Slaughtering Edible Animals According to the Islamic Law ‘Shari^ah’

[Ismail Dalbani]

Bismillah Ar-RaHman Ar-RaHeem wa alHamdu lillahi rabil ^alameen waSalatu wassalamu ^ala sayyidina MuHammadin ashrafil mursaleen wa Habeebi rabil ^alameen.

Certain animals including some types of birds can be lawfully consumed if they are slaughtered according to the Islamic Law. There are strict requirements for the slaughtering of edible animals that must be met in order for the slaughter to be considered halal. This means that the following rules must be followed:

1. The slaughterer must be either a Muslim or one of the People of the Book (Ahlul-Kitab).

2. The animals are NOT KILLED prior to slaughtering

3. The slaughtering must be performed by a sharp tool (such as a knife), enabling the animal to bleed due to the severing of both the respiratory tract and esophagus.

4. There cannot be a name other than Allah's mentioned over the animal at the time of slaughter.                                              
According to some scholars there is an additional condition for the validity of slaughtering and that is to say the basmalah (i.e. to say bismillah) upon slaughtering

What is the Islamic Judgement regarding exposing the animal to an electric shock prior to slaughtering?

If the animal recovers and returns to its natural state of being alive after having been stunned, then the animal was slaughtered, the animal remains lawful (halal) to consume even though at the time of slaughtering the animal was in a state where it cannot see or hear and was unable to move. This is because the shock in itself did not result in the animal's death. 

However, if the animal does not return to its natural state after being stunned, then is slaughtered, then the meat is not halal and consuming it would be unlawful unless one is certain that the animal was alive at the time of the slaughtering, evidence of which would be the gushing or spurting of blood.

The automatic slaughtering machine is not approved Islamically as a method of valid slaughtering as it does not meet one of the conditions stated above (i.e. the hand-slaughter by either a Muslim or kitabiyy).

May Allah protect us and keep us steadfast. And Allah knows best