The first (act) with which we started our day (the day of 'Id-ul Adha) was that we offered prayer. We then returned and sacrificed the animals and he who did that in fact adhered to our Sunnah (practice). And he who slaughtered the (animal on that day before the 'Id prayer), for him (the slaughtering of animal was directed to the acquiring of) meat for his family, and there is nothing of the sort of sacrifice in it. It was Abu Burda b. Niyar who had slaughtered (the animal before the 'Id prayer). He said: I have a small lamb, of less than one year, but better than that of more than a year. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) qaid: Sacrifice it, but it will not suffice (as a sacrifice) for anyone after you.
The Book of Sacrifices - Sahih Muslim 1961e
This narration from Sahih Muslim establishes the proper sequence for Eid al-Adha: first performing the Eid prayer, then offering the sacrificial animal. The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) explicitly states that slaughtering before the prayer transforms the act into ordinary meat consumption rather than a valid Udhiyah (sacrificial offering).
Scholarly Commentary
The timing of the sacrifice is integral to its validity as an act of worship. The Sunnah dictates that the Eid prayer must precede the slaughter, making the sacrifice an act of devotion rather than mere food preparation. This sequence distinguishes the ritual sacrifice from ordinary slaughtering.
Abu Burda's case demonstrates the Prophet's compassion in jurisprudence. While not approving of the premature slaughter, the Prophet permitted the sacrifice of his younger lamb as an exception, while clearly stating this concession wouldn't extend to others, thus preserving the general ruling.
Legal Implications
This hadith establishes that the sacrificial animal slaughtered before the Eid prayer doesn't count as Udhiyah but rather as ordinary meat. The proper time for sacrifice begins after the Eid prayer concludes and continues through the Days of Tashreeq (11th, 12th, and 13th of Dhul-Hijjah).
Classical scholars unanimously agree that intentional slaughter before the Eid prayer invalidates the sacrifice as an act of worship, though the meat remains permissible for consumption.