The Islamic Method of Slaughtering Animals

Question :

What is the correct Islamic method of slaughtering animals?

Answer:

A similar question to this was received by the Presidency and His Eminence, the Mufti, Shaikh Muhammad bin Ibrahim-may Allah have mercy on him. gave a clear answer, the text of which is as follows:

This department has received some questions regarding the legislated manner of Dhabh and Nahr. The questioner says :
that he has witnessed and knows of things which do not conform to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger Since this includes the particular and the general, we considered that the answer should be general in order to fulfill our obligation and to advise the (Muslim) community.

We say: You should know may Allah grant us and you success that slaughtering according to Islamic Law has conditions and Sunan attached to it, and therefore we shall begin with a general Hadith, after which we shall mention the conditions and the Sunan.

As for the Hadith, Muslim and the compilers of the Sunan recorded that Shaddad bin Aws, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that Allah's Messenger ﷺ said:
"Verily, Allah has enjoined Ihsan upon all things, so if you kill, then kill well and if you slaughter, then perform your slaughtering well, and each of you should make his knife sharp in order to soothe his sacrificial animal."

As for the conditions, they are four in number:

1. The fitness of the slaughterer: That he be discerning, whether he be a rational Muslim or one of the People of the Scripture whose parents are both from the People of the Scripture. The basis for this is in a Hadith confirmed in the Two Sahihs, on the authority of Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: "Allah's Messenger ﷺ said:
"Deeds are according to intentions, and every person shall have what he intended."

And, the Hadith confirmed in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad and the Sunan of Abu Dawud, on the authority of "Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'As, may Allah be pleased with them, from the Prophet ﷺ who said:

"Order your children to pray from seven years and beat them if they do not do so by ten years and separate them in their beds."

So every adult and every discerning person is described as rational. This is why the intention to perform an act of worship from a discerning person is correct. Allah, Most High, said:
"The food (slaughtered cattle, eatable animals) of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) is lawful to you.

It has been confirmed in Sahih Al-Bukhari, on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, that he explained their food as their slaughtered animals.

2. The instrument: It is permissible to use any instrument that causes the blood to flow by its blade. Except for teeth and claws. The basis for this is in the Hadith narrated by Al- Bukhari in his Sahih from the Prophet, ﷺ who said:
"Any (permissible) animal whose blood was let, you may eat, except with teeth and claws."

3. Cutting Al-Hulqum - which is the windpipe - and Al-Mari"- which is the esophagus and the two jugular veins. The basis of this is the Hadith confirmed in the Sunan of Abu Dawud, on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: "The Messenger of Allah forbade the cutting of Satan," (Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, added:) "That is the animal which is slaughtered and its skin is cut, but the jugular veins are not cut." And in the Sunan of Sa'id bin Mansur, on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, that he said: "If the blood is spilled and the jugular is cut, then eat." And its chain of narrators is Hasan. The location for cutting that was mentioned is the throat and the larynx, that is the depression between the start of the neck and the chest. It is not permissible in any other place, according to the consensus of the scholars. 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Slaughtering is in the larynx and the throat." And it was confirmed in the Sunan of Ad- Daraqutni, on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: "The Prophet sent Budail bin Warqa' to shout out in the roads between the mountains of Mina that the slaughter is in the throat and the larynx."

4. The Tasmiyyah: The slaughterer must say, as he is moving his hand during the slaughter: "Bismillah"; the basis of this is in the Words of Allah, Most High:
"Eat not (O believers) of that (meat) on which Allah's Name has not been pronounced (at the time of the slaughtering of the animal), for sure it is Fisą (a sin and disobedience of Allah).

And He, Most High says:
"So eat of that (meat) on which Allah's Name has been pronounced (while slaughtering the animal)"

So Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful has distinguished between the two cases and distinguished between the two rulings. But if he failed to mention Allah's Name due to forgetfulness, his slaughtered animal is permissible, accord- ing to the narration of Sa'id bin Mansur in his Sunan from the Prophet, who said:
"The animal slaughtered by a Muslim is permissible even if he did not mention Allah's Name over it, as long as it was not intentional."

If any of these conditions is not fulfilled, the slaughtered animal is not permissible.

As for the Sunan, they are:

1 & 2. That the instrument be sharp and that it be implemented. with strength, in accordance with the words of the Prophet ﷺ :
"Each of you should sharpen his knife and he should soothe his sacrificial animal."

3 & 4. Sharpening the knife while the animal to be slaughtered. does not see it, and concealing the sacrificial animal from the other animals at the time of slaughter. This is based upon the Hadith confirmed in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad, on the authority of 'Abdullah bin 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, in which he said that the Messenger of Allah ordered knives to be sharpened and to hide it (i.e. the slaughter) from the other animals. According to the Hadith which was confirmed in Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabir and Al- Mu'jam Al-Awsat by At-Tabarani whose narrators are all reliable on the authority of 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, he said: "The Messenger of Allah passed by a man who had placed his foot on the upper side of a sheep while he was sharpening his knife, and it was observing him with its eyes and he said:
"Would you not do this before? Do you wish to kill it twice?"

5. Facing it towards the Qiblah, because the Messenger of Allah did not slaughter any animal or offer any sacrificial beast unless he had turned it to face the Qiblah. The camel should be standing, and tied by its left foreleg, while the sheep and the cow are placed on their left sides.

6. Delaying the cutting of its neck and skinning it until it is cold, i.e., after its soul has departed. This is based upon the Hadith of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him: "The Prophet sent Budail Ibn Warqa' Al-Khaza'i to shout out in the roads between the mountains of Mina, with words (of advice), to call out (to the people) on a gray camel, among which were: "Do not hurry the souls before they die." Narrated by Ad-Daraqutni.

Slaughter According to the Islamic Law When slaughtering, some people cut the neck of the animal at two intervals. They pass the knife over its throat until it reaches the jugular vein, then they wait a while. After that, they cut the (second) jugular, then the animal dies. Regarding this, they say that it is not fitting to cut its neck in one motion, although some people do so, and they consider this to be a form of kindness to the animal, since the Messenger commanded that the knife be sharpened and the animal be soothed in the Hadith. What is your advice to all regarding this matter?

It is to cut first the and t better to cut first the larynx, the esophagus and the the esophagus. Then one should leave it until all of the blood has come out, because blood remaining in the veins might cause the meat to rot. Then once the bleeding has ceased, after that, one may cut the neck. If one cuts the neck at the start, or cuts the bone, there is no objection to that. And Allah knows better.