What type of animal is preferable to sacrifice for Eid Adha?

Question

What type of animal is preferable to sacrifice for Eid Adha? Is there any specific preference for a particular type of animal? Is there any hadith which says that this or that animal is preferable to sacrifice?

Answer 1

I am assuming that by type you mean the species (e.g. sheep, cow, camel) and not various other attributes.

There is difference of opinion on this.

The view of the Mailikis is that sheep are the best sacrifice because Allah substituted a ram for the sacrifice of Ishmael عليه السلام and described it as:

وفديناه بذبح عظيم

And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice

^{— Quran 37:107}

Also it has been narrated about the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that he used to sacrifice rams for udhiyyah, and he would have chosen the most excellent action:

كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يضحي بكبشين

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to offer two rams as sacrifices

^{— Bukhari}

The view of the Shafis is that camels are the best, they infer it from the following hadith:

ومثل المهجر كمثل الذي يهدي بدنة ، ثم كالذي يهدي بقرة ، ثم كبشا

The example of the one who enters the mosque in the earliest hour is that of one offering a camel (in sacrifice). The one coming next is like one offering a cow and then a ram ...

^{— Bukhari}

References:

• الفقه الإسلامي وأدلته

• Tafsir Qurtubi