The rulings of slaughtering (zabḥ)
What makes a slaughter valid, who may perform it, the sunnah method, and what makes the meat unlawful.
To eat meat, an animal has to be made halal in a special way. Cutting its throat the right way, saying Allah's name, is called zabḥ. This page tells you what makes it done properly.
How an animal is made halal
- The person doing it must be a sane, awake Muslim (or a Jew or a Christian).
- Give the animal water first, and lay it down gently.
- Say بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ وَ اَللّٰہُ اَکْبَرْ (in the name of Allah, Allah is the Greatest) and no other name.
- Cut through the windpipe, the food-pipe, and the two big blood vessels in the neck, with a very sharp knife, quickly.
- The animal must be alive, showing some sign of life, like blood flowing or movement, at the moment it is cut.
بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ وَ اَللّٰہُ اَکْبَرْ
Bismillāhi wa'llāhu akbar
In the name of Allah, Allah is the Greatest.
Zabḥ is cutting an animal's throat in the prescribed manner so its meat becomes halal to eat.
For zabḥ to be valid, four vessels must be cut: the trachea (nahrakha), through which air passes; the esophagus (mari), through which food and drink pass; and both jugular veins, the blood vessels on either side of the trachea and esophagus.
The slaughterer must be a Muslim, or a Jew or Christian (from the People of the Book).
The slaughterer must be sane, and conscious, not overcome by intoxication or asleep.
Allah's name must be said at the time of slaughter, Bismillāhi wa'llāhu akbar, and no name other than Allah's may be mentioned.
The animal must show some sign of life when it is slaughtered.
بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ وَ اَللّٰہُ اَکْبَرْ
Bismillāhi wa'llāhu akbar
In the name of Allah, Allah is the Greatest.
How to slaughter
- Give the animal water beforehand and lay it gently on its left side, its head to the south and its face towards the qiblah.
- Take a sharp knife in the right hand.
- Say Bismillāhi wa'llāhu akbar, then cut the throat with strength and speed, severing all four vessels without separating the head from the body.
- Once the vessels are cut, release the animal and let it be.
Fingernails and teeth may not be used to slaughter.
Sharpening the knife in front of the animal as it lies down, or using a blunt knife that takes a lot of effort, is disliked.
Slaughtering from the back of the neck, cutting so far that the head comes off, or cutting into the spinal cord, is disliked.
Skinning the animal or removing its head before it has fully cooled, and dragging it to the place of slaughter by its legs, is disliked.
Slaughtering one animal within sight of another, slaughtering at night, and slaughtering an animal that is close to giving birth, is disliked. Departing from the correct method of slaughtering in any other respect is likewise disliked.
When slaughtering more than one animal, the same tasmiyah cannot be used for all of them; each animal needs its own Bismillāhi wa'llāhu akbar. An exception is made when several birds, or two goats tied together, are slaughtered at the same moment: one tasmiyah then covers all of them.
A second person may help hold the knife or make the cut, but that person must also meet the conditions of a valid slaughterer: being a sane, conscious Muslim who says the tasmiyah. If they do not, the slaughter is not halal.
If a cow, goat, or other animal is slaughtered and a live baby animal comes out of its stomach, the baby must also be slaughtered; the mother's slaughter does not cover it. If the baby is already dead, or not fully formed, it cannot be eaten.
Using a knife that was previously used with the tasmiyah does not excuse saying it again: if the tasmiyah is not said while slaughtering, the slaughter is not halal and the animal counts as carrion (maytah), even if the same knife once said it.
It is strictly forbidden to slaughter an animal in front of, or near, a place of magic rituals, a new house, a well, a pond, a bridge pillar, or a flag of a temple or idols, or during ceremonies such as Dussehra.
When hunting an animal with a sharp weapon or a trained animal, no separate slaughtering is needed, but the weapon or the trained animal must be sent off with the tasmiyah. If the tasmiyah is forgotten, or the trained animal is used incorrectly, the game is not halal.
