Slaughtering method and concern
Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds.
May Allah raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad
and the ranks of Prophets Adam, Noah, Ibrahim, Musa (Moses)
and ^Isa (Jesus) and the rank of their brethrens in
prophet-hood, their righteous followers and their
companions; and may Allah protect the nation
of prophet Muhammad from that which he fears for it.
Thereafter:
We
sadly received the news about
pertaining to the transportation of sheep and farm animals
over long distances for slaughtering and about the
slaughtering method and concern for the apparent cruel
manner in which animals are being treated during
transportation to overseas countries and handling upon
arrival to their destinations.
Hence, in our following
response to this inquiry we will substantiate our statements
drawing on evidence from the Qur’an, the
sayings of Prophet Muhammad and scholarly
statements, to assure you that animal cruelty is against
Islamic teachings and prescriptions.
We also take this opportunity
to describe in detail the characteristics of slaughtering
animals according to the authentic Halal
method, deeming the meat edible by Islamic standards.
Islam prescribed a slaughtering
method that allows for the least agony to animals. This
method is by cutting the air pipe and food and water canal (oesophagus)
with what has a sharp blade, with the condition that the
person slaughtering is a Muslim, Christian or Jew.
Upon satisfying these
conditions on an edible animal which was steadily alive,
consumption of the slaughtered animal becomes permissible
upon the person who is confident that these integrals were
satisfied. Thus the slaughtered animal is Halal.
However, if the death of the
edible animal occurred by a blunt object or other means such
as the animal died from the impact of a high fall, or by
drowning, or by an electric shock, or by choking, or
something that kills on impact like being squashed under a
huge descending rock, it becomes unlawful to consume that
animal. Hence the animal is considered non-Halal.
Many of these methods result
to animal torment, cruelty and longer death, which are
absolutely not tolerated in Islam under any circumstances.
This ill-practice is rampant in many slaughter houses in
Australia. In contrast to the mediated view, many slaughter
houses in Australia who testify to being Halal
certified, do not slaughter the cattle and farm animals in
complete accordance to the Islamic rules. It has been
observed that the cow is stunned
on the
forehead
with a
captive
bolt which penetrates the skull or with a percussion
stunning mushroom head (non-penetrating)
before slaughtering.
The bolt is
driven into the animal's brain, killing the animal and
reducing it instantly unconscious. Proceeding to cutting the
throat of these dead animals does not render them
Halal.
As
for the
percussion
stunning mushroom head
on the forehead, it incapacitates the animal by its velocity
sending it unconscious before slaughtering. This method
however, does not ensure a state of non-death. It does
however cause extensive damage to the blood vessels of the
brain in the process of producing unconsciousness. All of
this causes immense torture and suffering to the animal
prior to slaughtering.
However, in the case where sheep are electrocuted ahead of
slaughtering and chickens are placed on automatic conveyer
belts into a water basin with an electric current running
through it ahead of slaughtering, two matters arise. If the
electric current is enough to only temporarily incapacitate
the animal before slaughtering, and providing that if left
alone the animal will regain its strength and return to its
original stand, it is permissible to proceed to slaughter
the animal by hand and according to other Islamic rules, and
to consume the animal after slaughtering. Hence, it is
certified as
Halal.
But, if the electric shock or electric current paralyses the
animal to a state of death or near death such that in the
absence of being slaughtered the animal will not regain its
original stand but will die slowly, it becomes unlawful to
consume from that animal if slaughtered. This is the case
even if all other Islamic integrals are satisfied during its
slaughtering process. Islam considers this situation like
slaughtering a dead animal. Hence, it cannot be certified as
Halal.
The best practice according to
Islam is to avoid using electrocution prior to slaughtering
the animal by Islamic rules, even if it does not kill the
animal prior to cutting its throat.
Islamic Proof 1:
This is evidenced by the saying
of Prophet Muhammad which means: “Allah
has willed the right of goodness upon most things. So, let
the one who is slaughtering sharpen his blade and relieve
his slaughter by killing it quickly.” This
saying was related by Imam Muslim from the
route of Shaddad the son of Aws.
Moreover, it is unlawful for a
person to eat from the slaughtered animal if one cannot
identify or determine that the slaughterer is one of the
three classes of people whose slaughtering is lawfully
edible according to Islam. Doubting about whether the
slaughterer is among those three recognized categories of
people eligible to slaughter animals, deems the consumption
of the slaughtered animal non- Halal and
unlawful according to Islam. Hence, to satisfy the
certification of being Halal, the
slaughterer must be identified without a doubt as being a
Muslim, a Christian or a Jew.
Islamic Proof 2:
This is evidenced by the
sayings of the scholars of Islam like Ibn Hajar
Al-Haytamiy, Al-Suyutiy from the
Shafi^y school, Al-Qarafiy from the
Malikiy school and others. Indeed a
consensus exists that having doubt whether the slaughter
process of an edible animal has satisfied Islamic procedures
or if there is doubt in the validity of any one or more
integrals thereof, deems the consumption of that slaughtered
animal unlawful upon the one who is in doubt.
Islam also prescribes best
practice of slaughtering edible animals in what is listed
below as ethical and preferred deeds, outlining to what
extent Islam shows concern towards easing the animal’s pain
and suffering. It is desirable:
1.
To
sharpen the blade away from the sight of the animal to be
slaughtered, to slash the throat (wind, food and water
pipes) in one fast back and forth motion applying pressure
to instantly kill and relieve the slaughter.
2.
To
request of comfortable place on which to slaughter the
animal, because it alleviated unnecessary stress to the
animal while being slaughtered.
