the islamic way of slaughtering animals

Slaughtering Animals In Islam: The Islamic Way Of Halal  Slaughter Process And Sayings

The Islamic way of slaughtering animals is unique from many aspects, and that’s what we will discuss today.

The day of Eid al-Adha is about sacrificing for Allah (Only True God), and giving to His servants. Islam encourages sacrifice for the sake of God as it shows sincerity and dedication, and brings benefit to the person himself and to the community around him.

As a symbol of sacrifice, and as a means of bringing people closer, the Qurban must be slaughtered with great care. The Islamic way of slaughtering animals is unique in many aspects, and that’s what we will discuss today.

Islamic Method of Slaughtering

Here are rulings of halal slaughter process

1. No Emotional Harm

No animal should be slaughtered in a place where it can smell the blood of another animal, or hear any sounds that might frighten it.

2. No frightening:

When being brought to the place where it is to be slaughtered, it should not be frightened nor should excessive force be used to bring it to that place.

The Prophet offered as sacrifices, two horned rams, black and white in color. He slaughtered them with his own hands and mentioned Allah’s Name over them and said Takbir and put his foot on their sides.” 

عَنْ أَنَسٍ، قَالَ ضَحَّى النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِكَبْشَيْنِ أَمْلَحَيْنِ أَقْرَنَيْنِ، ذَبَحَهُمَا بِيَدِهِ، وَسَمَّى وَكَبَّرَ وَوَضَعَ رِجْلَهُ عَلَى صِفَاحِهِمَا‏.‏

(Hadith)

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) demonstrated with this action how he calmed down the animals before slaughtering them.

3- Slaughter By Expert For No-Pain

The animal should be slaughtered by someone who knows what they are doing, to ensure that the animal does not suffer. That is, not only must the animal be physically healthy, it should be in a positive mental state, not afraid, and not angry, and it should die as quickly as possible. Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

Verily Allah has prescribed ihsan (perfection) in all things. Thus if you kill, kill well; and if you slaughter, slaughter well. Let each one of you sharpen his blade and let him spare suffering to the animal he slaughters.” 

“‏ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَتَبَ الإِحْسَانَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ فَإِذَا قَتَلْتُمْ فَأَحْسِنُوا الْقِتْلَةَ وَإِذَا ذَبَحْتُمْ فَأَحْسِنُوا الذَّبْحَ وَلْيُحِدَّ أَحَدُكُمْ شَفْرَتَهُ فَلْيُرِحْ ذَبِيحَتَهُ ‏”‏ ‏.‏

[Muslim]

4. Follow the Fast And Easy Way:

Its throat should be cut to allow all the blood flow to come out. The Prophet said,

Eat what is slaughtered (with any instrument) that makes blood flow out, except what is slaughtered with a tooth or a nail.’ 

كُلْ ـ يَعْنِي ـ مَا أَنْهَرَ الدَّمَ إِلاَّ السِّنَّ وَالظُّفُرَ

[Narrated Rafi bin Khadij]

5. Care Of Animal

Intensive care should be taken of the animal while it’s alive. Ibn ‘Umar narrated:

The Prophet cursed the one who did Muthla to an animal (i e., cut its limbs or some other part of its body while it is still alive)”.
عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، لَعَنَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَنْ مَثَّلَ بِالْحَيَوَانِ

(Hadith)


The prophet also disliked the branding of animals on the face. Jabir said,
“The Prophet forbade beating (animals) on the face.”

وَعَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ: نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ الضَّرْبِ فِي الْوَجْهِ وَعَنِ الْوَسْمِ فِي الْوَجْه. 

(Hadith)

What to say before slaughtering an animal in islam?

The only required halal slaughter prayer (Dua’a) is (Bismi Allah, Allahu Akbar): In the name of Allah, Allah is Greater.
By mentioning the name of the Creator while slaughtering his creation and consuming it, it becomes permissible and is also a form of thanking to Him.

In addition to that, there are other dua for slaughtering animals in Islam that can be said while sacrificing for God. 

You may say: (O Allah, This is from you and to you, this is for me and my household.) and if he is slaughtering on behalf of another, he says this is for (so and so). (reference below)

How to slaughter a goat in Islam?