It is sunnah to slaughter a camel by first performing the naḥr, cutting at the base of the neck near the chest, and then slaughtering it. It may be slaughtered without the naḥr, but that is disliked.
The blood that flows out of a slaughtered animal is unlawful to eat.
The liver and other glands, and the private parts of the male and female, are disliked to eat.
Zabḥ is the cutting of an animal's throat in the manner prescribed by law, by which its meat becomes ḥalāl. Absent a valid zabḥ, an animal that dies, whatever the cause, is maytah, carrion, and unlawful to eat.
Zabḥ requires the severing of four vessels: the nahrakha (trachea), the passage of breath; the marīʾ (esophagus), the passage of food and drink; and the two jugular veins flanking them.
The dhābiḥ (slaughterer) must be a Muslim, or a Jew or Christian of the People of the Book; a slaughterer outside these categories cannot render the animal ḥalāl regardless of method.
The dhābiḥ must possess ʿaql (sound reason) and be conscious, not overtaken by intoxication or sleep, at the moment of cutting.
The tasmiyah, Bismillāhi wa'llāhu akbar, must be pronounced at the instant of cutting, and no name besides Allah's may be invoked over the animal.
The animal must exhibit a sign of life (ḥayāt) at the moment the cut is made.
بِسْمِ اللّٰہِ وَ اَللّٰہُ اَکْبَرْ
Bismillāhi wa'llāhu akbar
In the name of Allah, Allah is the Greatest.
The method
- Give the animal water beforehand and lay it on its left side, head to the south, face towards the qiblah.
- Take a sharp knife in the right hand.
- Pronounce the tasmiyah, then sever the throat with force and speed, cutting all four vessels without detaching the head from the body.
- On completion of the cut, release the animal.
Fingernail and tooth are excluded as instruments of zabḥ, whatever their sharpness.
Sharpening the knife in the animal's presence as it lies restrained, and using a blunt knife requiring undue exertion, are each makrūh.
Cutting from the nape rather than the throat, severing so far as to detach the head, and cutting into the spinal marrow, are each makrūh.
Skinning the carcass or removing the head before it has fully cooled, and dragging the animal to the place of slaughter by its legs, are each makrūh.
Slaughtering one animal within another's sight, slaughtering by night, and slaughtering an animal near to parturition, are each makrūh; any other departure from the received method of zabḥ falls under the same ruling.
One tasmiyah cannot serve for successive animals slaughtered one after another; each requires its own. Where several birds, or two goats bound together, are slaughtered simultaneously, a single tasmiyah covering that single act suffices for all of them.
A person assisting in the cut, whether by steadying the knife or sharing in the cutting, must independently satisfy the conditions of a valid dhābiḥ; failing this, the zabḥ is invalidated regardless of the principal slaughterer's compliance.
A fetus found alive within a slaughtered dam requires its own zabḥ; the dam's slaughter does not extend to it. A fetus already dead, or insufficiently formed, is not fit for consumption in either case.
A knife's prior association with a pronounced tasmiyah does not stand in for pronouncing it at the present cutting; omitting the tasmiyah on a given occasion invalidates that zabḥ and renders the animal maytah, irrespective of the instrument's history.
Slaughter is strictly forbidden in or near sites of magical practice, a newly built house, a well, a pond, a bridge pillar, or beneath the flag of a temple or idols, and during observances such as Dussehra.
Game taken by a sharp weapon or a trained hunting animal requires no separate zabḥ, provided the tasmiyah accompanies the release of the weapon or the animal. Its omission, or misuse of the trained animal, excludes the game from ḥalāl status.
The sunnah method for a camel is naḥr, a cut at the root of the neck near the chest, followed by zabḥ. Zabḥ without the preceding naḥr is valid but makrūh.
Blood that flows (dam masfūḥ) from the slaughtered animal is ḥarām.
The liver and other glands, and the private parts of male and female, are makrūh to eat, distinct in status from the ḥarām ruling on flowing blood.
Terms on this page
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