Mishkat al-Masabih
Mishkat al-Masabih 1463
وَعَنْ عَلِيٍّ قَالَ: أَمَرَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنْ نَسْتَشْرِفَ الْعَيْنَ وَالْأُذُنَ وَأَلَّا نُضَحِّيَ بِمُقَابَلَةٍ وَلَا مُدَابَرَةٍ وَلَا شَرْقَاءَ وَلَا خَرْقَاءَ. رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ وَأَبُو دَاوُدَ وَالنَّسَائِيُّ والدارمي وانتهت رِوَايَته إِلَى قَوْله: وَالْأُذن
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ali said: The Messenger of God instructed us to inspect the eye and ear carefully, and not to offer in sacrifice an animal that is muqabala, mudabara, sharqa, or kharqa, bearing one of those specified ear defects.
Al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, al-Nasai, and al-Darimi transmitted it. The al-Darimi version ends with the words “and the ear.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
نَسْتَشْرِفَ الْعَيْنَ وَالْأُذُنَ
The verb may refer to carefully examining these features when selecting a sacrificial animal; the exact technical force is uncertain.
Should this phrase be rendered as careful inspection or as choosing animals with sound eyes and ears?