Ruling on delaying slaughtering the sacrificial animals three days after the `Eid

Q: I live near the Egyptian-Sudanese borders. There are many Sufi orders that have gone astray and led people astray there. Some people delay slaughtering their sacrificial animals three days after `Eid-ul-Adha (the Festival of the Sacrifice), so the Sufi people may eat from them when they come to perform their empty rituals. People think by doing so they are doing something religious. Is their sacrifice valid? Or is it mere meat as stated in the Hadith?

A: Indeed, you told the truth about the deviation and innovations of the Sufi orders. The animals that some people slaughter three days after `Eid-ul-Adha (the Festival of the Sacrifice) are not sacrificial animals, for the deadline to offer the sacrificial animals is the fourth day of `Eid-ul-Adha. In fact, the meat of the animals slaughtered in this manner is mere meat offered to guests (Part No. 2; Page No. 298) to honor them and cooperate with them in spreading rejected innovations which is considered as cooperation in sin and transgression.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.