, but if they offer more than one sacrifice,
that is better. End quote. 

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah,
11/408.

Source

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