Which animals are valid for udhiyah, and how is the meat shared?

Which animals count

The udhiyah is valid only from bahimat al-an'am (the livestock), and the scholars state this as a condition, not a preference. IslamWeb puts it plainly: the sacrifice is not valid with a horse, nor with a chicken, duck or the like — only camels, cattle, sheep and goats. The evidence they cite is the verse:

"That they may mention the name of Allah over the beast of cattle that He has provided for them"— Qur'an 22:34

Ibn Qudamah adds the practical proof: the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions only ever sacrificed from camels, cattle and sheep, so we confine ourselves to that. A horse may be lawful to eat, as IslamWeb notes, but that is a separate question from what is valid as a sacrifice.

Within the permitted types, the scholars rank them. Ibn Qudamah says the best is camels, then cattle, then sheep; the author of Fiqh al-'Ibadat gives a fuller order — a camel (male or female) first, then seven sheep, then a cow, then a goat — and notes that a camel or a cow may be shared by seven people.

The age each animal must reach

The Prophet ﷺ said:

"Do not slaughter except a musinnah, unless it is difficult for you, then slaughter a jadha'ah of sheep"— Sahih Muslim, from Jabir

The scholars explain musinnah as the thaniyyah — the animal that has shed its front milk teeth — and they set the ages as follows.

The concession to the jadha' — the six-month-old sheep — applies to sheep alone, and the scholars note that the Lawgiver Himself made this distinction, so it is not for us to extend it to other animals. A cow under two years is not valid even if it is fat, as IslamWeb states.

The four defects that bar validity

The Prophet ﷺ named four defects that make an animal unfit:

"Four are not valid in sacrifices: the one whose blindness is apparent, the one whose illness is apparent, the one whose lameness is apparent, and the emaciated one that has no marrow"— Sunan Ibn Majah 3144 and Sunan an-Nasa'i 4369, from al-Bara' ibn 'Azib

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen explains that "apparent" is the operative word: a slight limp that the animal walks off, or an eye defect a casual observer would not notice, does not bar validity — but a sunken or bulging eye, a clear illness, or an animal with no marrow in its bones does. Anything worse than these four is barred by greater reason: a blind animal, one with a severed hand or leg, one strangled, beaten to death, fallen from a height, gored, or partly eaten by a predator.

Defects below that threshold do not bar validity, though they diminish the reward. A sheep with part of its ear, horn or tail cut off is valid — even if the whole horn or ear is gone — but the more complete the animal, the better. The exception the scholars single out is the sheep whose fat tail (aliyah) has been cut off: because that tail is a large and sought-after part, its loss is a clear deficiency, and such a sheep does not suffice. The same does not apply to the tail of a cow, camel or goat.

Sharing the sacrifice

A single sheep suffices for one man and his household — he does not need a separate animal for each family member. A camel or a cow may be shared by seven, and the seven may be unrelated and living apart; each takes his share according to the portion agreed. More than seven may not share one camel or cow, and several people may not share the price of a single sheep as one sacrifice. The majority position, as the scholars report it, is that the Prophet ﷺ sacrificed one sheep on behalf of himself and his household, and the Companions did the same.

How the meat is divided

The sunnah, as Ibn Qudamah states it, is to eat a third, gift a third, and give a third in charity. This is a recommendation, not a strict obligation: eating more is permitted, and the majority hold that one may even give all of it away or keep all of it, though keeping the whole sheep without giving any in charity is contrary to what is better. The verse they cite is:

"So eat of them and feed the miserable and poor"— Qur'an 22:28

Al-Qurtubi explains that this command carries the sense of recommendation according to the majority, and that it is recommended to give the greater part in charity while permitting giving all or eating all. The sacrifice remains valid either way. Two points of caution: the butcher must not be paid his wage out of the meat, and the skin may be used but not sold.

Key takeaways

• Only camels, cattle, sheep and goats are valid — no horse, chicken, duck or any other animal, regardless of price.
• The animal must reach the required age: five years for a camel, two for cattle, one for a goat, six months for a sheep.
• Four defects bar validity: apparent blindness, apparent illness, apparent lameness, and emaciation with no marrow — anything worse is barred by greater reason.
• A sheep suffices for one man and his household; a camel or cow may be shared by seven.
• The sunnah is to eat a third, gift a third, and give a third in charity — though eating more or giving more is permitted, and the sacrifice is valid either way.

Further reading

• Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni, "Bab al-Hady wa al-Udhiyah"
• Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen, al-Liqa' al-Shahri and Liqa' al-Bab al-Maftuh
• IslamWeb fatwas 39608, 43487, 193331, 13271

And Allah knows best.