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The minimum age of animals for aqiqa and udhiya

سن العقيقة والأضحية

A question about the minimum age of animals for aqiqa and udhiya, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that the minimum is five years for camels, two for cattle and goats and one for sheep, and that a sheep over six months may be used if large and fat. The Department answered that the minimum age for udhiya and aqiqa is five full years, entering the sixth, for camels; two years, entering the third, for cattle and goats; and one year, entering the second, for sheep. It said a sheep may be over six months old provided it is large and fat.

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Summary

A question about the minimum age of animals for aqiqa and udhiya, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that the minimum is five years for camels, two for cattle and goats and one for sheep, and that a sheep over six months may be used if large and fat. 1

The question

The questioner asked about the required age of animals for aqiqa and udhiya. 1

The answer

The Department answered that the minimum age for udhiya and aqiqa is five full years, entering the sixth, for camels; two years, entering the third, for cattle and goats; and one year, entering the second, for sheep. 1 It said a sheep may be over six months old provided it is large and fat. 1

About this record

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 4238, dated 15 February 2026. 1 The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.

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Sources

  1. Jordan's General Iftaa Department (aliftaa.jo) , fatwa 4238

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islam.museum contributors. “The minimum age of animals for aqiqa and udhiya”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/work/fatwa-aliftaa-jo-minimum-age-of-sacrificial-animals/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-01.

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Buying a sacrifice or aqiqa through a company

A question on buying a sacrifice or aqiqa from private companies and appointing them to slaughter and distribute it, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that this is permitted if the company owns the animal at the time of contract, and otherwise the contract must be drawn up as a forward sale (salam) with set specifications, or as a promise followed by a sale once the company owns it. The Department answered that if the customer pays the full price at contract and the company owns the animal at that time, there is no objection, but if the company does not own it, the sale is not allowed because of the prohibition on selling what one does not own. It said the contract may be drawn up as a salam, with delivery deferred and price paid in advance, the company specifying in the contract the animal's kind, sex, age, colour, weight and location; it quoted al-Khatib al-Shirbini's Mughni al-Muhtaj that these specifications are required in a salam for livestock. Alternatively the parties may agree on an initial promise, and once the company owns the animal it sells it to the customer; the agency to slaughter and distribute is then contracted on the basis of the customer's ownership.