In modern slaughterhouses, they place large numbers of sheep on advanced machines, then stun them with electricity—without killing them—so that they do not move, and then the machine moves them
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The questioner : Regarding collective slaughter, for example, a thousand sheep at one time, with a single invocation of the name of Allah?
The Shaykh : How at one time? How does that happen?
The questioner : I mean, the sheep enter in a specific way, a thousand sheep, with their heads placed in a specific way, and a blade comes down to cut their heads all at once?
Another questioner: These, our Shaykh, are like an electric shock. This is like what they use now in modern slaughterhouses. They place, for example, a thousand sheep, and a single electric shock comes down on them, like what is used to anesthetize a sheep. The entire thousand sheep come down to the slaughterhouse, and they are spread out in one go, Shaykh!
The Shaykh : I wanted to know this picture. I have not heard of this before. How does it come down?
The questioner : It exists. They place a thousand or a hundred at one time and slaughter them. They cannot slaughter each one individually. I mean, does a large knife come down like a saw?
Another questioner: The machines!
Another questioner: A large knife that slaughters a thousand sheep in one second. It is not as if each one says: In the name of Allah. And the questioner’s question yesterday, he asked me about this and this.
The Shaykh : I need to understand the picture.
The questioner : Shaykh, I entered a slaughterhouse here in Amman!
The Shaykh : How are the thousand slaughtered animals placed? Are they stacked on top of each other?
The questioner : No, no, on a conveyor belt. There is a conveyor belt that moves. They stun them with electricity as the brother said, so they stop moving, but they are not dead. When they stop moving, they sleep in a specific way, and all their heads are on this conveyor belt. A blade comes down from above, like a wood saw, coming down from above. It is not that he is slaughtering the thousand in one second!
They are sleeping next to each other, and the sword or knife comes down on all of them at once. I mean, like this, like fingers, our Shaykh, like fingers, it comes down like this?
The Shaykh : I understood this, but I imagine from your words something other than this sequence, like the baggage belts at the airport.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is what you are describing. Then there is exaggeration in what was said, meaning that it is in a minute or a second, there is exaggeration. But the important thing is, is this permissible in the Shari'ah?
Of course, if the slaughter takes place at the place of slaughter for the animal, first, and the name of Allah is invoked on each one, and the slaughterer is a Muslim, then this is permissible. Otherwise, it would be a slaughter where the name of Allah was not mentioned over it.
The Shaykh : How at one time? How does that happen?
The questioner : I mean, the sheep enter in a specific way, a thousand sheep, with their heads placed in a specific way, and a blade comes down to cut their heads all at once?
Another questioner: These, our Shaykh, are like an electric shock. This is like what they use now in modern slaughterhouses. They place, for example, a thousand sheep, and a single electric shock comes down on them, like what is used to anesthetize a sheep. The entire thousand sheep come down to the slaughterhouse, and they are spread out in one go, Shaykh!
The Shaykh : I wanted to know this picture. I have not heard of this before. How does it come down?
The questioner : It exists. They place a thousand or a hundred at one time and slaughter them. They cannot slaughter each one individually. I mean, does a large knife come down like a saw?
Another questioner: The machines!
Another questioner: A large knife that slaughters a thousand sheep in one second. It is not as if each one says: In the name of Allah. And the questioner’s question yesterday, he asked me about this and this.
The Shaykh : I need to understand the picture.
The questioner : Shaykh, I entered a slaughterhouse here in Amman!
The Shaykh : How are the thousand slaughtered animals placed? Are they stacked on top of each other?
The questioner : No, no, on a conveyor belt. There is a conveyor belt that moves. They stun them with electricity as the brother said, so they stop moving, but they are not dead. When they stop moving, they sleep in a specific way, and all their heads are on this conveyor belt. A blade comes down from above, like a wood saw, coming down from above. It is not that he is slaughtering the thousand in one second!
They are sleeping next to each other, and the sword or knife comes down on all of them at once. I mean, like this, like fingers, our Shaykh, like fingers, it comes down like this?
The Shaykh : I understood this, but I imagine from your words something other than this sequence, like the baggage belts at the airport.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is what you are describing. Then there is exaggeration in what was said, meaning that it is in a minute or a second, there is exaggeration. But the important thing is, is this permissible in the Shari'ah?
Of course, if the slaughter takes place at the place of slaughter for the animal, first, and the name of Allah is invoked on each one, and the slaughterer is a Muslim, then this is permissible. Otherwise, it would be a slaughter where the name of Allah was not mentioned over it.