3.
To
face the slaughter’s neck towards the direction of the
Qiblah (i.e direction of prayer-Ka^bah in
Makkah) and for the slaughterer to also face his body in the
direction of the Qiblah when slaughtering. This
practice is in the tradition of Prophet Muhammad
as relayed by the two renowned scholars of Islam Al-Bukhariy
and Muslim and because the Qiblah
is the most honourable direction to face.
4.
To
mention only the name of Allah whilst
cutting the throat, as if to say: “Bismillah” or
“In the name of Allah”.
a.
Islamic
Proof 3:
Evidence to this practice is drawn from the meaning of the
Quranic verse: {Eat from the slaughtering upon
which the name of Allah has been mentioned}.
This is also in adherence to the tradition of
Prophet Muhammad as mentioned by Imams
Al-Bukhariy and Muslim.
5.
The
best practice mentioned in Islam is to
cut the jugular veins and carotid
arteries on both sides of the neck with the air pipe and
oesophagus, because it is less distressing to the animal.
6.
After cutting through the jugular veins and carotid artery,
the preferred conduct is to cease cutting right through,
leaving the spinal cord intact and not separating the head
completely, because such is an undesirable slaughtering
practice.
7.
To
avoid doing the following things after slaughtering the
animal until the soul completely exits the body: to avoid
cuting through excessively, commencing skinning the animal,
breaking the spinal cord, breaking any body parts, setting
alight the slaughtered animal and to not move it from its
spot. Also holding down the animal in order to suppress its
jerking motion in the process of its death, until the animal
comes to a complete stillness.
8.
To
transport the animal to its slaughter house in a kind manner
that avoids distressing and harming the animal. To offer it
a sip of water and lay it down kindly before slaughtering
it. Also to not slaughter one animal in view of another.
Hence
forth, in reference to the conditions of transport, the
slaughtering process and the handling of the cattle
described to us in the inquiry and associated graphics,
there is no doubt that such practices are against the
practice inscribed by Islam. Some of these practices oppose
the integrals of slaughtering rendering the slaughtered
animal non-Halal
for consumption. Other practices oppose the ethical and
desirable best practice of traditional slaughtering methods,
which does not alone render the slaughter as non-Halal
for consumption providing the integrals of slaughtering as
mentioned above had been satisfied.
However, the procedures
described seem to be against what is considered by Islam as
ethical and desirable practice on several fronts, one of
which concerns the handling of the animals by employees and
is of two types. One type of handling does not seem to reach
the level of sinful act, even though it is against the
preferred traditional practice of the Prophet. The other
type of handling does seem to be in violation and a sinful
act.
Certainly, in adherence to
Islamic judgments, we strongly advice that the integrals and
preferred practices are adhered to and that kind methods are
employed in transporting and handling the animals to their
slaughter houses.
Islamic Proof 4:
To this Imam Al-Bukhariy
in his book al-Jami^ al-Sahih
in the section on al-Adab (i.e. Ethics), chapter
‘Kindness to People and Animals’, mentions that the Prophet
Muhammad said what means: “Those who are not
merciful to others, will not be granted the ultimate mercy
[i.e. will be subject to punishment]”.
In further explaining this
saying the scholar Ibn Hajar, in his book
‘Fath Al-Bari’ –the explanation of
Sahih Al-Bukhariy said: “Ibn
Battal said: ‘this statement [the abovementioned
saying of the prophet] urges for the kind and merciful
treatment of all creatures including animals owned and
un-owned. Merciful and kind treatment includes responsibly
providing food and water and to not over work the animal or
over load it with unbearable weight and to refrain from
physically abusing the animal by hitting it.’”
Islamic Proof 5:
Imam Muslim
in his book As-Sahih,
in the section on ‘Benevolence, Keeping Ties and Ethics’, in
the chapter on ‘The Unlawfulness of Inflicting Harm on Cats
and the Like’, the Prophet Muhammad said
what means: “A woman was tortured after her
death because of her treatment to a cat. She had imprisoned
a cat until it died. So, the woman entered hellfire because
of that deed. She did not feed the cat, nor gave it water
nor did she free the cat to enable it to eat from the bugs
of the earth. Instead she kept it imprisoned until it died.”
Islamic Proof 6:
Imams Al-Bukhariy
and Muslim related that the Prophet Muhammad
said what means: “As a man was walking in the
street, he became very thirsty. He found a well and
descended in it and drank. As he climbed out he saw a dog
panting in thirst for water and scavenging the earth dust in
desperation. The man said: ‘this dog probably feels as
thirsty as I did’. So he climbed down the well again and
filled his shoe with water and climbed back up clinching on
to the shoe by his teeth and offered the water for the dog
to drink and the dog drank it. Allah accepted this
good deed from the man and pardoned him from all prior
sins.”
The companions asked the
Prophet: “O Prophet of Allah, do we earn
rewards for treating animals with goodness?”
The Prophet explained that,
approaching animals with goodness such as to give them food
and/or water, is a rewardable deed.
Imam An-Nawawiy,
in his explanation of ‘Sahih Muslim,’
in the Chapter on ‘Giving Food and Drink to the Regarded
Animals (Such
as cattle and sheep)
relayed the saying which depicts this understanding.
Hence, this saying instructs
one to treat well all regarded animals. Then the prophet
said: “The rewardable deeds to regarded animals include such
deeds as feeding them or giving them water and being kind to
those animals, irrespective of whether the animal belongs to
someone or not, or whether the animal is your own or not.”
May we be among those who learn
the correct methods and apply them.
