Treatment of Animals and Matters Regarding Slaughter According to the Sunnah

(teaching of the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.)

Islam teaches us to be kind to animals and merciful, and when we need to slaughter an animal, to do it in the most humane way according to Islamic guidelines.  The mercy we should give to animals is depicted in this hadith:

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: “The messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "While a man was walking on his way he became extremely thirsty. He found a well, he went down into it to drink water. Upon leaving it, he saw a dog which was panting out of thirst. His tongue was lolling out and he was eating moist earth from extreme thirst. The man thought to himself: 'This dog is extremely thirsty as I was.' So he descended into the well, filled up his leather sock with water, and holding it in his teeth, climbed up and quenched the thirst of the dog. Allah appreciated his action and forgave his sins". The Companions asked: "Shall we be rewarded for showing kindness to the animals also?" He (ﷺ) said, "A reward is given in connection with every living creature". [Bukhari and Muslim] (Riyad as-Salihin Book 1 Hadith 126 )

Do not kill tied or confined Animals

Narrated Hisham bin Zaid: “Anas and I went to Al-Hakam bin Aiyub. Anas saw some boys shooting at a tied hen. Anas said, "The Prophet has forbidden the shooting of tied or confined animals." (Bukhari 5513 )

Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) forbade that any beast should be killed after it has been tied. (Muslim 1959 )

Narrated Ibn `Umar: that he entered upon Yahya bin Sa`id while one of Yahya's sons was aiming at a hen after tying it. Ibn `Umar walked to it and untied it. Then he brought it and the boy and said. "Prevent your boys from tying the birds for the sake of killing them, as I have heard the Prophet (ﷺ) forbidding the killing of an animal or other living thing after tying them."  (Bukhari 5514 )

Do not cut the limbs while the animal is still alive

Narrated Ibn `Umar: “The Prophet (ﷺ) cursed the one who did Muthla to an animal (i e., cut its limbs or some other part of its body while it is still alive).”  (Bukhari 5515 )

Do not beat animals or eat them if they were beaten

Narrated Salim: that Ibn `Umar disliked the branding of animals on the face. Ibn `Umar said, "The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade beating (animals) on the face." (Bukhari 5541 )

Narrated `Adi bin Hatim: “I asked Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about the Mi'rad. He said, "If you hit the game with its sharp edge, eat it, but if the Mi'rad hits the game with its shaft with a hit by its broad side do not eat it, for it has been beaten to death with a piece of wood. (i.e. unlawful)." I asked, "If I let loose my trained hound after a game?" He said, "If you let loose your trained hound after game, and mention the name of Allah, then you can eat." I said, "If the hound eats of the game?" He said "Then you should not eat of it, for the hound has hunted the game for itself and not for you." I said, "Sometimes I send my hound and then I find some other hound with it?" He said "Don't eat the game, as you have mentioned the Name of Allah on your dog only and not on the other." (Bukhari 5476 )

Do not harm innocent animals

Was narrated from Abu Hurairah from the Messenger of Allah: "An ant bit one of the prophets, and he ordered that the ant nest be burned. Then Allah revealed to him: "One ant bit you, and you destroyed one of the nations that glorify Allah." (Sunan an-Nasa’i 4258 )

Slaughter in a good manner according to Islamic guidelines

Shaddid b. Aus said: “Two are the things which I remember Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) having said: Verily Allah has enjoined goodness to everything; so when you kill, kill in a good way and when you slaughter, slaughter in a good way. So every one of you should sharpen his knife, and let the slaughtered animal die comfortably.” (Muslim 1955a )

The Halal method of Islamic Slaughter Method Explained HERE

When we slaughter an animal and cut its vessels, does it feel pain?

The answer is simple:

The centers of pain sensing become inoperative if the blood pumping stopped for 3 minutes only, because they need Oxygen continuously. How can we say that the beast doesn't feel any pain while we find it kicking and twisting in pain?

This is because the nervous system is still working and it just lost its awareness. Since the neck wasn't broken yet, then the nervous system isn't invaded and so still working. In the Islamic way of sacrifice, the nervous system tends to sending signals from brain to heart requesting blood because it has depletion of it, and signals to muscles to send blood to heart, and signals to whole body to help brain by sending blood.

Immediately, the muscles shrink and a strong movement happens in the guts and interior and exterior muscles, pressing strongly to pump all of the blood to heart, which in turn beats rapidly to be full of blood, and then sends it to the brain. However, on the way, blood gets out of the body through the cut vessels and don't reach brain. So, we see the beast twisting and bleeding until its body becomes empty of blood … thus it gets rid of the main environment of microbes growth.

Thus the slaughtered beast dies in 3 seconds only if it's slaughtered in the right way, and what we see as kicking, twisting, spasm and the like are just indications of the still alive nervous system, while the slaughtered beast doesn't feel any pain. Conclusion: All of these medical secrets and healthy insights were mentioned in The Holy Qur’an. “Falsehood cannot come at it from before it or behind it. (It is) a revelation from the Wise, the Owner of praise” (Qur’an 41:42) It guides us to every benefit and warns us from every evil.[i]

Humane Slaughter?

Although the U.S. technically has “humane slaughter” laws, they provide very little protection to pigs, cows, sheep and goats, and do not provide any protection for chickens, turkeys, or other birds.  Literally thousands of undercover investigations have revealed the same horrific abuse and suffering in slaughterhouses all over the world.  Read more about it HERE.

WARNING: VERY EXTREMELY GRAPHIC VIDEO exposes how animals are raised and treated by slaughter houses in a documentary “Farm to Fridge”.