Is it wajib for a traveler (musafir) to sacrifice an animal? Does a traveler who has an animal sacrificed by proxy receive the thawab of wajib?
Dear Brother / Sister,
It is not wajib for a traveler (musafir) to sacrifice an animal. When he sacrifices, he sacrifices it as sunnah. One of the conditions for sacrificing an animal to be wajib is to be resident. Therefore, it is not wajib for travelers to sacrifice an animal. However, if they wish, they can sacrifice.
If those who sacrifice an animal when they are travelling return home on the days of eid, they do not have to sacrifice an animal again. However, those who do not sacrifice an animal when they are travelling have to sacrifice an animal if they return home on the days of eid.
If a traveler sacrifices an animal, it is regarded as nafilah. A nafilah sacrifice is an animal sacrificed by a traveler, by a person who has not vowed to sacrifice an animal and by a poor person who has not bought an animal with the intention of sacrifice. For, the reasons and conditions for the obligation of sacrificing an animal have not occurred for those people. (Wahba Zuhayli, İslam Fıkhı Ansiklopedisi, IV/396)
Sacrificing an Animal by Proxy:
A person can sacrifice an animal himself or have somebody else sacrifice it by proxy. For, sacrificing an animal is a kind of worship that is done through wealth; proxy is permissible in worship that is done through wealth.
A person can make another person sacrifice his animal where he is or have it sacrificed in another place by proxy by a person or an institution. Similarly, he can appoint somebody as a proxy verbally or in writing through means of communication like telephone, internet and fax.
A person who has an animal sacrificed by proxy receives the thawab of wajib. However, if a person has an animal sacrificed by proxy when he is a traveler, the animal he sacrifices is regarded as nafilah.
Questions on Islam
- What are the frequent questions related to sacrificing an animal and their answers?
- Does a person who has vowed to sacrifice an animal have to sacrifice it or sacrifice an animal on the day of eid al-adha first?
- Is a vow of sacrifice regarded to have been fulfilled when the equivalent of the money of the animal to be sacrificed is given to a poor person?
- As Eid Al Adha Approaches…
- Can a person who needs to sacrifice an animal that he has vowed, an animal for thanking and aqiqa (sacrifice for a child's birth) have a share/shares in an animal sacrificed in eid al-adha? Or is it necessary to sacrifice a separate animal?
- How is an animal sacrificed in accordance with the Sunnah?
- For whom is it wajib to sacrifice an animal? Who sacrifices an animal?
- Does every member of a family living in the same house have to sacrifice an animal each if they have nisab amount of wealth?
- Can an animal be sacrificed as aqiqah for a deceased person?
- Why is sacrificing an animal stated to be wajib, not fard, though it is ordered in the Quran?
