The ajfa' (emaciated) animal is the thin one that does not possess niqy (marrow) in its bones due to its emaciation, and niqy refers to the marrow. The poet said:

Do not complain of work as long as there is still marrow In a bone or joint, provided they have marrow

Such an animal is not valid [for sacrifice] because it has no meat; it is merely assembled bones. As for the lame animal whose lameness is evident, it is one that has a severe limp, which prevents it from keeping up with the herd to reach the pasture, thus it cannot catch up with them, leading to a loss in its meat; if the lameness is minor and does not lead to this, it is valid. As for the sick animal whose recovery is not expected, it is one that has an illness from which there is no hope of recovery, as this significantly diminishes its meat and value. Regarding what is in the hadith, "the sick animal whose sickness is evident," it refers to one whose effects are apparent upon it, as this diminishes and spoils its meat, and this is more correct. Al-Qadi mentioned that what is meant by the sick animal is the mangy one, because mange spoils the meat and causes emaciation if it is severe. This is the view of the companions of al-Shafi'i. This constitutes restricting the absolute (muqayyad) and specifying the general (takhsis) without evidence, whereas the meaning necessitates generality just as the wording requires it; for all sickness spoils and diminishes the meat, so there is no point in specifying it when the wording and meaning are general. As for the 'adab, it is the removal of more than half of the ear or horn, and this also prevents validity. This is the position of al-Nakha'i, Abu Yusuf, and Muhammad. Abu Hanifa and al-Shafi'i said: An animal with a broken horn is valid. Something similar was narrated from Ali, Ammar, Ibn al-Musayyib, and al-Hasan. Malik said: If its horn bleeds, it is not permissible; otherwise, it is permissible. 'Ata' and Malik said: If the entire ear is gone, it is not permissible, but if only a little is gone, it is permissible. They argued that the Prophet's (peace be upon him) statement, "Four are not permitted in sacrifices," indicates that anything else is valid, and because in the hadith of al-Bara', via 'Ubayd ibn Fayruz, he said: I said to al-Bara', "Indeed, I dislike any deficiency in the horn or the tail." He replied: