1168 – On the authority of Kaʿb ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him): “A woman slaughtered a sheep with a stone. When the Prophet ﷺ was asked about it, he ordered that the sheep be eaten.” Recorded by al-Bukhārī (1).
What is learned from the ḥadith:
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Al-Bukhārī’s complete wording from Kaʿb ibn Mālik states: “We had sheep grazing at Salʿ. One of our servant girls noticed that one of the sheep was dying, so she broke a stone and slaughtered it with it. The Prophet ﷺ was asked about that, and he ordered that it be eaten.”
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The ḥadith shows that an animal ritually slaughtered by a woman is valid and may be consumed. This is the view of the vast majority of scholars; only an isolated, textually unsupported dissent exists.
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It is permissible to slaughter with a sharp stone provided it severs the trachea and the esophagus. The forthcoming narration states: “Whatever makes the blood flow—eat of it” (al-Bukhārī 5503; Muslim 1968).
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The implement used for slaughter must be sharp, killing by its edge and penetration, not by its weight. This is supported by the ḥadith of ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim (al-Bukhārī 5476; Muslim 1929): “If you strike with its cutting edge, then eat; but if you strike with its blunt side, do not eat.”
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If an edible animal is afflicted by a mortal cause but is thereafter slaughtered, its meat becomes lawful. The scholars differ on this: according to al-Shāfiʿī and Aḥmad, it is not lawful unless the animal still possesses stable life—that is, life that lasts longer than the usual post-slaughter convulsions.
Shaykh al-Islām said: With respect to an animal struck by a mortal cause, the scholars are at variance;