Offering Udh-hiyah and fasting the first nine days of Thul-Hijjah

22/11/2009| IslamWeb

Question

A woman wants to offer a sacrificial animal as Udh-hiyah but she cannot fast the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah fully. However, she can fast the last three days. Will her sacrifice be acceptable without fasting all the ten days?

Fatwa

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

It is recommended to fast the first nine days of the month of Thul-Hijjah (not ten since the 10th is ‘Eed) based on the general evidences that recommend doing righteous deeds during the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah. However, fasting the first nine days is not a precondition for offering the Udh-hiyah, with no controversy amongst the scholars on this issue. Therefore, it is permissible to offer the Udh-hiyah without fasting any of those days. This is so because there is no relation between offering Udh-hiyah and fasting the first nine days of the month of Thul-Hijjah. Allah Knows best.