By: Dr. Yusuf Al Qardawi

Prohibited Terrestrial Animals
As far as terrestrial or land animals are concerned, Allah has prohibited only the eating of pork, the flesh of any animal which dies of itself or is sacrificed to anyone other than Allah, and the drinking of blood. These prohibitions are explicitly mentioned in the text of the Qur’an, comprising, as we have seen, four major and ten minor categories.

At the same time, the Qur’an says concerning the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him): He…makes lawful to them what is good and makes unlawful what is foul…. (7:157)

Foul things are those which, although some individuals may like them, people generally find detestable. As an instance of this, on the day of the confrontation of Khaibar, the Prophet (peace be on him) forbade the eating of the flesh of domesticated donkeys.1

Another example of the same thing is provided by a hadith narrated by both al-Bukhari and Muslim, which states that the Prophet (peace be on him) “forbade the eating of any wild animals with a canine tooth and of any bird with talons.” “Wild animals” denotes those which prey on others and devour them by tearing them apart, e.g., the lion, leopard, wolf, and the like; birds with talons such as the hawk, eagle, falcon, etc., do the same.

According to Ibn ‘Abbas, nothing is haram other than the four categories mentioned in the Qur’an, while what the Prophet (peace be on him) forbade, such as beasts of prey, are to be regarded as makruh (detestable) rather than reaching the degree of haram. Said Ibn ‘Abbas: The people of the time of jahiliyyah ate certain foods and avoided others, according to their whim. Then Allah sent His Prophet (peace be on him) and revealed His Book, and He legislated what is permissible and what is prohibited. Accordingly, what He permitted is halal, what He prohibited is haram, and that concerning which He is silent is allowed. Ibn ‘Abbas then recited, Say: I do not find in what is revealed to me anything prohibited to an eater in his food. Say: I do not find in what is revealed to me anything prohibited to an eater in his food. Say: I do not find in what is revealed to me anything prohibited to an eater in his food. (6:145)2

On the basis of this ayah, Ibn ‘Abbas argued that the flesh of domesticated donkeys is permissible. Imam Malik agrees with him on this matter, considering beasts of prey makruh rather than haram.

The jurists agree that cutting the throat of a prohibited animal does not render it halal. However, it then becomes permissible to use its skin without tanning it.

The Requirement of Slaughtering in the Islamic Manner
Land animals which are permissible as food are of two kinds. The first consists of those animals which are tame or domesticated, such as camels, cows, goats, poultry, and other fowl which are raised on a farm or in the house, while untamed and wild animals are of the second type. In order to render their flesh halal, Islam requires that animals of the first category be slaughtered in the manner prescribed by Islam.

The Conditions of Islamic Slaughtering
According to the Shari’ah, the legal purification of the flesh of animals requires that the following conditions be met:

1. The animal should be slaughtered by a sharp object which is capable of making it bleed by severing blood vessels, even if the sharp object is a stone or a piece of wood. ‘Adi bin Hatim narrated that he said to the Prophet (peace be on him), “O Messenger of Allah, we go hunting and sometimes we do not have a knife with us. We may find a sharp rock or a piece of wood or a reed.” The Prophet (peace be on him) said: “The object is to make it bleed with whatever you have and mention the name of Allah over it.” 3
   
2. The slaughtering is to be done by cutting the throat of the animal or by piercing the hollow of the throat, causing its death. The best way is to cut the windpipe, the gullet, and the two jugular veins.4
   
   However, if it becomes impossible to slaughter the animal in the specified manner, this second condition is cancelled; for example, the animal may have fallen headlong into a well so that its throat is inaccessible, or it may become wild and start kicking and running. Such cases are treated in the manner of game animals and it is sufficient to wound the animal at any place to make it bleed. On the authority of Raf’i ibn Khadij, both al-Bukhari and Muslim report the former as narrating: We were on a journey with the Prophet (peace be on him) when one of the camels bolted away. As the people did not have a horse, a man shot an arrow which struck the camel and wounded it. The Prophet (peace be on him) said, ‘Some of these animals are like wild beasts. If any of them behaves like this, treat it in this fashion.’5
   
3. No name other than Allah’s should be mentioned over the animal at the time of slaughter; concerning this condition there is a consensus among all the jurists. The people of the time of jahiliyyah sought to propitiate their deities and idols by sacrificing animals to them, either by invoking their names while slaughtering or by immolating them on altars specified for them. As mentioned previously, the Qur’an prohibited all this in the words, Forbidden to you are…that which has been dedicated to anyone other than Allah…and that which has been sacrificed to idols. (5:4 (3))
   
4. The name of Allah should be mentioned while slaughtering the animal.6 This is clear from Qur’anic texts and ahadith. Allah Ta’ala says: Then eat of that over which the name of Allah has been mentioned, if you believe in His signs. (6:118)
   
   And do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been mentioned, for truly that is impiety…. (6:121)
   
   And the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) said: If the blood is drained (from the animal) and the name of Allah has been mentioned over it, you may eat of it.7
   
   This condition is further supported by other sound ahadith which state that Allah’s name must be pronounced while hunting just before an arrow is shot or a hunting dog is sent for the chase. This point will be discussed later in the section on hunting.
   
   Some scholars are of the opinion that although the name of Allah must be mentioned, it is not necessary to mention it at the time of slaughtering the animal; one can mention it at the time of eating, since in that case it cannot be held that it was eaten without mentioning the name of Allah over it. In the Sahih al-Bukhari we find a hadith narrated by ‘Aisha, who said, Some people who had recently become Muslims said to the Prophet (peace be on him), ‘People bring us meat and we do not know whether they have mentioned the name of Allah over it or not. Shall we eat of it or not?’ The Prophet (peace be on him) replied, ‘Mention the name of Allah (over it) and eat.”8
   
   References:
   1- Reported by al-Bukhari. Concerning this hadith, it is said that the prohibition of eating donkeys was temporary and was due to an emergency, as donkeys were needed for riding. This is similar to a situation in which, due to a shortage of meat, a government may prohibit the slaughtering of young animals so they may grow bigger or the hunting of deer in a particular season, etc.
   2- Reported by Abu Daoud as the saying of Ibn ‘Abbas.
   3- Reported by Ahmad, Abu Daoud, Nisai, Ibn Majah, al-Hakim, and Ibn Hibban.
   4- Some jurists have cited further conditions, but we have omitted them as we did not find explicit texts mentioning them. The slaughtering of animals is known instinctively to all people, and to go into depth and detail concerning it does not accord with Islam, which keeps matters easy and simple. The more details these jurists have attempted to list, the more confusion they have caused; for example, is it necessary to cut all four parts – the windpipe, the gullet and the two jugular veins – or only some of them? Should the knife point downward or upward? Can the hand be raised before the slaughtering is completed or not? and so on, without end, with each alternative answer to these questions finding support among some jurists.
   5- Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
   6- The correct manner of mentioning the name of Allah at slaughtering is, “Bismillah Allahu akbar” (in the name of God, God is the most great). On this occasion the words al-Rahman al-Raheem (the Compassionate, the Merciful) do not follow Bismillah as they ordinarily do, since slaughtering is not an act of mercy. (Trans.)
   7- Reported by al-Bukhari and others.
   8- The correct invocation when one begins to eat or drink is Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem, “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,” coupled with a supplication such as, Allahumma, barik lana fi ma razaqtana wa qina adhab an-nar, “Our Lord, bless us in what You have provided for us and save us from the punishment of the Fire.” (Trans.)