He is studying in the west; should he offer the udhiyah (sacrifice) there or appoint someone to do it on his behalf in his own country?
Question

                I am a student in a western country, and I live in a city where there is no Muslim community, apart from a few people; I do not know who among them is poor and in need of the udhiyah meat. Is it better for me to offer the sacrifice in the country where I am studying, or to appoint someone in my country to offer the sacrifice on my behalf?
Praise be to Allah.
		What is prescribed is for the sacrifice to be offered in 
		the place where the person offering the sacrifice is, as it is 
		prescribed for the person offering the sacrifice to slaughter the animal 
		himself and eat from it. The purpose of the sacrifice is not only to 
		obtain the meat; rather the purpose is to make manifest this symbol of 
		Islam. 

	Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used 
	to slaughter the meat for the udhiyah and ‘aqeeqah in his house in Madinah 
	and he did not send any of that to Makkah, even though it is superior to 
	Madinah and there were poor people there who might have been in greater need 
	than the poor of Madinah. Yet it was limited to the place where Allah 
	prescribed the act of worship should be done. So he did not slaughter the 
	hadiy (sacrifice offered by the pilgrim during Hajj) in Madinah and he did 
	not send meat from the udhiyah and ‘aqeeqah to Makkah. Rather each type of 
	sacrifice was slaughtered in the place where it was prescribed for it to be 
	slaughtered. “The best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (blessings 
	and peace of Allah be upon him) and the worst of matters are those which are 
	newly invented, and every innovation is a going astray.”

	End quote from al-Muntaqa min Fataawa al-Fawzaan 
	(50/10) 

	This is the basic principle, that a person’s sacrifices 
	should be offered in the place where he himself is, and he should not 
	appoint someone to do it on his behalf in another country. But if the one 
	who wants to offer the sacrifice is in one country and his family are in 
	another country, if he is able to offer two sacrifices, one in the country 
	where he is and the other where his family are, then this is best. But if he 
	is not able to do that, then there is nothing wrong with him sending money 
	to his family so that they can offer the sacrifice on his behalf in their 
	country. 

	Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was 
	asked: 

	The worker who comes to this country is far away from his own 
	land, and he has children there, and they are in greater need than those who 
	are here. Is it better for him to offer his sacrifice here, or to send 
	something to them so that they can offer the sacrifice on his behalf there? 
	You know how great their need is in some Muslim countries. 

	He replied: 

	What I think should be done in this case is to offer the 
	sacrifice here and there. If he cannot do that, then he should offer the 
	sacrifice there, so that his family can enjoy the meat of the sacrifice 
	during these blessed days.

	End quote from al-Liqa’ ash-Shahri (1/440) 

	He was also asked: 

	We are not among the people of this land, and it is no secret 
	to you that our families are in great need of the sacrifice and to be able 
	to benefit from the meat and skin. Most of them are poor. Can we send the 
	price of the sacrifice to them, and appoint someone to do it on our behalf? 
	Please note that the purpose behind it is to practice the ritual openly. 

	He replied:

	If a person is in one country and his family are in another 
	country, there is nothing wrong with him appointing someone to offer the 
	sacrifice on his behalf where his family are, so as to bring joy to his 
	family and let them benefit from the meat, because if he offers the 
	sacrifice in the foreign country, then who will eat of its meat? Perhaps he 
	will not find anyone to whom he can give it in charity. Therefore we think 
	that if a person has a family elsewhere, he should send them the price of 
	the sacrifice, so that they can do the sacrifice there. 

	End quote from al-Liqa’ ash-Shari (2/306) 

	And Allah knows best.