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What is the ruling on a sacrificial animal (udhiyah) that spins around itself, even though it is free from the defects mentioned in the conditions for a sacrificial animal?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Scholars differ on the permissibility of sacrificing a "thawla'" sheep (one afflicted with a disease resembling madness, causing it to spin around itself), with two main opinions:

1. Impermissibility: The Shafi'is and Malikis hold that a thawla' sheep is not permissible. The Malikis specified this for sheep with permanent madness that have lost their discernment, while the Shafi'is consider it to be a sheep that spins in the pasture and becomes emaciated.

2. Permissibility: The Hanafis and Ibn Abd al-Barr from the Malikis permit sacrificing it, provided it eats and grazes normally and its "thawl" condition does not prevent it from doing so. Otherwise, it is not permissible due to its emaciation. Ibn Abd al-Barr stipulated that it must be fat.

Therefore, if the "thawla'" lamb eats normally and has not become emaciated, there is no harm in sacrificing it.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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