Chapters on Slaughtering
كتاب الذبائح
Chapter 1: `Aqiqah
“I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say:‘Onbehalf of a boy, two sheep of equal age and on behalf of a girlonesheep.’”
“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)commanded us to sacrifice two sheep for a boy’s ‘Aqiqah and onesheepfor a girl.”
“For a boy there should be an ‘Aqiqah, so shed blood for him andremove the harm from him.”
“Every boyismortgaged by his ‘Aqiqah, so slaughter for him on the seventh day,and shave his head, and name him.”
“Offeran‘Aqiqah for the boy, but do not smear his head with blood.”
Chapter 2: The far`ah and the `atirah
“A man called the Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, we used to sacrifice the‘Atirah during the Ignorance days in Rajab,; what do you command ustodo?’ He said: “Sacrifice to Allah whatever month it is, dogood forthe sake of Allah and feed (the poor).’ They said: ‘OMessenger ofAllah, we used to sacrifice the Far’ah during theIgnorance days; whatdo you command us to do?’ He said: ‘Forevery Sa’imah* (flock ofgrazing animals), feed the firstborn asyou feed the rest of yourflock until it reaches an age where itcould be used to carry loads,then sacrifice it, and give its meat incharity’ – I** think he said –‘to the wayfarer, for that isgood.’”
“Thereisno Far’ah and no ‘Atirah.”
“There is no Far’ah and no ‘Atirah.”
Chapter 3: If you slaughter then slaughter well
“Allah has prescribed Al-Ihsan (proficiency) in allthings. So ifyou kill, then kill well, and if you slaughter, thenslaughter well.Let one of you sharpen his blade and spare sufferingto the animal heslaughters.”
“The Prophet (ﷺ)passed by a man who was dragging a sheep by its ear. He said: ‘Leaveits ear alone and hold it by the sides of its neck.’”
Chapter 4: Mentioning the name of Allah when slaughtering
“And certainly, the Shayatin(devils)do inspire their friends (from mankind).” [6:121] He said:“Theyused to say: ‘Whatever the Name of Allah has been mentionedover,do not eat it, and whatever the Name of Allah has not beenmentionedover, eat it.’ Then Allah said: “Eat not of that over whichAllah’s Name has not been pronounced.’” [6:121]
“O Messenger of Allah, some people bring us meat, andwedo not know whether the Name of Allah has been mentioned over itornot.” He said: “Say: Bismillah and eat.’ They were new inIslam.
Chapter 5: With what animals may be slaughtered
“I slaughtered tworabbitswith a sharp-edges stone and brought them to the Prophet(ﷺ), andhe told me to eat them.”
It wasnarrated from Zaid bin Thabit that a wolf bit a sheep, andtheyslaughtered it with a sharp-edged stone, and the Messenger ofAllah(ﷺ) allowed them to eat it.
“I said: ‘O Messenger ofAllah, we hunt game but we cannot find anything but the sharp edge ofa stone or stick (with which to slaughter it).’ He said: ‘Causetheblood to flow with whatever you want, and mention the Name ofAllahover it.’”
“We were with the Prophet(ﷺ) on a journey, and I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, we are(sometimes) on military campaigns, and we have no knife with us.’Hesaid: ‘(Use) whatever causes the blood to flow, mention the NameofAllah and eat, but (do not use) teeth or nails, for the tooth is abone and the nail is the knife of the Ethiopians.”
Chapter 6: Skinning (the slaughtered animals)
“Step aside and I will show you how.”The Messengerof Allah (ﷺ) put his hand between the skin and theflesh, and thrusthis arm in until it disappeared up to the armpit,and said: “O boy,this is how you skin it.” Then he went and ledthe people in prayerand did not perform Wudu’.
Chapter 7: Prohibition of slaughtering lactating animals
“Avoid those that are lactating.” (i.e. thosefromwhich milk is received).