ভূমিকা

Ruling 2611. Slaughtering an animal has the following conditions: 1. the person slaughtering the animal must be a Muslim man or woman. The child of a Muslim who is mumayyiz – i.e. able to discern between right and wrong – can also slaughter an animal. If an animal is slaughtered by a disbeliever (kāfir) who is not from among the People of the Book (ahl al‑kitāb),[1] or by someone who is subject to the rules applicable to disbelievers, such as a nāṣibī,[2] the animal does not become lawful to eat.

In fact, if an animal is slaughtered by a disbeliever from among the People of the Book, even if he says ‘bismillāh’, the animal does not become lawful based on obligatory precaution; 2. as far as possible, the animal must be slaughtered with something made of iron; and based on obligatory precaution, a steel knife is not sufficient.

However, if an item made of iron is not available, the animal can be slaughtered using something sharp enough to sever the four ducts, such as a piece of glass or a stone, even if it is not urgent to slaughter the animal; 3. the animal must face the qibla[3] when being slaughtered. Therefore, if the animal is sitting or standing, it must face qibla in the same way a person faces qibla in prayers (ṣalāh).

If the animal is lying on its right or left side, the point where it is cut and its stomach must face qibla, but it is not necessary for its hands, feet, and face to face qibla. If someone knows that an animal must be slaughtered facing qibla and intentionally (ʿamdan) does not make it face qibla, the animal is unlawful to eat. However, there is no problem if he forgets or does not know the ruling about this or mistakes the direction of qibla.

If a person does not know the direction of qibla or cannot make the animal face qibla even with the help of someone else, then in case the animal is unruly or is in a well or has fallen into a pit and one is compelled to slaughter it, there is no problem in slaughtering it in any direction. The same applies if one fears that the delay caused by making it face qibla will result in its death.

If a Muslim does not believe that an animal must be slaughtered while facing qibla, the slaughter is still correct (ṣaḥīḥ) even if he does not make it face qibla. The recommended precaution (al‑iḥtiyāṭ al‑mustaḥabb) is for the person slaughtering the animal to also face qibla; 4.