35/5. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 1972a — Eat and Store Sacrificial Meat
The prohibition of eating sacrificial meat for more than three days, which applied at the beginning of Islam but was then abrogated, and now it is permissible to eat it as long as one wants.
Eat Sacrificial Meat Beyond Three Days: A Simple Qurbani Hadith
Sahih Muslim : 1972a
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 1972a
حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ يَحْيَى، قَالَ قَرَأْتُ عَلَى مَالِكٍ عَنْ أَبِي الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّهُ نَهَى عَنْ أَكْلِ لُحُومِ الضَّحَايَا بَعْدَ ثَلاَثٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ بَعْدُ " كُلُوا وَتَزَوَّدُوا وَادَّخِرُوا " .
Jabir Narrated from:
Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) forbade eating of the flesh of sacrificed animals beyond three (days). but afterwards said: Eat, make a provision, and keep it.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 1972aIn-book reference : Book 35, Hadith 41USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 22, Hadith 4857
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 1972a
This short hadith about eating sacrificial meat beyond three days shows a change from an earlier restriction to a later permission. Jabir reported that Allah's Apostle صلى الله عليه وسلم first forbade eating the flesh of sacrificed animals after three days. Then afterwards he said to eat, make a provision, and keep it. The wording is brief, but the message is clear. Udhiyah meat may be used for food, saved as provision, and stored. The hadith does not add extra details here, so the safest explanation is to stay with its own words. It speaks about practical use of qurbani meat after the sacrifice, without treating the earlier three-day limit as the final instruction in this narration.
What we learn from this hadith
- The hadith records an earlier ban and a later permission.
- Sacrificial meat may be eaten after the stated later permission.
- Qurbani meat can be kept as provision and stored.
- The text teaches practical ease in using the meat.
