“The Messenger of Allah—may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him—offered as a sacrifice two white-mixed, horned rams.”
He said: “I saw him slaughter them with his own hand, and I saw him placing his foot upon their sides.” He said: “And he mentioned the Name of Allah and declared the takbīr.”
Narrated by al-Bukhārī (no. 5564) and Muslim (no. 1966), with the wording being his, from the ḥadīth of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him).
Brief Explanation of the Hadith
The Muslims draw near to Allah, Exalted is He, on the Day of Sacrifice and the Days of Tashrīq by slaughtering the uḍḥiyah, which is among the manifest rites of Islam. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) clarified—through his words and actions—the rulings, sunnahs, and etiquettes related to it. Among that is what Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated when he said: “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) offered as a sacrifice two rams…” That is, he slaughtered two sacrificial animals seeking nearness to Allah. A kabsh is a male sheep. In another wording it states: “He used to offer sacrifice,” which indicates continuity and regular observance of this act of worship.
His description, “two amlaḥ,” means predominantly white with some black mixed into the white. It is also reported in describing the Prophet’s sacrifice (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) that it would “look in black, eat in black, and walk in black,”.
His statement, “two horned (aqranayn),” means that each of them had two horns. His choosing horned animals indicates the recommendation of selecting that which is more complete in physical form for the sacrifice, since the presence of horns reflects completeness of creation and strength of the animal.
His statement, “and I saw him slaughter them with his own hand,” shows that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) personally carried out the slaughter of his sacrifice and did not appoint someone else to do so on his behalf—out of humility before Allah, Exalted is He, and because personally performing the act of worship is more complete in drawing near to Him. Nevertheless, deputing another to slaughter is permissible without disagreement.
His statement, “placing his foot upon their sides,” means that after laying the animal down, he placed his noble foot upon the side of its neck, so that the slaughter would be firmer and the handling of the blade more precise.
And his statement, “and he pronounced the Name of Allah and declared the takbīr,” means that he said: Bismillāh, Allāhu Akbar. The pronouncing of the Name of Allah is a condition for the permissibility of the slaughtered animal, though it is excused in cases of ignorance or forgetfulness. Others held that the tasmiyah at the time of slaughter is a Sunnah, while the takbīr is also Sunnah. The takbīr was legislated because it contains exaltation and magnification of Allah.
Slaughter is an act of worship and a means of drawing near to Him; thus, it is fitting that the physical act be accompanied by verbal glorification.