Does Offal Have to be Included in the Three Splits of the Sacrificial Animal? -Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I want to know whether the brain, leg, liver, and spleen should be included while dividing the meat into three parts during the sacrificial animal on Eid al Adha. If not compulsory or mandatory, please mention the source and its authenticity among the different scholars, and if the source is a hadith, then at which level in the hadith is it considered? 

If yes, can we keep these parts with us to eat?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Eating from your Qurbani animal is recommended (mustaḥab) according to all four schools of thought and necessary according to some scholars. This has been described as hospitality from Allah, and for this reason, it is sunna to eat after Eid Ṣalah as the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) would not eat until he would return from Eid Ṣalah and after that eat from his Qurbani. 

Perform Sacrifice Locally, too

It is desirable (mustaḥab) to make the Qurbani meat the first thing a person consumes on Eid al-Aḍḥa. This is why, along with performing Qurbanis abroad, families should perform Qurbanis locally to fulfill this noble Sunnah, acquire its benefits, and instill its significance within children.

[Kasani, Bada’i al-Sana’i, Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya]

Distributing and Splitting the Meat into Parts

Scholars have further recommended how to split the meat:

• Many Ḥanafi scholars suggest that eating a third is preferable, donating a third, and preserving a third. Some Ḥanafi scholars suggest donating a third and eating two-thirds, while some suggest the opposite if a person is wealthy.
• Some Maliki scholars suggest that eating a third is preferable, donating a third, and preserving a third. Others suggest eating a third and donating two-thirds, while some suggest donating half and eating half. Imam Malik, however, would not specify the proportion and would advise generally to eat and donate.
• Some Shafiʿi scholars suggest eating half and donating half is preferable. Others suggest eating a third and donating two-thirds, while others recommend eating a third, donating a third, and distributing a third to whom a person wishes. Imam Ghazali means it is preferable to eat a third, donate a third, and preserve a third, a view that the Shafiʿi scholars have rejected.
• The Ḥanbali scholars suggest it is preferable to donate a third, distribute a third to whomsoever he wishes, family and associates, and eat a third.

[Kasani, Bada’i al-Sana’i; Nawawi, Al-Majmu; Ibn Qudama, Mughni]

Seven Forbidden Parts of an Animal

Mujahid (Allah have mercy on him) relates, “The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) disliked eating seven things from the sheep; the gall bladder, the urinary bladder, the glands, the vulva, the penis, the testicles, and the blood.”

[This is graded sahih and hasan by Imam Dhafar Usmani in ‘ila al-Sunan]

In conclusion, a person should eat the meat himself and also distribute it to the poor and others. One can eat, distribute, split, and store every part of the animal except the seven mentioned parts. Also, preserving and keeping the meat for future use is permissible.

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.

Related Answers

What Parts Of a Slaughtered Animal Are Impermissible To Consume? – SeekersGuidance

A Reader on Eid al-Adha – SeekersGuidance

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I pray this helps with your question.

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.

He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.

He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.

He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.