If you want to slaughter an animal in Islam, you need to follow the following instructions.

‘A’isha reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) commanded that a ram with black legs, black belly and black (circles) round the eyes should be brought to him, so that he should sacrifice it. He said to ‘A’isha: Give me the large knife, and then said: Sharpen it on a stone.

She did that. He then took it (the knife) and then the ram; he placed it on the ground and then sacrificed it, saying: Bismillah, Allah-humma Taqabbal min Muhammadin wa Al-i-Muhammadin, wa min Ummati Muhammadin (In the name of Allah,” O Allah, accept [this sacrifice] on behalf of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad and the Umma of Muhammad” ).

حَدَّثَنَا هَارُونُ بْنُ مَعْرُوفٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ وَهْبٍ، قَالَ قَالَ حَيْوَةُ أَخْبَرَنِي أَبُو صَخْرٍ، عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ قُسَيْطٍ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَمَرَ بِكَبْشٍ أَقْرَنَ يَطَأُ فِي سَوَادٍ وَيَبْرُكُ فِي سَوَادٍ وَيَنْظُرُ فِي سَوَادٍ فَأُتِيَ بِهِ لِيُضَحِّيَ بِهِ فَقَالَ لَهَا ‏”‏ يَا عَائِشَةُ هَلُمِّي الْمُدْيَةَ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ قَالَ ‏”‏ اشْحَذِيهَا بِحَجَرٍ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ فَفَعَلَتْ ثُمَّ أَخَذَهَا وَأَخَذَ الْكَبْشَ فَأَضْجَعَهُ ثُمَّ ذَبَحَهُ ثُمَّ قَالَ ‏”‏ بِاسْمِ اللَّهِ اللَّهُمَّ تَقَبَّلْ مِنْ مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَمِنْ أُمَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ ضَحَّى بِهِ ‏.‏

(Reference)

Is Islamic Slaughtering cruel to Animals? 

No, Islamic slaughter is the method that shows the highest level of mercy towards animals, and glorifying the One Who Created them.  Islamic slaughter insures minimal pain for animals, best quality of meat and thanking the Creator when consuming His creation.

Thus, sacrificing for the sake of God is not cruel.  The principle of Qurbani in Islam is filled with mercy and wisdom.

Animal consumption is Halal

Animals are food for consumption. Indeed, Allah, the Creator of everything, has made it permissible to consume it, and clarified what is forbidden (Haram) of it. And regardless of whether you can see how they get slaughtered behind the scenes or only see the nice grilled steak on your plate, the reality of slaughter is the same.

The Islamic way is against the cruel modern ways of slaughtering that neglects to mention or thank the One Who Created these blessings for us. Rather, the Islamic way insures minimal suffering, and most importantly, the remembrance of God and thanking Him for his blessings, while enjoying it.

Muslims do that publicly because it is meant to be shared; shared with family and shared with the poor and needy.

Do animals feel pain when slaughtered halal?

No. Halal slaughtering process ensures that animals feel the least pain possible. With calming the animal before the process, keeping them away from each other,  and the cutting of throat vines (Which drains blood in the brain), any pain the animal experiences would only last a few seconds maximum, which is the minimal amount in a natural process.

Halal slaughter vs regular

Nowadays, animal cruelty in slaughtering may turn many away from consuming animal meat. Not only due to the hardships of the animals but the bad impact on the quality of meat resulting from it.

The halal slaughtering process doesn’t use drugs and makes sure nearly all blood is drained from the body. Therefore, meat is clean and good for human consumption.  Halal slaughtering also unlike regular slaughter, makes sure to mention (Allah’s Name), The Creator, before slaughtering His creation. This part alone, compared to how God is forgotten in the regular modern slaughtering process, is enough to make halal way superior. 

Glorifying Allah is the best act anyone can do, especially when he enjoys Allah’s  blessings. Also, thanking Allah for them is one of the best ways to glorify the All-Mighty

Conclusion

To conclude, do you want to know more about how Islam asks the believers to treat animals? Read the following article for more about Islam mercy and kindness to animals!

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