Conditions for Valid Slaughter

These conditions are divided into three categories: --- **I. CONDITIONS FOR THE SLAUGHTERER:** **1. Qualification:** The slaughterer must be **sane and discerning** - whether male or female, Muslim or Kitabi (People of the Book). **Evidence:** - "Except what you slaughter" [Al-Ma'idah: 3] - for Muslim slaughter - "And the food of those given the Scripture is lawful for you" [Al-Ma'idah: 5] - for Kitabi slaughter - Ibn Abbas said: "Their food means their slaughtered animals" **Who cannot slaughter:** - Non-Kitabi disbelievers (idol worshippers, etc.) - The insane - The drunk - Undiscerning children --- **2. Not slaughtering for other than Allah:** If one slaughters for an idol, a saint, a prophet - it is forbidden. **Evidence:** "And that which has been dedicated to other than Allah" [Al-Ma'idah: 3]. --- **II. CONDITIONS FOR THE SLAUGHTERED ANIMAL:** **1. Cut the throat, esophagus, and two jugular veins:** - **Hulqum (حلقوم):** The windpipe (airway) - **Mari' (مريء):** The esophagus (food passage) - **Wadajan (ودجان):** The two jugular veins on either side of the throat **Evidence:** The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whatever causes blood to flow and Allah's name is mentioned, eat it - except teeth and nails" [Bukhari & Muslim]. The slaughter at this specific location is the fastest way to drain blood and hasten death - making the meat better and easier on the animal. **Animals caught by fatal causes** (strangled, beaten, fallen, gored, eaten by predator) - if one reaches them while they still have clear signs of life (moving limbs or blinking eyes) and slaughters them - they are halal. **For animals beyond reach** (wild game, bolted livestock, fallen in a well) - wounding them anywhere on the body counts as slaughter. --- **2. Mention Allah's name:** Say "Bismillah" when slaughtering. **Evidence:** "And do not eat of that upon which Allah's name has not been mentioned, for indeed it is grave disobedience" [Al-An'am: 121]. It is **Sunnah** to add takbir (Allahu Akbar) with the tasmiyah. **Evidence:** When the Prophet ﷺ slaughtered his sacrifice, "he named [Allah] and made takbir" [Muslim]. In another narration: "Bismillah wa Allahu Akbar." --- **III. CONDITION FOR THE SLAUGHTER INSTRUMENT:** The instrument must be **sharp** and cause blood to flow - iron, copper, stone, or anything else that cuts the throat and drains blood - **except teeth and nails**. **Evidence:** The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whatever causes blood to flow and Allah's name is mentioned, eat it - except teeth and nails" [Bukhari & Muslim]. All types of bones are included in the prohibition, whether human or animal. **Why teeth and nails are forbidden:** - **Teeth:** They are bones (and bones are food for the jinn - forbidden to defile with blood) - **Nails:** The Prophet ﷺ said they are "the knives of the Abyssinians" - forbidden to imitate disbelievers