Time for Ud-hiyyah (sacrifice)

Yawm-un-Nahr (Day of sacrifice) is also known as ‘Eid al-Adhaa’ meaning the Festival of Sacrifice and it is one of the two festivals which Allah has granted to the Ummah of Rasoolullah (Sallallaahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam). Anas (RadhiyAllahu ‘anhu) narrated, “Allah’s Messenger (Sallallaahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) came to Madeenah and the people of Madeenah in the days of Jahiliyyah had two days of play and amusement. So, Allah’s Messenger (Sallallaahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) said: “I came to you and you had in Jahiliyyah, two days of play and amusement. Allah has replaced something better for you. The Day of an-Nahr and the day of al-Fitr.” [(Saheeh) by Haafidh Ibn Hajr in Buloogh al-Maraam. Related by Musnad Ahmad vol: 3, no: 103]

The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) said: “The day of al-Fitr, and the day of an-Nahr, and the days of at-Tashreeq (the three days after an-Nahr) are our days of Eid (festivity); and they are days of eating and drinking.” [(Saheeh) by Shaikh al-Albanee in Saheeh al-Jamee (no: 8192). Related by Musnad Ahmad (no: 1945)]

The days of Ud-hiyyah or Ayyaam-un-Nahr (Days of sacrifice) are three days, the 10th; 11th; and 12th of Dhul-Hijjah. The first day is better than the second, and the second is better than the last. After Hijrah, Nabi himself performed
ud-hiyyah every year, he never offered it before the 10th Dhul-Hijjah.

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (RadiyAllahu ‘anhu) narrated: ‘Ud-hiyyah can be performed for up to two days after the day of Eid.’ (Muwatta Imam Malik, p118)
Abu Hurairah (RadiyAllahu ‘anhu) narrated: ‘Ud-hiyyah is only for 3 days.’ [Muhalla Ibn Hazm, vol7, p377]

If three days have passed and a person is unable to perform the sacrifice, he should give this animal as Sadaqah to the poor as meat or distribute money to its value to the poor. [Fataawa Shaami vol5, p229]

Time of Al Ud-hiyyah/Qurbaani
In towns and cities where Jumu’ah and ‘Eid are performed, ud-hiyyah is not permissible before the
‘Eid Salaah. If the Qurbani has been offered before the ‘Eid Salaah, it will have to be repeated.
Therefore, the time for ud-hiyyah commences after the ‘Eid Salaah on 10th Dhul-Hijjah until sunset of the 12th Dhul-Hijjah. [Badi’us Sana’I, vol4, p198/ Kitaabul Masaa-il vol2, p215]

Anas bin Malik (RadiyAllahu ‘anhu) relates that Rasoolullah (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) stated: ‘Whosoever sacrifices his animal before the ‘Eid Salaah should perform his sacrifice again.’ [al-Bukhari #5549/ Sunan Ibn Majah #2151]

Ummu Salamah (RadiyAllahu ‘anhaa) narrated: “Whoever sights the crescent for the month of Dhul Ḥijjah and intends to sacrifice an animal should cut neither his hair nor his nails.” [Muslim 3:1565, Abū Dawood 3:94, Tirmidhī 4:102, Nasā’ī 7:211] The person who is performing Ud-hiyyah, should not clip their hair or nails from the 1st to the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah until such a time that the animal has been sacrificed.
The wisdom behind this could be that a person who is offering a sacrifice wants to resemble a person performing Hajj since it is about sacrifice, so they refrain from cutting the hair and nails to further the resemblance (since pilgrims to Makkah are also not allowed to cut until after the Hajj rituals are done).

Scholars differ over whether it is Mustahab (preferable) or Makrooh (disliked) or forbidden to remove unwanted hair and trim the nails.
It is preferred (Mustahab) that the person who is performing Ud-hiyyah, does not clip their hair or nails from the 1st to the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah until such a time that the animal has been sacrificed. This is not Waajib. (Muslim vol2, p160/ Kitabul Masaa-il vol2, p254)

Most of the Hanbali madh-hab say that it is forbidden to clip the hair and nails, but even a renowned scholar of the Ahnaaf, Abu Ja’far Ahmad ibn Muhammad at-Tahaawi also regarded it to be forbidden.

Scholars who said it is forbidden for a person who intends to slaughter are Sa’eed ibn al-Musayyib, Rabeeʿah, Aḥmad ibn Hanbal (rahimahullah), Dāwood, Ibn Ḥazm, Is-haaq, some Shāfiʿee scholars, and Ṭaḥaawī [of the Ḥanafī school]. Among the later scholars who upheld this opinion: Ibnul Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, Ibn Qudāmah, al-Shawkaanī, Ibn Bāz, and Ibn al-Uthaymīn.

Scholars who said it is disliked but not prohibited are Shāfi’ee (rahimahullah) and some of Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s students (such as Abū Yaʿlā). Among the later scholars who upheld this opinion: al-Nawawī.

Scholars who said that there is nothing wrong with cutting the hair or nails are Abū Hanīfah (rahimahullah) and his students, Mālik and his students, and Sufyān ath-Thawri

Refer to our Fatwaa section for the entire fatwaa on whether it is forbidden to cut hair and nails or preferable to not to cut hair and nails.