Chapter Two: Ritual Slaughter (Dhakāh)

The principles of this chapter revolve around two main questions:

1. The first concerns the kinds of slaughter that are particular to each class of livestock.
2. The second concerns the manner in which slaughter is to be performed.

The First Question

The jurists agree that the valid forms of slaughter for livestock (bahīmat al-anʿām) are naḥr and dhabḥ. The Sunnah for sheep and birds is dhabḥ (throat-slitting), while the Sunnah for camels is naḥr (piercing at the base of the neck); in the case of cattle, both methods are permissible.

They disagreed, however, about whether naḥr may be performed on sheep and birds, and whether dhabḥ may be performed on camels. Mālik held that neither naḥr for sheep and birds nor dhabḥ for camels is valid outside a situation of necessity.

Others maintained that all of these methods are permissible without dislike; this is the view of al-Shāfiʿī, Abū Ḥanīfah, al-Thawrī, and a number of scholars.

Ashhab said: if an animal whose normal method is dhabḥ is instead killed by naḥr, or one whose normal method is naḥr is killed by dhabḥ, the meat may be eaten, but it is disliked.

Ibn Bukayr distinguished between sheep and camels, saying: a camel slaughtered by dhabḥ may be eaten, whereas a sheep killed by naḥr may not. All parties agree that either method is permissible in cases of necessity.

The root of their disagreement is the apparent conflict between prophetic practice and a general text.

• The general text is the Prophet’s—peace and blessings be upon him—statement: “Whatever makes the blood flow and over which the Name of Allah has been pronounced—eat of it.”

• The prophetic practice, however, is authentically reported: “The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—performed naḥr on camels and cattle and performed dhabḥ on sheep.”

They all nonetheless concur that the dhabḥ of cattle is permissible because of Allah’s statement, “Indeed, Allah commands you to slaughter a cow” (al-Baqarah 2:67),
and that sheep are to be slaughtered on the basis of His words, “We ransomed him with a mighty sacrifice” (al-Ṣāffāt 37:107).

The Second Question

With regard to the manner of slaughter, they agree that a dhabḥ in which the two jugular veins, the esophagus, and the trachea are severed renders the animal lawful to eat.

They disagreed, however, on several points:

1. Is it obligatory to sever all four of these passages, or only some of them?
2. Of what is severed, must each passage be completely cut, or is the majority sufficient?
3. Is it a condition that the laryngeal knob (“jawzah”) fall toward the head rather than toward the body?
4. If the cut is made from the side of the neck, is the meat still lawful?
5. If one extends the cut until the spinal cord is severed, is that permissible?
6. Is it a requirement that the slaughterer not lift his hand until the act is completed?

These, then, are six issues: the number of passages to be cut, the extent of the cut, its precise location, the furthest limit of the cut, its direction—whether from the front or from behind—and its manner.

As for the first and second of these issues, the well-known position reported from Mālik is that the two jugular veins and the trachea must be severed, and that he