Chapter: Slaughtering and Throat-Slaughtering. Ibn Jurayj said, on the authority of Ata: "There is no slaughtering or throat-slaughtering except in the place of slaughter and the place of throat-slaughtering." I asked: "Is it sufficient to throat-slaughter what is normally slaughtered?" He said: "Yes, if you remember the name of Allah. If you slaughter a cow, then if you throat-slaughter something that is normally throat-slaughtered, it is permissible. Throat-slaughtering is more preferred to me. Slaughtering is cutting the jugular veins." I asked: "Do you cut the jugular veins until you cut the spinal cord?" He said: "I do not think so." Nafi' informed me that Ibn Umar forbade the practice of *nakh'* (cutting the spinal cord). He said: "One cuts what is below the bone, then leaves it until it dies."
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The Reciter: Ibn Jurayj said, on the authority of Ata: "There is no slaughtering or throat-slaughtering except in the place of slaughter and the place of throat-slaughtering." I asked: "Is it sufficient to throat-slaughter what is normally slaughtered?" He said: "Yes, if you remember the name of Allah. If you slaughter a cow, then if you throat-slaughter something that is normally throat-slaughtered, it is permissible. Throat-slaughtering is more preferred to me. Slaughtering is cutting the jugular veins." I asked: "Do you cut the jugular veins until you cut the spinal cord?" He said: "I do not think so." Nafi' informed me that Ibn Umar forbade the practice of *nakh'* (cutting the spinal cord) "
The Shaykh : Okay, look, throat-slaughtering is cutting the jugular veins. Okay, I asked, so
The Reciter: " I asked: 'Do you cut the jugular veins until you cut the spinal cord?' He said: 'I do not think so.' Nafi' informed me that Ibn Umar forbade the practice of *nakh'* (cutting the spinal cord). He said: 'One cuts what is below the bone, then leaves it until it dies.' And the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:67] And He said: [Al-Baqarah 2:71], and Sa'id ibn Jubayr said, on the authority of Ibn Abbas: 'The lawful slaughter is in the throat and the windpipe.' And Ibn Umar, Ibn Abbas, and Anas said: 'If the head is cut off, there is no harm.'"
The Shaykh : Okay, we now have throat-slaughtering and slaughtering. Throat-slaughtering is for camels, and slaughtering is for everything else, which includes cows, sheep, gazelles, and so on. Everything other than camels is slaughtered. If one slaughters what is normally throat-slaughtered, or throat-slaughters what is normally slaughtered, there is no harm or blame, because the objective is achieved. Throat-slaughtering is at the lower part of the neck, and slaughtering is at the upper part of the neck. This is the difference between them: slaughtering is at the upper part of the neck, and throat-slaughtering is at the lower part of the neck. If one cuts off the entire head, separating it completely from the neck, it is lawful, because it is true that the blood has been let out. In this case, is the head permissible, or do we say it is like a severed limb? The answer is: it is permissible, because this is a slaughter for it, and life does not remain with it. Okay, if one slaughters it from above the neck, is it lawful or not? Yes, we say if the blade reaches it before it dies, it is lawful; otherwise, it is not. For example, if one slaughters it above the *'albah* (the area above the jugular veins), if the jugular veins are cut, it is lawful; otherwise, it is not. Accordingly, if one takes a sharp sword and strikes the animal along the neck until it is severed, it is lawful. The same applies to a chicken; it is permissible to slaughter it by cutting off its head immediately, and it is lawful. In fact, it is more preferred, because in reality, a person cannot distinguish the jugular veins from the rest of the neck. We might say that slaughtering is not achieved except by cutting it in one stroke. Also, Nafi' informed me, on the authority of Ibn Umar, that he forbade the practice of *nakh'* (cutting the spinal cord). He said: "One cuts what is below the bone, then leaves it until it dies." What does this mean? It means one cuts until reaching the bone. This is not necessary, because Allah has only permitted us slaughtering or lawful slaughter. There is no doubt that there is some torment for the animal in both, but this torment is necessitated by dire necessity. Without this torment, how would we slaughter? If this is torment, it should be limited to the extent of the dire necessity. There is no need to reach the bone. Worse than that is when, after slaughtering it before it dies, one performs *khan'* (cutting the spinal cord), meaning one separates the spinal cord from the neck, either by breaking it or by inserting a knife to cut the spinal cord, because this hastens death. This is also unnecessary. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Leave it." As you see, these reports do not state that a person should hold the animal while slaughtering. In fact, it is better not to hold the animal while slaughtering. One should slaughter it, place one's foot on its neck, and let it struggle and move. This is better from the perspective of Islamic jurisprudence and more accurate from the medical perspective, because they say that this movement and struggling helps to expel the blood, which is beneficial. I remind people that when they want to slaughter a sheep, two or three people often hold it down: one on the hand, one on the leg, one on the other hand and other leg, and one on the belly. Yes, and the one slaughtering is on the neck. Yes, this is not correct. This causes it pain. And worse than that, some people, when slaughtering, hold its left hand and twist it around its neck from behind. This harms it and causes it pain, so it is also one of the matters that involves torment. Okay, for camels, the left hand is tied, and it is left standing on three legs, then it is throat-slaughtered and falls. It falls by itself. Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Hajj 22:36] meaning, when it falls to the ground, eat from it. Cows are slaughtered, and the same is done to them as is done to sheep.
