and the basic principle regarding an act performed by someone qualified to perform it is that it is valid unless evidence establishes its invalidity. This is a recognized principle in the Sacred Law. If people were required to ascertain the condition for lawfulness in the case of one from whom something has passed into their possession, this would entail hardship and difficulty known only to Allah. Whenever a man wished to sell me something, I would have to ask him: “How did you come to own this item? On what basis did you acquire ownership of it?” For one of the conditions for a valid sale is that the seller own the item; thus, I would have to know.
Likewise, if a man came wishing to marry his daughter to me and said, “I marry you to my daughter,” I might say to him, “And who says that she is your daughter? You must bring me testimony confirming that she was born upon your marriage bed!” This would involve unbearable hardship and difficulty. Thus, the basic principle regarding an act performed by someone qualified to perform it is that it is valid. If we were to say that the basic principle is invalidity, and that one must know the conditions of validity, this would impose upon people an intolerable burden.
Therefore, if meat comes to us from Muslim butchers—meat sellers—must we ascertain that they mentioned Allah’s name? No. It is possible that they did not mention it, yet this is not required. Rather, we buy and eat, without saying anything. This is therefore a consistent principle: an act performed by someone qualified to perform it is presumed valid unless evidence establishes its invalidity.
When the Messenger ﷺ said, “Mention Allah’s name yourselves and eat,” it is as though he was directing a sharp rebuke at them, as though saying: “You are not charged with the actions of others. The slaughtering is not your action, but that of someone else, and you are not responsible for it. Rather, you are responsible for what you yourselves do. So mention Allah’s name and eat.” This is clear to whoever reflects upon it.
Accordingly, this hadith does not constitute evidence that mentioning Allah’s name is waived