THE
RITUAL ISLAMIC SLAUGHTER
being
script of a speech given by Mufti Ebrahim Desai at the Meat
Safety Seminar
Since
this is a meat safety seminar, I will endeavour to discuss the
positive aspects of meat safety by adopting the Islamic
procedure of slaughter.
1.
Zabah
The ritual slaughter in Islam is termed as Zabah.
Literally, the term Zabah means to purify as the purpose of Zabah
is to purify the flesh of the animal from flowing blood. In
Islam flowing blood is impure and prohibited for consumption.
Among other reasons of flowing blood being impure, some are:
a)
Flowing blood transfers nutrients to the tissue cells and
returns with the waste products of the tissue cells. These
waste products are harmful and are removed from the blood
through the function of the kidneys.
b)
Blood contains organisms which are responsible for various
diseases.
c)
The presence of flowing blood in flesh causes the flesh to
putrefy.
It
is therefore necessary to purify the flesh of the animal from
the impure flowing blood, by extracting maximum blood.
In
Islamic Jurisprudence, Zabah is to cut the neck in order to
severe the two jugular veins, the gullet and windpipe. It will
suffice if any three of the four blood pipes are severed. The
spinal cord should not be severed as it maintains connection
between the brain and the body which enables convulsion after
slaughtering. Convulsion squeezes out the remaining blood in
the body.
The
Islamic procedure of Zabah enables maximum extraction of
blood, within a close circuit. The purpose of extracting
maximum blood has been explained. The purpose of rapid
extraction of blood is to avoid blood clots. Both aspects,
removing flowing blood as well as avoiding blood clots are
equally important to health. To explain this further, I seek
refuge in the verse of the Quran:
3)Forbidden
unto you (for food) are carrion and blood and swine -flesh.
And that which hath been dedicated unto any other than Allah,
and the dead through beating, and the strangled, and the dead
through falling from a height, and that which hath been killed
by (the goring of ) horns and the devoured of wild beasts,
saving that which ye make lawful (by the death-stroke), and
that which have been immolated unto idols. And (forbidden is
it) that ye swear by the divining arrows. This is an
abomination. This day are those who disbelieve in despair of
(ever harming) your religion; so fear them not, fear ME! This
day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My
favour unto you, and have chosen for you as religion AL-ISLAM.
Whoso is forced by hunger, not by will, to sin; (for him) lo!
Allah is forgiving merciful.
4)
They ask thee (O Muhammad) what is made lawful for them. Say
(all) good things are made lawful for you. And those beasts
and birds of prey which ye have trained as hounds are trained,
ye reach them that which Allah taught you ; so eat of that
which they catch for you and mention Allahs name upon it, and
observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is swift to take account
(Maaida verse 3 and 4)
2.
The validity of Zabah
i) The person male or female, performing the act of Zabah
must be a sane Muslim.
ii)
The name of Allah (tasmiyyah) must be pronounced before
cutting. The instance on pronouncing the name of God before
slaying an animal
is meant to emphasize the sanctity of the life and the fact
that all life belongs to God. Pronouncing the tasmiyyah
induces feelings of tenderness and compassion and serves to
prevent cruelty.
iii)
The instrument used to perform Zabah must be extremely sharp
to facilitate the quick cutting of the skin and severing of
the windpipe and blood vessels so as to enable the blood to
flow immediately and quickly; in other words, to bring about
an immediate and massive hermorrage.
d)
The incision must be made in the neck at some point just below
the glottis and the root of the neck.
3.
Abominable acts in slaying during Zabah
i)
It is abominable to first cast the animal down on its side and
sharpen the knife afterwards, or to kill one animal in the
presence of another.
ii)
It is abominable to let the knife reach the spinal marrow or
to cut of the head of the animal.
iii)
It is abominable to perform Zabah with a dull instrument. The
Prophet commanded that knives should be sharpened and should
be concealed from the animal to be slain.
4.
The procedure of Zabah and pain
Since
the operation of Zabah is on an animal which cannot talk, we
have to use our perception of pain to determine whether the
animal feels pain in the procedure of Zabah or not. The
procedure has four stages
a)
cutting the skin
b) wound on the neck
c) bleeding
d) convulsion
1)
A person who shaves, probably has the experience of cutting
his skin sometime or the other, that is not painful.
2)
Since the four blood vessels are cut, the animal becomes unconscious
and does not feel pain.
3)
Bleeding itself is not painful as can be understood by the
contribution of a blood donor.
4)
Convulsion is not painful as the animal is unconscious. This
can be understood by the example of an epileptic. He does not
feel any pain during epilepsy.
In
conclusion the Islamic procedure of Zabah collaborates with
its literal meaning of Zabah purification. Purification in
consumption is paramount importance for good health. I
conclude by quoting the saying of our prophet Purification is
half of faith.
The
end
Last modified:
July 19, 2007
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