Is it permissible to strike cattle to render them unconscious before slaughter?
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Question:
He says: In our country, they strike cattle on the head with iron when slaughtering them, hitting them until they faint and fall to the ground, and they are slaughtered while in a state of unconsciousness before death. This is done because of the large number of animals being slaughtered in the public places. Is that permissible?
Answer:
This is not permissible for two reasons. The first reason is that this is tormenting the animal. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1409Sahih (Darussalam) This involves tormenting the animal; it is struck and then slaughtered. This adds to the torment.
The second reason is that the animal may die before the slaughter. The animal may die from the blow, in which case it would be among those killed by a blow, which Allah the Exalted has forbidden. It dies from the blow, and how do we know that it was still alive when it was slaughtered? This is a serious concern: the animal may have died from the blow and not from the slaughter. Yes.
He says: In our country, they strike cattle on the head with iron when slaughtering them, hitting them until they faint and fall to the ground, and they are slaughtered while in a state of unconsciousness before death. This is done because of the large number of animals being slaughtered in the public places. Is that permissible?
Answer:
This is not permissible for two reasons. The first reason is that this is tormenting the animal. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Indeed Allah has decreed Ihsan in everything. So when you kill, then do the killing well, and when you slaughter, then do the slaughtering well. Let one of you sharpen his blade, and let him comfort his animal (before slaughtering).
ان الله كتب الاحسان على كل شيء فاذا ذبحتم فاحسنوا الذبحه فاذا قتلتم فاحسنوا القتله واذا ذبحتم فاحسنوا الذبحه وليحد احدكم شفرته وليرح ذبيحته.The second reason is that the animal may die before the slaughter. The animal may die from the blow, in which case it would be among those killed by a blow, which Allah the Exalted has forbidden. It dies from the blow, and how do we know that it was still alive when it was slaughtered? This is a serious concern: the animal may have died from the blow and not from the slaughter. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل يجوز ضرب البقر ليفقد الوعي قبل الذبح؟ للشيخ الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.