From Mina to the Village

There is one moment that feels like a “click” in the history of our fiqh: when something that has been considered established for centuries is suddenly shifted in a new fatwa—not because it is cancelled, but because it is refined. That is what has happened to the Hajj dam today. It is not just a fatwa, but a movement. Not just text, but practice. Muhammadiyah, with its characteristically calm yet firm style, does not stop at the table of ijtihad. It also descends into the kitchen of the ummah. This fatwa is not a spontaneous whisper in the corridor of ijtihad, but an official decision born from the serious kitchen of the Majelis Tarjih and Tajdid of the Muhammadiyah Central Leadership, the authoritative institution that has long been the “interpretation engine” of the Association. Compiled through a series of halaqah and sessions from 2022 to 2026, the fatwa was finally established in a formal document titled “Fatwa on the Transfer of Dam Slaughter to the Homeland”, which was issued on 24 Ramadan 1447 H/13 March 2026 AD. It explicitly answers the public’s question about whether dam can be performed outside the Holy Land. Its core is firm but not reckless: “it is permissible according to sharia, with certain conditions that ensure the objectives of the sharia are still achieved”. In its clauses, the fatwa explains that the location of slaughter is not an absolute element of worship (ta‘abbudī), but rational (ta‘aqqulī) and open to adjustment based on benefits. It also unpacks the bases of Quranic evidence, the approach of maqāshid syarī‘ah, to opinions across madhhabs, then closes with an affirmation that the distribution of benefits—feeding the poor—is the core of the dam itself. Therefore, this fatwa is not merely “permission to change location”, but a repositioning of meaning: from a geographical point to a social goal, from ritual obligation to living benefits in the midst of the ummah. The fatwa is clear: dam slaughter may be transferred to the Homeland, with conditions that preserve the spirit of the sharia. Even from the beginning, this question did not come from one or two people, but from a wave of long-standing unease among the ummah. This means it is not a fatwa born from a vacuum. It is born from a long queue of realities: meat piling up at one point, while at another point children are still short of protein. And here Muhammadiyah does something rare: it does not stop at “permissible”. It steps to “Let us do it”. LPHU issues a circular: inviting Hajj congregations—especially members of the Association—to truly perform dam in the Homeland. The invitation from Muhammadiyah’s LPHU (Hajj and Umrah Development Institution), broadcast at the Muhammadiyah Central Leadership Dakwah Building (28/4), is simple, but its implications are great. This is an effort to bridge text to action, from book to pen, from evidence to kitchen.