the obligation to let the blood flow, and the obligation to perform the slaughter or sacrifice at the very spot the Law has assigned on the animal’s body.
Had the revealed laws not been united in the fundamentals of slaughter, Allah would not have allowed Muslims to eat the meat slaughtered by the People of the Book, just as He allows them to eat the meat slaughtered by Muslims themselves.
For a slaughter or sacrifice to be valid, four conditions must be fulfilled:
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Competence of the person performing it—whether he is the one slaughtering, sacrificing, or wounding the animal. He must be sane and intend the act of lawful dispatch; therefore the slaughter performed by a madman, an intoxicated person, or a child below the age of discernment is not lawful, for such persons lack the requisite intent.
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The instrument. The animal must be dispatched with a sharp tool that cuts or pierces by its edge, not by its weight—whether that tool is made of iron, stone, wood, or any other material—so long as it is not bone or a fingernail, for an animal killed by either of those is unlawful.
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Severing the trachea—the airway—and the esophagus—the passage for food and drink. Cutting the two jugular veins is not required, though it is recommended; the jugulars are the two veins that run along the sides of the neck.
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Pronouncing the tasmiyah, “In the name of Allah,” as one’s hand moves to slaughter. No other formula suffices. The tasmiyah is obligatory when one remembers, but the obligation is lifted if one forgets, which is the position held by the majority of scholars.