Ḏabīḥah

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Dhabiha (ذَبِيْحَة, ḏabīḥah) is the prescribed method of slaughtering all animals excluding fish and most sea-life per Islamic law. This method of slaughtering animals consists of a swift, deep incision with a sharp knife on the neck, cutting the jugular veins and carotid arteries of both sides but leaving the spinal cord intact. The objective of this technique is to more effectively drain the body of the animal of blood, resulting in more hygienic meat, and to allegedly minimize the pain and agony for the animal.^{[citation needed]}

This method has been classed as inhumane by government-funded animal welfare authorities in the UK who have found that it 'causes severe suffering to animals'.^[1][2] Cattle require up to two minutes to bleed to death when such means are employed and in the words of the Chairperson of the Farm Animal Welfare Council:

"This is a major incision into the animal and to say that it doesn't suffer is quite ridiculous."^[3]

The details of the slaughtering method arise largely from Islamic tradition, rather than direct Quranic mandate. It is used to comply with the conditions stated in the Qur'an:

"Forbidden to you are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah. that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it; that which is sacrificed on stone [Altar?]; [forbidden] also is the division by raffling with arrows: that is impiety..." – Al-Maidah 5:3

The term Dhabiha is often inaccurately used as a synonym for the word halal. But used in conjunction, "Dhabiha Halal" is the term used to describe any food that is permissible as per Islamic law.

Contents 1 Prerequisites for dhabiha halal 2 Slaughtering process 3 Controversies 3.1 Animal rights 3.2 Inducing unconsciousness 4 Dhabiha in relation to other religions 4.1 Christianity 4.2 Judaism 5 See also 6 References

[edit] Prerequisites for dhabiha halal

According to the laws of dhabiha halal, certain prerequisites must be met before an animal is slaughtered[1]:

• The animal must not be a forbidden substance as per the Quran.
• The slaughter itself must be done by a sane (mentally competent) adult Muslim. Some Muslims also consider it acceptable to eat the meat slaughtered by "People of the Book" (ie: Christians and Jews). On the other hand, some Islamic schools of thought state that except in the case of extreme necessity, the meat slaughtered by people of the Ahle-Kitaab should not be eaten."

Main article: Comparison of Dhabiha Halal and Kashrut

Apart from the functional reason of eating healthier meat by draining blood out of it, direct slaughter, like everything else pertaining to Muslim life also has a more spiritual dimension to it. The person doing the slaughtering would have to recite a prayer stating with at least the word "Allah" while having the intention of slaughtering the animal with minimal pain.

Several conditions are also required beyond the utterance of prayer and the slaughter method before meat is considered consumable by Muslims. These include humane methods that respect the animal such as not slaughtering one of its kind in front of other animals, as well as using extremely sharp iron blades that would make the killing as swift and painless as possible for the animal. A study has shown that by this method, the animal actually suffers less pain that if it was to be killed by stunning.Is Islamic Slaughtering Cruel to Animals?

Every code of conduct or law in Islam including hunting methods, killing animals for food, and what is deemed permissible to be eaten has a deeper significance, such that it would benefit Muslims. Here are some of the codes of conduct that are supposed to be practiced, though the significance of each has not been stated and more readings could be provided on it.Slaughtering and Hunting of Animals

[edit] Slaughtering process

The slaughtering process referred to as Dhabiha, is regulated by a set rules that assure health of the animal to be slaughtered and conformance to Islamic religious law, which is derived from the Qur'an and Hadith.

Prior to the slaughter, the animal's eyes and ears are checked to ensure that the animal is healthy and suitable for slaughter. If the animal is deemed to be healthy, it is first given water to drink (in order to quench its thirst) and is then pointed towards Mecca to be slaughtered.

The act of slaughtering itself should, according to the Qur'an, be preceded by mentioning the name of Allah. Invoking the name of God at the moment of slaughtering is sometimes interpreted as acknowledgment of God's right over all things. Furthermore, it is an asking of permission to take the life of the animal to be slaughtered, and endows the slaughterer with a sense of gratitude for God's creation, even prior to partaking in the meat of the animal.

Thus, the slaughter itself is preceded by the words "In the name of God, God is the Greatest (Bismillah, Allahu Akbar).^[4] It is not regarded appropriate to use the phrase "Bismillah al Raĥman Al Raĥim" (In the name of God the Beneficent the Merciful) in this situation, because slaughtering is an act of subduement rather than mercy. Here again, it is implied that the animal was only subdued for consumption by God's divine design and command, and is being slaughtered properly, which includes minimizing the pain and distress of the animal.

According to Islamic tradition, the conventional method used to slaughter the animal involves cutting the large arteries in the neck along with the esophagus and trachea with one swipe of an unserrated blade. This method of slaughter serves a dual function: it provides for a relatively painless death and also helps to effectively drain blood from the animal. The latter is important because the consumption of blood itself is forbidden in Islam. Muslims consider this method of killing the animal to be cleaner and more merciful to the animal. During the blood draining process, the animal is not handled until it has died.

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Animal rights

Main article: Bans on ritual slaughter

[edit] Inducing unconsciousness

Electrocution is frowned upon by many Muslims, since it causes "small blood vessels (to) rupture" and leaves the "meat tainted with blood which is full of germs, bacteria and waste material." [4]

Debates still rage among Muslim jurists and the general Muslim population about whether or not stunning, anesthetics, or other forms of inducing unconsciousness in the animal prior to slaughter are permissible as per Islam.

[edit] Dhabiha in relation to other religions

Followers of some religions are prohibited from consuming meat slaughtered in the fashion described above. The Rehat Maryada of Sikhism states that in Sikhism, "eating the meat of an animal slaughtered the Muslim way;" is strictly prohibited. The Kshatriya of Hinduism also do not consume meat killed by Muslims.

[edit] Christianity

Some Muslims conclude that the Christian method of slaughtering of the present age are lacking in Islamic methods and contradict Muslim belief, thus making their meat Haraam. Ethiopian Christians do not eat meat slaughtered by Muslims and Ethiopian Muslims do not eat meat slaughtered by Christians.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Judaism

There are many similarities between the laws concerning Dhabiha and Kashrut, the Jewish dietary laws.

Main article: Comparison of Dhabiha Halal and Kashrut

Muslims are further greatly divided as to whether or not Jewish slaughter suffices as a replacement for Islamic dhabiha halal. Some claim that Jewish slaughter leaves out the Takbeer (saying: God is Great) and changes the method of slaughter, thus, their meat is Haraam. Others claim that the slaughtering processes are similar enough in practice and in theory to render animals slaughtered by Jewish laws as halal.

It is a widely-held belief in the Jewish community that Dhabiha halal is not equivalent to being kosher, because among other things kashrut requires that meat must be slaughtered by a Jew.

[edit] See also

• Halal
• Bans on ritual slaughter
• Islamic dietary laws
• Comparison of Dhabiha Halal and Kashrut

[edit] References