Q: We received a letter from Syria, the town of AlRaqqah, from H.S. in which he wrote: Some women frequently claim that a man appears to them in dream, saying, "Slaughter animals as a sacrifice to Allah and AlKhadir or you will be afflicted with diseases." It is also claimed that not offering these slaughtered animals will result in the death of some family members. May Allah benefit us and you!
A : Such dreams and their like are from Satan who uses them to call people to Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship). This is because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said in a Sahih (authentic) Hadith: "A good dream is from Allah and a bad dream is from Satan. Thus, whoever has seen (in a dream) something they dislike, they should spit drily thrice to their left side and seek refuge with Allah from its evil for it will not harm them." (Agreed upon by AlBukhari and Muslim)
If one sees such a dream or sees that they are beating another person, threatening to kill them, or the like, then such dreams are from Satan and they should spit drily thrice to their left side when they wake up and say "I seek refuge with Allah from Satan and from what I saw" thrice. After this, they should turn on their other side and they will not be harmed by it. They must not relate this dream to anyone.
It is known that slaughtering an animal as a sacrifice to Allah is an act of 'Ibadah (worship) that can be done at any time, such as Udhiyah (sacrificial animal offered by nonpilgrims) and Hady (sacrificial animal offered by pilgrims). However, sacrificing animals to AlKhadir or to any other prophet or Waliy (pious person) is Munkar (that which is unacceptable or disapproved of by Islamic law and Muslims of sound intellect) and Shirk, because animals should be sacrificed to Allah alone as an act of 'Ibadah, and sacrificing them to other than Him is Shirk.
Say (O Muhammad ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ): "Verily, my Salât (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allâh, the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinn and all that exists). "He has no partner. And of this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims."
Verily, We have granted you (O Muhammad ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ) A lKauthar (a river in Paradise). Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only).
"Allah has cursed the one who sacrifices to other than Allah." (Related by Muslim in his Sahih [Authentic Hadith Book]from the Hadith of 'Ali [may Allah be pleased with him])