Assalamualaykom Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Land animals which are permissible as food are of
two kinds. The first consists of those animals
which are tame or domesticated, such as camels,
cows, goats, poultry, and other fowl which are
raised on a farm or in the house, while untamed
and wild animals are of the second type. In order
to render their flesh halal, Islam requires that
animals of the first category be slaughtered in the
manner prescribed by Islam.
The Conditions of Islamic Slaughtering
According to the Shari'ah, the legal purification of
the flesh of animals requires that the following
conditions be met:
1. The animal should be slaughtered by a sharp
object which is capable of making it bleed by
severing blood vessels, even if the sharp object is a
stone or a piece of wood. 'Adi bin Hatim narrated
that he said to the Prophet (peace be on him), "O
Messenger of Allah, we go hunting and sometimes
we do not have a knife with us. We may find a
sharp rock or a piece of wood or a reed."
The Prophet (peace be on him) said: "The object is
to make it bleed with whatever you have and
mention the name of Allah over it.''
Narrated Adi ibn Hatim: I said: Apostle of Allah, tell
me when one of us catches game and has no
knife; may he slaughter with a flint and a splinter
of stick. He said: Cause the blood to flow with
whatever you like and mention Allah's name.
(Abu Daoud, Book #15, Hadith #2818)
2. The slaughtering is to be done by cutting the
throat of the animal or by piercing the hollow of
the throat, causing its death. The best way is to
cut the windpipe, the gullet, and the two jugular
veins. (Some jurists have cited further conditions,
but we have omitted them as we did not find
explicit texts mentioning them. The slaughtering of
animals is known instinctively to all people, and to
go into depth and detail concerning it does not
accord with Islam, which keeps matters easy and
simple. The more details these jurists have
attempted to list, the more confusion they have
caused; for example, is it necessary to cut all four
parts - the windpipe, the gullet and the two jugular
veins - or only some of them? Should the knife
point downward or upward? Can the hand be
raised before the slaughtering is completed or not?
and so on, without end, with each alternative
answer to these questions finding support among
some jurists.)
However, if it becomes impossible to slaughter the
animal in the specified manner, this second
condition is cancelled; for example, the animal may
have fallen headlong into a well so that its throat
is inaccessible, or it may become wild and start
kicking and running. Such cases are treated in the
manner of game animals and it is sufficient to
wound the animal at any place to make it bleed.
Narrated Abaya bin Rifaa: My grandfather, Rafi
said, "We were in the company of the Prophet at
DhulHulaifa, and the people suffered from hunger.
We got some camels and sheep (as booty) and the
Prophet was still behind the people. They hurried
and put the cooking pots on the fire. (When he
came) he ordered that the cooking pots should be
upset and then he distributed the booty (amongst
the people) regarding ten sheep as equal to one
camel then a camel fled and the people chased it
till they got tired, as they had a few horses (for
chasing it). So a man threw an arrow at it and
caused it to stop (with Allah's Permission). On
that the Prophet said, 'Some of these animals
behave like wild beasts, so, if any animal flee from
you, deal with it in the same way." My grandfather
asked (the Prophet ), "We hope (or are afraid) that
we may meet the enemy tomorrow and we have no
knives. Can we slaughter our animals with canes?"
Allah's Apostle replied, "If the instrument used for
killing causes the animal to bleed profusely and if
Allah's Name is mentioned on killing it, then eat its
meat (i.e. it is lawful) but won't use a tooth or a
nail and I am telling you the reason: A tooth is a
bone (and slaughtering with a bone is forbidden ),
and a nail is the slaughtering instrument of the
Ethiopians."
(Sahih Al Bukhari,Book #52, Hadith #309)
No name other than Allah's should be mentioned
over the animal at the time of slaughter;
concerning this condition there is a consensus
among all the jurists. The people of the time of
jahiliyyah sought to propitiate their deities and
idols by sacrificing animals to them, either by
invoking their names while slaughtering or by
immolating them on altars specified for them. As
mentioned previously, the Qur'an prohibited all this
in the words,
“Forbidden to you are.......that which has been
dedicated to anyone other than Allah.......and that
which has been sacrificed to idols....”
(Al Quran 5:3)
3. The name of Allah should be mentioned while
slaughtering the animal. (The correct manner of
mentioning the name of Allah at slaughtering is,
"Bismillah Allahu akbar" (in the name of God, God
is the most great). On this occasion the words al-
Rahman al-Raheem (the Compassionate, the
Merciful) do not follow Bismillah as they ordinarily
do, since slaughtering is not an act of mercy.
(Trans.))
This is clear from Qur'anic texts and ahadith. Allah
Ta'ala says: Then eat of that over which the name
of Allah has been mentioned, if you believe in His
signs. (Al Quran 6:118)
And do not eat of that over which the name of
Allah has not been mentioned, for truly that is
impiety.... (Al Quran 6:121)
This condition is further supported by other sound
ahadith which state that Allah's name must be
pronounced while hunting just before an arrow is
shot or a hunting dog is sent for the chase. This
point will be discussed later in the section on
hunting.
Some scholars are of the opinion that although the
name of Allah must be mentioned, it is not
necessary to mention it at the time of slaughtering
the animal; one can mention it at the time of
eating, since in that case it cannot be held that it
was eaten without mentioning the name of Allah
over it. In the Sahih of al-Bukhari we find a hadith
Narrated 'Aisha: A group of people said to the
Prophet, "Some people bring us meat and we do
not know whether they have mentioned Allah's
Name or not on slaughtering the animal." He said,
"Mention Allah's Name on it and eat." Those
people had embraced Islam recently.
(Sahih al-Bukhari Book #67, Hadith #415)
(The correct invocation when one begins to eat or
drink is Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem, "In the
name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,"
coupled with a supplication such as, Allahumma,
barik lana fi ma razaqtana wa qina adhab an-nar,
"Our Lord, bless us in what You have provided for
us and save us from the punishment of the
Fire." (Trans.)
(Originally Written by: Yusuf al-Qaradawi, modified
by inserting right Hadeeth with complete
reference.)
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