The Ruling on Using Mechanical Devices in the Ritual Slaughter of Chickens and the Invocation via a Tape

Question:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. What is the ruling on using mechanical devices in the ritual slaughter of chickens? Specifically, mentioning the name of Allah when slaughtering the first chicken, or playing a tape containing the mention of Allah’s name so that the devices carry out the process.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The invocation via a tape has no ruling and does not serve any purpose. The invocation must be made by the slaughterer himself. If one person slaughters and another person says “In the name of Allah,” but he is not the one slaughtering, the meat is not lawful. And if a person utters the name, how much more so a tape? The tape has no right and does not fulfill the required purpose. If the adhan were played from a tape in the mosque, and it were said that the tape is sufficient, and that the mu’adhdhin (caller to prayer) died decades ago, this would not be considered an adhan and would not be sufficient. Acts of worship must be performed by those who are of the people of worship; they are not performed via a machine or a tape. This is not sufficient. This is from the perspective of the tape.
From the perspective of collective slaughter, slaughtering birds or animals mechanically is also not sufficient, because it is a condition that the slaughterer who mentions the name of Allah and runs the knife on the throat or the windpipe be present. As for the mechanical device, it is not a human being, it has no intention, and even if it is operated by a person, this is not sufficient. This is not sufficient. Every animal has an independent ruling, and every bird has an independent ruling. It must be slaughtered individually with the conditions mentioned. As for collective slaughter via machines and devices, this is not called dhakah (lawful slaughter).