Should he give precedence to his father over himself with regard to the price of the udhiyah so that his father can offer the sacrifice, by way of honouring him?
Question My father does not have enough money to buy the udhiyah, and I usually give him the cost so that he can offer the sacrifice instead of me. Is this good (as a way of honouring my father), or should I offer the udhiyah because I am able to do so, and there is…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
Offering the udhiyah is a confirmed Sunnah;
for it to be prescribed and encouraged it is stipulated that the one who
offers the udhiyah should be independent of means, in the sense that the
price of the udhiyah is surplus to what he needs to suffice himself and
those on whom he is obliged to spend.
Please see the answer to question no.
70291.
If a person does not own enough to pay the
price of the udhiyah, surplus to what he needs for his expenses, then he is
not obliged to offer an udhiyah.
Secondly:
If the members of a family share
accommodation and expenses, one udhiyah is sufficient on behalf of all of
them.
The scholars of the Standing Committee
said:
If the family is large, but they live in
one house, then one udhiyah is sufficient on behalf of all of them, but if
they offer more than one, that is preferable.
End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah
(11/408)
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have
mercy on him) said:
The inhabitants of one house may share one
udhiyah even if they are many. If they are brothers who eat together and
live in one house, then they may share one udhiyah, even if they have many
wives. The same applies in the case of a father with his sons, even if one
of them is married: they may share one udhiyah.
End quote from Majmoo‘ Fataawa wa
Rasaa’il al-‘Uthaymeen (25/43)
See also the answer to question no.
96741
Based on that, if you live in the same
accommodation with your father, then one udhiyah is acceptable on behalf of
the entire household, including your father and your mother.
The scholars of the Standing Committee
were asked:
If my wife lives with my father in the
same house, is it acceptable to offer one sacrifice on ‘Eid al-Adha for
myself and my father, or not?
They replied:
If the situation is as you describe, and
that the father and his son live in one house, then one udhiyah is
sufficient on your behalf and on behalf of your father, your wife, your
father’s wife and all the members of your household, one udhiyah in
fulfilment of the Sunnah.
End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah
(11/404)
There is nothing wrong with you giving
your father the price of the udhiyah so that he can take care of that, and
you can intend when doing that to delegate him to do that on your behalf and
on behalf of the family.
There is also no reason why you should not
give him the price of the udhiyah as a gift, so that he can offer the
sacrifice on his own behalf and on behalf of the members of his family,
including yourself and those who live with him in the same house. However it
is preferable for the udhiyah to be offered in your name, so long as you are
the owner of the wealth, and to give your father whatever he needs of that
wealth.
But if you live in a house on your own,
and your father lives in another house, then it is not prescribed for you to
offer the udhiyah on your own behalf and on behalf of your father. So you
should offer the sacrifice on your own behalf and on behalf of the members
of your household, and your father is not obliged to offer the udhiyah if he
does not have enough money to buy it.
If you give him the cost of the udhiyah
sometimes, and you yourself offer the udhiyah sometimes, that will be good,
in sha Allah, and it will be a way of combining the two good deeds.
See also the answer to question no.
41766.
And Allah knows best.
