Answer
Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
Slaughtering the sacrificial animal is preferred in Islam over donating its monetary equivalent, as it fulfills a significant Sunnah and Islamic ritual. However, donation may be permissible in rare cases where meat is not needed or if the person has passed away.
Shedding more light on this issue, we would like to state the following:
Udhiyah or Donation: What’s Preferred in Islam?
Slaughtering the sacrificial animal is more preferable than donating the money allocated for it, for that is part of the rituals of Islam and a mode of seeking Allah’s Pleasure, as Allah said, “…So pray unto they Lord, and sacrifice…” (Al-Kawthar 108:2)
The Story of Prophet Ibrahim and the Origin of Udhiyah
Muslims slaughter animals during Eid al-Adha in emulation of Prophet Ibrahim who was about to slaughter his son, Isma`eel (Ishmael), to show obedience to Almighty Allah, when Ishmael was redeemed by a ram brought to Abraham by Angel Gabriel. The Angel then conveyed to him Allah’s Command to slaughter the ram instead.
Why Slaughtering Is Better Than Donating the Money
This act henceforth became a Prophetic Sunnah followed by Muslims throughout history. So to slaughter the animal in the Eid is better than donating the money, for if all Muslims were to do that, this virtuous tradition will become obsolete.
When Donating Money Might Be Permissible
However, a donation can be made posthumously on behalf of a person who dies before fulfilling a religious duty of offering a sacrificial animal, if it will be useless to present a sacrificial animal due to, say, for instance, people are not in need of meat.
In short, it is preferable to slaughter the sacrificial animal and offer monetary donation if possible.
The following fatwas elaborate on this topic:
- What Is Udhiyah in Islam? Full Guide & Rulings
- What Are the Conditions of Udhiyah?
- How to Divide Udhiyah Meat
- When to Slaughter the Udhiyah
- The Best Animals for Udhiyah
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.