The following questions are answered by our Shari’ah advisor Shaykh Ibrahim ibn Muhammad.
Is it permissible for me to pay for the uḍḥīyyah for my wife and older children?
Uḍḥīyyah is necessary on a sane adult who owns, in excess of their basic needs, anything which amounts to the value of 612.36 grams of silver on the day of ʿīd al aḍḥā. Anyone who fits this condition should pay for their own uḍḥīyyah. However, it is permissible for someone to pay on behalf of someone else. Furthermore, if there is a custom that the father pays for the uḍḥīyyah on behalf of everyone in his family, then everyone’s uḍḥīyyah will be valid even if they did not know and did not make the intention of uḍḥīyyah.[1]
[1] قال ابن عابدين (المتوفى: 1252هـ): ولو ضحى عن أولاده الكبار وزوجته لا يجوز إلا بإذنهم. وعن الثاني أنه يجوز استحسانا بلا إذنهم بزازية. قال في الذخيرة: ولعله ذهب إلى أن العادة إذا جرت من الأب في كل سنة صار كالإذن منهم، فإن كان على هذا الوجه فما استحسنه أبو يوسف مستحسن (رد المحتار: 6/315)