Q:

If I slaughter the sacrificial animal before the Eid day, is it udhiyah?

A:

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.

Thank you for your good question.

The specified time for offering udhiyah is during the period from after the Eid Prayer on the Day of Eid Al-Adha until the last of the Days of Tashreeq (Dhul Hijjah 13^th). The Quran reads, {So perform the Salah [ritual Prayer] for your Lord and slaughter [an animal].} (Al-Kawthar 108:2)

Al-Barra’ reported that on Eid Al-Adha, the Prophet (peace be on him) would say, “He who offers our prayer (meaning the Eid Prayer) and observes our ritual (sacrificing an animal) in that day, has done right. And whoever sacrifices before the Prayer, let him repeat it.”

He (peace be on him) was also reported to have said, “The first ritual to be observed on this day (Eid Al-Adha) is to offer (the Eid) Prayer and then slaughter the animals for sacrifice. So, whosoever offers a sacrifice before the Eid Prayer, he or she just slaughters an animal for meat; it has nothing to do with the ritual of slaughtering.”

Given the above, it is not acceptable to slaughter the udhiyah/qurbani before the Eid Prayer; the person who does so should offer another sacrifice.

May Allah accept your and our good deeds, Ameen.

Allah Almighty knows best.