1173 – Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The Muslim’s very identity suffices him; if he forgets to invoke the name of Allah while slaughtering, let him pronounce it afterwards, then let him eat.” It was recorded by al-Dāraquṭnī, whose chain contains Muḥammad ibn Yazīd ibn Sinān—truthful but of weak retention. ʿAbd al-Razzāq also transmitted it with a sound isnād that stops at Ibn ʿAbbās (mawqūf). (1)
It has a corroborating narration in the Marāsīl of Abū Dāwūd with the wording: “The slaughter of a Muslim is lawful, whether he has mentioned the name of Allah over it or not,” and its transmitters are reliable. (2)
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Degree of authenticity:
The hadith is sound in its mawqūf form. The transmitters of the chain that halts at Ibn ʿAbbās are trustworthy: ʿAbd al-Razzāq produced it with a sound isnād to Ibn ʿAbbās as mawqūf, while al-Bayhaqī related it with his own chain as marfūʿ. The preponderant verdict, however, is that it is mawqūf, and in that form it is authentic.
The marfūʿ version is weak—Allah knows best. Some, such as Ibn al-Sakan, judged it sound. Ibn al-Qaṭṭān said: “No one in its chain has been faulted except Muḥammad ibn Sinān; he is truthful and acceptable, though there is further detail concerning him.”
Points derived from the hadith:
1 – The report indicates the prescription of uttering the basmalah at the very moment the slaughterer’s hand moves to cut, for that