What is the ruling on the slaughter of a madman? There is a madman in our village, and one night he brought us beef, which we cooked and ate. Is his slaughter lawful?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : This messenger, Abd al-Rahman Saleh al-Harbi, sent us this message asking: What is the ruling on the slaughter of a madman? There is a madman in our village, and one night he brought us beef, which we cooked and ate. Is his slaughter lawful or forbidden? Please inform us. May Allah reward you for us.
The Shaykh : The slaughter of a madman does not make the meat lawful to eat.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : I say that the slaughter of a madman is not valid. This is because one of the conditions of lawful slaughter is the intention to slaughter, and a madman’s intention is not valid. Furthermore, he may fail to mention the name of Allah, and mentioning the name is a condition for the meat to be lawful to eat, as Allah the Exalted said:[Al-An'am 6:121]. He may also fail to cut what must be cut during slaughter, which are the two jugular veins. The two jugular veins are the two thick vessels from which the blood flows, and they must be cut during slaughter.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is based on the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Ibn Majah 3178Sahih (Darussalam). The gushing of blood does not occur except by cutting these two jugular veins. Even if some blood flows without cutting them, the gushing of blood that is like a river does not happen except by cutting these two jugular veins. It is also narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he forbade the "strip of Satan," which is an animal that is slaughtered but whose jugular veins are not cut.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The important point is that the madman’s slaughter is definitely lacking the intention to slaughter.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is feared that he will not mention the name of Allah over it and will not cut what must be cut in the slaughter. All of these are reasons for prohibiting the eating of what he has slaughtered. The scholars have explicitly stated that one of the conditions for the validity of slaughter is that the one performing it must be sane.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : The slaughter of a madman does not make the meat lawful to eat.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : I say that the slaughter of a madman is not valid. This is because one of the conditions of lawful slaughter is the intention to slaughter, and a madman’s intention is not valid. Furthermore, he may fail to mention the name of Allah, and mentioning the name is a condition for the meat to be lawful to eat, as Allah the Exalted said:
And do not eat of that upon which the name of Allah has not been mentioned
ولا تأكلوا مما لم يُذكر اسم الله عليهThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is based on the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him):
(Use) whatever causes the blood to flow, mention the Name of Allah and eat
ما أنهر الدم وذكِر اسم الله عليه فكلThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The important point is that the madman’s slaughter is definitely lacking the intention to slaughter.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is feared that he will not mention the name of Allah over it and will not cut what must be cut in the slaughter. All of these are reasons for prohibiting the eating of what he has slaughtered. The scholars have explicitly stated that one of the conditions for the validity of slaughter is that the one performing it must be sane.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.