The Udhiyah and the Method of Slaughter in Western Countries

The questioner:
Peace be upon you. Peace, Honorable Shaykh. I have three questions. Sometimes a student studying abroad finds himself in the West during the time of 'Id al-Adha. Sometimes, yes, I mean, he finds himself in the West during the time of 'Id al-Adha. Some of the laws of the countries, especially in Britain, prohibit slaughtering the sacrificial animal or slaughtering it with a knife. What is the method for that?

The Shaykh:
It is obligatory to slaughter it with a knife. It is obligatory to slaughter it, and I do not think they prohibit slaughtering it. What do they slaughter their fathers with? They must slaughter it either with a bullet or by slaughtering it with a knife, which is better and more merciful to the sacrificial animal than the methods they have invented. The important thing is that it is not permissible to slaughter the sacrificial animal except by cutting the throat. He slaughters it by cutting the throat, severing the windpipe and the esophagus. The blood must be drained; this is necessary.

The questioner:
Okay, Honorable Shaykh.

The Shaykh:
If they prevent him from slaughtering a sacrificial animal, if they prevent him from this, it is not obligatory for him to slaughter a sacrificial animal. The sacrificial animal is not obligatory, yes.

The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh.

The Shaykh:
I think they prevent him, I do not think they prevent him, yes.

The questioner:
But in Britain, may you live long, there is a possible method, the Jewish method of slaughtering, where they first crush it with electricity, then slaughter it after it has died from the electricity. This is permitted by the law there.

The Shaykh:
The Jews are known for their strictness; it is the Christians who are lenient, not the Jews. It is well known and famous about them that they are strict in slaughter and that they adhere to the lawful slaughter. It is the Christians who are lenient; they slaughter by electric shock, by hot water, and by shooting with bullets. This is not permissible. Allah the Exalted said: and the blood and the flesh of the pig and what has been strangled and what has been beaten to death and what has been killed by falling and what has been gored and what has been eaten by a wild beast. These do not fall outside the matters mentioned; either it is strangled, or beaten to death, or killed by falling, or gored, meaning it died without lawful slaughter, but by injury. It died by an injury other than lawful slaughter. It died by the injury of electric shock, it died by hot water, it died by being shot with a bullet. All of these are not permissible. This is unlawful slaughter. This only happens among the Christians and among the companies that export meat; they are the ones who do this. As for the Jews, they are known for being strict in slaughtering. Yes.