Can one goat be sacrificed on behalf of the whole family?

 

Can one goat be sacrificed on behalf of the whole family?

 

The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) sacrificed a ram on behalf of His family and the whole Ummah.  There are various Hadith which attest to this.

 

There is a Hadith in Mustadarak ‘Alas Sahihain:

 

Translation: The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) performed Sacrifice of 1 ram on behalf of all the Ahle Bait.  (Mustadarak ‘Alas Sahihain, Hadith No. 7662)

 

On the basis of this Hadith, one might get a doubt that even a goat/ram can be slaughtered on behalf of 7.  However, it is not so.  One goat can be on the behalf of one person only, not on the behalf of 7 persons; because the aforementioned Hadith is about Supererogatory sacrifice.  The meaning and import of this Hadith is that if the sacrifice is only for the sake of reward, then 7 or more persons can participate. However, when the sacrifice is Compulsory, then 1 goat can be on the behalf of one person only.  In the commentary of the Hadith in which it is mentioned that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) performed the sacrifice of 1 ram on behalf of the whole Ummah, it is given in Injaah Ul Haajah, the commentary of Sunan Ibn Majah:

 

Translation: Slaughtering 1 ram on behalf of the whole Ummah means that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) benevolently included the whole Ummah in the reward of that Sacrifice.  (Injaah Ul Haajah Sharh Sunan Ibn Majah, Pg. No. 226)

 

This shows that in Supererogatory sacrifice, it is permissible to include as many people as one wants to in the reward, however for a Wajib Sacrifice, one goat can be on behalf of one person only, not more than one.  Imam Nawawi (May Allah shower His mercy on him) has said:

 

Translation: The scholars have all agreed that participation in the sacrifice of a goat is not correct.  (Sharh Muslim Lin Nawawi, Pg. No. 424)

 

A similar ruling is also mentioned in Injaah Ul Haajah, Pg. No. 226.

 

A goat cannot be permissible on behalf of multiple persons as given in this Hadith of Sunan Ibn Majah:

 

Translation: It has been narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Abdullah Bin Abbas (May Allah be well pleased with them):  One person came to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and said:  I have to slaughter a camel (on behalf of 7 persons) and I can afford it as well.  However, I am not able to get a camel at all.  The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) ordered him to buy 7 goats and slaughter them.  (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith No. 3256)

 

This Hadith has also been mentioned by the great Hadith-expert of Deccan Hadhrat Abdullah Shah Sahab Naqshbandi Mujaddidi Qadri (May Allah shower His mercy on him) in Zujajatul Masabeeh, Vol. 1, Pg. No. no. 405/406.

 

If in the Sacrifice of a goat, 7 persons could participate, then the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) would have said that if a camel cannot be gotten for Sacrifice, then buy a goat and slaughter it on the behalf of 7 persons, but the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) did not order that a goat be slaughtered, but said that 7 goats should be slaughtered.