MUI Requests Ministry of Hajj to Revise Circular, Reminds that Dam Must be Slaughtered in the Holy Land

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has officially issued a letter addressed to the Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Mochamad Irfan Yusuf (Gus Irfan). The letter, signed by MUI General Chairman KH Anwar Iskandar and Secretary General Buya Amirsyah Tambunan on 2 April 2026, pertains to a reminder regarding the Ministry of Hajj’s Circular Letter No. S-50/BN/2026 on Hajj type options and the implementation of dam payments. In the letter, MUI reiterates Fatwa MUI No. 41 of 2011 concerning the Slaughtering of Sacrificial Animals for Tamattu’ Hajj Outside the Holy Land. The MUI Fatwa Commission emphasises that slaughtering sacrificial animals outside the Holy Land is invalid. Secretary of the MUI Fatwa Commission, KH Miftahul Huda, explained that the slaughtering of sacrificial animals for Hajj pilgrims under the Tamattu’ or Qiran scheme must be carried out in the Holy Land. Therefore, Indonesian Hajj pilgrims using the Tamattu’ or Qiran Hajj scheme who slaughter goats/sheep in Indonesia is legally invalid. He explained that the Hajj dam is part of the Hajj rituals, where Hajj rituals are tauqifi in nature, meaning all sequences of Hajj rituals, both in time and place, are carried out as exemplified by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). “In the context of the Tamattu’ Dam Slaughter, the place is in the Holy Land, not outside the Holy Land,” said Kiai Miftah, his familiar nickname, quoted from MUI Digital, Tuesday (12/5/2026). Furthermore, Kiai Miftah explained that in Islamic Sharia, there is the principle of original law. If the original law cannot be implemented, for example, due to a valid religious excuse and hardship in its execution, then there is relief (rukhsah).