The Reciter: ... We see that in the countries, the sacrificial animals are sometimes large bulls, and then, for example, ten people cannot hold it.
The Shaykh : The important thing is what they are able to do. If they cannot gather three, five, or ten people, yes, yes, 'Abd al-Wahhab.
The questioner : ... knife
The Shaykh : Yes, it is lawful as long as the struggling is the struggling of death, just as if you had slaughtered it and it did not struggle more than this. This happens often, because the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding hunting is that you do not know if it is your dog, your arrow, or something else. If you know it is your arrow, that is it. Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, look, throat-slaughtering is cutting the jugular veins. Okay, I asked, so
The Reciter: " I asked: 'Do you cut the jugular veins until you cut the spinal cord?' He said: 'I do not think so.' Nafi' informed me that Ibn Umar forbade the practice of *nakh'* (cutting the spinal cord). He said: 'One cuts what is below the bone, then leaves it until it dies.' And the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And [recall] when Moses said to his people, "Indeed, Allah commands you to slaughter a cow.
وإذ قال موسى لقومه إن الله يأمركم أن تذبحوا بقرةSo they slaughtered her, but they could hardly do it.
فذبحوها وما كادوا يفعلونThe Shaykh : Okay, we now have throat-slaughtering and slaughtering. Throat-slaughtering is for camels, and slaughtering is for everything else, which includes cows, sheep, gazelles, and so on. Everything other than camels is slaughtered. If one slaughters what is normally throat-slaughtered, or throat-slaughters what is normally slaughtered, there is no harm or blame, because the objective is achieved. Throat-slaughtering is at the lower part of the neck, and slaughtering is at the upper part of the neck. This is the difference between them: slaughtering is at the upper part of the neck, and throat-slaughtering is at the lower part of the neck. If one cuts off the entire head, separating it completely from the neck, it is lawful, because it is true that the blood has been let out. In this case, is the head permissible, or do we say it is like a severed limb? The answer is: it is permissible, because this is a slaughter for it, and life does not remain with it. Okay, if one slaughters it from above the neck, is it lawful or not? Yes, we say if the blade reaches it before it dies, it is lawful; otherwise, it is not. For example, if one slaughters it above the *'albah* (the area above the jugular veins), if the jugular veins are cut, it is lawful; otherwise, it is not. Accordingly, if one takes a sharp sword and strikes the animal along the neck until it is severed, it is lawful. The same applies to a chicken; it is permissible to slaughter it by cutting off its head immediately, and it is lawful. In fact, it is more preferred, because in reality, a person cannot distinguish the jugular veins from the rest of the neck. We might say that slaughtering is not achieved except by cutting it in one stroke. Also, Nafi' informed me, on the authority of Ibn Umar, that he forbade the practice of *nakh'* (cutting the spinal cord). He said: "One cuts what is below the bone, then leaves it until it dies." What does this mean? It means one cuts until reaching the bone. This is not necessary, because Allah has only permitted us slaughtering or lawful slaughter. There is no doubt that there is some torment for the animal in both, but this torment is necessitated by dire necessity. Without this torment, how would we slaughter? If this is torment, it should be limited to the extent of the dire necessity. There is no need to reach the bone. Worse than that is when, after slaughtering it before it dies, one performs *khan'* (cutting the spinal cord), meaning one separates the spinal cord from the neck, either by breaking it or by inserting a knife to cut the spinal cord, because this hastens death. This is also unnecessary. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Do not hasten the souls, or do not hasten them before their life departs
لا تعجلوا الأنفس أو لا تعجلوها قبل أن تزهقSo mention the name of Allah upon them when lined up [for sacrifice]; and when they are [lifeless] on their sides, then eat from them
واذكروا اسم الله عليها صواف فإذا وجبت جنوبها فكلوا منهاThe Reciter: ... We see that in the countries, the sacrificial animals are sometimes large bulls, and then, for example, ten people cannot hold it.
The Shaykh : The important thing is what they are able to do. If they cannot gather three, five, or ten people, yes, yes, 'Abd al-Wahhab.
The questioner : ... knife
The Shaykh : Yes, it is lawful as long as the struggling is the struggling of death, just as if you had slaughtered it and it did not struggle more than this. This happens often, because the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding hunting is that you do not know if it is your dog, your arrow, or something else. If you know it is your arrow, that is it. Yes.