Opposition between the general wording and analogy: The unqualified breadth of the Prophet’s—peace and blessings be upon him—statement, “The slaughter (dhakāh) of the foetus is the slaughter of its mother,” indicates that no further distinction is to be made. Yet, because the foetus is a subject of dhakāh, analogy with every animal upon which slaughter is performed would demand that life be a prerequisite—and life is deemed present only once its hair has grown and its form is complete.

This analogy is reinforced by the fact that the condition is reported from Ibn ʿUmar and a number of the Companions.

Maʿmar narrated from al-Zuhrī, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kaʿb ibn Mālik, who said: “The Companions of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—used to say, ‘When the foetus has grown hair, its mother’s slaughter is its slaughter.’”

Ibn al-Mubārak transmitted from Ibn Abī Laylā that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said, “The slaughter of the foetus is the slaughter of its mother, whether it has grown hair or not.” However, Ibn Abī Laylā is regarded as weak in retention. Analogy points to the foetus being slaughtered through its mother’s slaughter because it is part of her; if that is so, stipulating life for it is meaningless. Hence, it is tenuous to restrict the general text by the analogy advanced by the followers of Mālik.

Fifth Issue
They disagreed about the locust. Mālik held that it may not be eaten without dhakāh, and that its dhakāh consists in killing it, whether by severing the head or by some other means. The majority of jurists maintained that its carcass may be eaten; this was also the view of Mutarrif. According to Mālik, the dhakāh required for every creature that has no flowing blood is the same as that prescribed for the locust.

The cause of their disagreement over the dead locust is whether it falls under the term “carrion” in His words, “Carrion has been made unlawful to you” (al-Māʾidah 5:3). A further reason for dispute is whether the locust is akin to fish cast ashore or to a land-dwelling animal.

Sixth Issue
They also differed regarding creatures that move about on both land and sea: do they require dhakāh or not? Some scholars applied to them the ruling for land animals; others applied the ruling for sea creatures; still others considered whichever environment constitutes the creature’s predominant habitat and activity.