If a person prays while in a state of ritual impurity, having forgotten that he is so, then he incurs no sin, but his prayer is invalid and must be repeated. This is because purification from ritual impurity is a condition; and since it is a condition, it is not waived due to forgetfulness. The person is excused, however, and is not sinful. This is clear, and the same applies to mentioning Allah’s name.

The issue of mentioning Allah’s name over an animal being slaughtered or hunted is one over which the scholars have differed, holding several views:

The first view is that mentioning Allah’s name is not obligatory, whether in hunting or slaughtering; rather, it is a sunnah. They cite an unauthentic hadith: “The slaughtered animal of a Muslim is lawful even if he does not mention Allah’s name over it.” (1)

The second view is that mentioning Allah’s name is obligatory, but is waived in cases of forgetfulness and ignorance, both in slaughtering and hunting.

The third view is that mentioning Allah’s name is a condition in both slaughtering and hunting; it is waived when omitted forgetfully in slaughtering, but not when omitted in hunting.

This is the well-known position among the Hanbali jurists: if Allah’s name is omitted in hunting, even forgetfully, the game is unlawful; but if it is omitted forgetfully when slaughtering an animal, it is lawful. What is their evidence?

They said: This is because the Prophet ﷺ said to ‘Adi ibn Hatim and Abu Tha‘labah al-Khushani, may Allah be pleased with them, regarding the shooting of an arrow: “If you release—