the windpipe or not; for cutting the two jugular veins is more decisive than cutting the windpipe alone and better ensures the outflow of blood.”

The Sunnah is to dispatch camels by nahr—that is, to thrust a sharp blade into the hollow at the base of the neck where it meets the chest—whereas other animals are to be slaughtered by cutting the throat.

The reason slaughter is normally restricted to that spot is that, when it cannot be reached—such as with game, livestock that have turned wild, or an animal that has fallen into a well—the required slaughter is fulfilled by wounding the animal anywhere on its body, and that suffices. This is based on the report of Rāfiʿ who said: “A camel bolted, and a man shot it with an arrow, restraining it. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘Whatever animal escapes you, deal with it in this way.’” Agreed upon. The same ruling is also transmitted from ʿAlī, Ibn Masʿūd, Ibn ʿUmar, Ibn ʿAbbās, and ʿĀʾishah—may Allah be pleased with them all.

As for animals that have been strangled, battered, or have fallen