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Islam
is a universal call for mercy, compassion, and solidarity. It calls
upon all members of the human family to cooperate together to end
suffering and affliction. With this in mind, the udhiyah (sacrificial)
animals may be slaughtered anywhere in the world on behalf of Muslims
from other countries. It is also permitted to give non-Muslims,
especially those afflicted by the tsunami, from the meat of the udhiyah
as a present.
In
fact, Islam encourages Muslims to show condolences to and solidarity
with people in calamities and adversities. It also motivates them to
give help to the needy and poor among non-Muslims. Hence, it behooves
Muslims to give aid to the distressed people, be they Muslims or
non-Muslims, who survived the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit
Asia.
It
is permissible in the viewpoint of Islam to entrust the Muslim aid
agencies with slaughtering udhiyah animals anywhere in the
world on behalf of Muslims from other countries and distributing the
meat in the countries hit by the earthquake and the tsunami.
One
kind of aid that Muslims can give to their fellow humans in these
countries is to entrust some Muslim aid agencies with slaughtering udhiyah
animals on their behalf and distributing them among the distressed
people in these countries, be they Muslims or non-Muslims. In fact,
this fulfils one of the objectives of Islam by encouraging Muslims to
offer udhiyah on `Eid Al-Adha: helping the poor and needy and
making them content in the blessed occasions of the Muslim `Eids. In
fulfillment of this objective, giving the udhiyah meat to the
devastated and poor countries may be more rewardable for one in
Allah’s sight and thus may get one closer to Almighty Allah.
As
for giving non-Muslims from one’s udhiyah as a present, there
is nothing wrong about it in Islam. It was reported that `Umar ibn Al-Khattab
saw a silken cloak being sold at the gate of the mosque and said to
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “O Allah’s
Messenger! Would that you buy it and wear it on Fridays and when the
delegates come to you!” Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be
upon him) said, “This is worn by the one who will have no share
in the Hereafter.” Later on some silk garments were brought to
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as presents; he (peace
and blessings be upon him) sent one of them to `Umar. `Umar said,
“How do you give me this to wear while you said what you said about
the dress of utarid (the person who would wear the silken cloaks at
the gate of the mosque)?” Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings
be upon him) said, “I have not given it to you so that you wear
it.” So `Umar gave it to a pagan brother of his in Makkah (Al-Bukahri
and Muslim).
Commenting
on this hadith, Imam An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy upon him) said,
“This hadith reported by `Umar indicates that a Muslim may give a
present to a non-Muslim person.”
Besides,
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Asma’ bint Abi
Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her) at the time of the truce with the
Quraishi polytheists to send money to her Quraishi mother who was then
still a polytheist as a way of keeping good ties of kinship with her.
It
is inferred from such examples that if giving non-Muslims in times of
prosperity and peace is encouraged in Islam, it is so also the case,
with all the more reason, in times of calamities.
Almighty
Allah praises the believers, as they [feed
with food the needy wretch, the orphan and the prisoner, for love of
Him]
(Al-Insan 76:8).
According
to Al-Mughni by Ibn Qudamah, it is permissible for the Muslims
to feed non-Muslims from the udhiyah they offer on `Eid Al-Adha.
This is also the opinion of Al-Hasan, Abu Thawr, and some other
eminent scholars. But Imam Malik said in this regard that giving
Muslims from the udhiyah is better in his view than giving
non-Muslims. In addition, Imam Malik and Al-Layth were of the opinion
that it is undesirable for a Muslim person to give the skin of the udhiyah
animal to a Christian. Ibn Qudamah said that in his view, since
Muslims’ food is, in general, lawful for the People of the Book to
eat, Muslims may feed them from the udhiyah meat, too. Besides,
since it is permissible for Muslims to give food as voluntary sadaqah
(charity) to the People of the Book and non-Muslim captives, and
feeding from the udhiyah is a voluntary sadaqah, Muslims
can feed non-Muslims from the udhiyah, too. As for the [one-third]
portion of the udhiyah that is to be given as an obligatory sadaqah,
it cannot be given to a non-Muslim, for it is like the zakah and
expiation of an oath in that it must be given to Muslims.
As
for charging someone else with slaughtering the udhiyah animal
on one’s behalf, this is also lawful according to jurists.
The
Kuwaiti Juristic Encyclopedia states, “Jurists agree that it is
lawful for a Muslim to entrust another person with slaughtering the udhiyah
animal on his behalf so long as the entrusted person is also a
Muslim.”
Having
stated the above, prosperous Muslims can give the udhiyah animals
they intend to sacrifice on `Eid Al-Adha to the distressed people in
the devastated countries by giving the value of these animals in money
to Muslim aid agencies, who in turn, buy animals on behalf of those
Muslims and sacrifice them somewhere, and then transfer and distribute
them among the Muslim and non-Muslim victims in the distressed
countries.
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IOL Shari`ah Researcher
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