Saying the Name of Allah in Mechanical Slaughter in Large Slaughterhouses

Q: What is the ruling on mechanical slaughter, where machines slaughter dozens of chickens at once with one tasmiyah? And if a person slaughters a large number of chickens by hand, is one tasmiyah sufficient or must he say it over each one individually? A: First: It is permissible to slaughter using modern machines provided they are sharp and sever the windpipe and esophagus. Second: If the machine slaughters several chickens in one continuous motion, then one tasmiyah from the person who operates it with the intention of slaughtering is sufficient, provided that the operator is a Muslim or a Kitābi (Jew or Christian). Third: If a person is slaughtering by hand, then a separate tasmiyah must be said for each chicken, as each one is an independent entity. Fourth: Slaughter must take place at the proper location, cutting the esophagus and both jugular veins, or at least one of them. Bakar Abu Zayd, Sālih al-Fawzān, ‘Abdullah ibn Ghudayyān, ‘Abdul-‘Azīz ibn ‘Abdullah Āl al-Shaykh. (“Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Dā’imah,” 22/463)

Q: Is one tasmiyah sufficient when operating a machine that moves with one motion, considering that the tasmiyah is said at the time of activating the machine for slaughter once? A: One tasmiyah is sufficient from the one operating the machine when activating it for several animals with the intention of slaughtering, provided the operator is a Muslim or a Kitābi (Jew or Christian). ‘Abdullah ibn Ghudayyān, ‘Abd al-Razzāq ‘Afīfī, ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Bāz.

“In the case of large quantities, even if slaughtered by hand according to Islamic methods, requiring the slaughterer to say ‘Bismillah, Allahu Akbar’ (1200 times per hour, or once every 3 seconds) would be extremely burdensome. Hardship is lifted in Islam, as Allah says

He has not placed upon you in the religion any hardship.’

Hence, the Fatwa Committee in Kuwait, of which I was a member, issued a fatwa that when slaughtering a large group of poultry continuously without interruption, it is sufficient to say the tasmiyah once at the beginning. If there is a pause, a new tasmiyah must be said for the remaining group.” (“Majallat Majma‘ al-Fiqh al-Islāmī,” Issue 10, Vol. 1, p. 346)

Q: I visited al-Waṭaniyyah poultry farms and saw how they slaughter the chickens. They hang them so they cannot move, and they pass by the slaughterer who slaughters without saying the tasmiyah. I asked him why, and he said: “I say it at the beginning and cannot say it 500,000 times.” So I say, “Bismillah, Allahu Akbar” once when I begin, and that’s enough. He said scholars allowed it. Is this correct? A: He must say it over something specific, whether one or more. For example, if 1000 chickens are lined up, and he activates the machine saying “Bismillah,” that suffices for that batch. If another group is brought, he must say the tasmiyah again. Q: He says one tasmiyah is enough until the machine stops. A: That is not permissible. The tasmiyah must be over something specific. Q: In Astra farms (Tabūk), they slaughter quail. They hang the birds, spray water to stun them, then pass by a wall with “Bismillah, Allahu Akbar” written on it, then the machine slaughters them. They say this is valid. A: This is ignorance. You must report what you saw, sign it with your companions, and send it to Dār al-Iftā’, stating when it occurred so you clear yourself of responsibility. Q: They say some shaykhs gave fatwas allowing this. A: No. Maybe some shaykhs gave a fatwa based on another scenario, like what I said: if a batch is gathered and he says “Bismillah” as the machine starts, it suffices, just as if someone shoots at a flock of birds saying “Bismillah” and 20 fall, they are permissible. (“Al-Liqā’ al-Maftūḥ,” 35/27)

What appears stronger, and Allah knows best, is that it is not required to designate the exact bird being slaughtered, because permitting a single tasmiyah here is an analogy to emergency slaughter during hunting, where designation is not required. Tasmiyah is on the weapon. If he names his tool with intent to hunt, and something other than what he intended is hunted, it is still lawful.

, saying the original ruling is that the tasmiyah must be on a specific animal at the time of slaughter, and that relying on one tasmiyah by the machine operator is an exception based on analogy with emergency slaughter in hunting. He stressed that there is no value in the tasmiyah of someone merely standing by the machine who does not actually operate it. He said: “As for tasmiyah, it is very difficult in such a system. The first issue is identifying the slaughterer, because tasmiyah is required from the one doing the slaughter. If one man says it but another slaughters, it’s not valid. So who is the slaughterer in this mechanical process? One may say the operator is the slaughterer, as machines are not intelligent beings and their actions are attributed to the one who activates them. But the problem is, the operator might only start the machine once in the morning, and it continues for hours, sometimes all day, slaughtering thousands of chickens. So, is one tasmiyah at the start enough for all that follows?

“If the hunter names on a target but hits another, it’s lawful. If he names on an arrow, throws it, then uses another arrow, the second needs a new tasmiyah.”

Do not eat of that on which the name of Allah was not mentioned’

The apparent meaning of the verse, that each animal needs its own tasmiyah immediately before slaughter. Scholars have derived conditions that the name must be said on each animal, right before it is slaughtered, with no considerable delay. These conditions are absent in the mechanical method. In some Canadian slaughterhouses, I saw a man standing by the rotating blade saying “Bismillah, Allahu Akbar.” I discussed this method and pointed out these problems: 1. Tasmiyah must be from the one doing the slaughter. This man has no role in operating the blade, he is not involved in slaughter. 2. Chickens come rapidly, seconds apart. It’s impossible for him to say tasmiyah for each. 3. He’s human, not a machine. He may get distracted, and dozens of chickens may pass without tasmiyah. Another point: some try to analogize operating a machine to releasing a hunting dog, where tasmiyah is not required at the kill but at the release. There may be a long gap, and multiple animals might be killed with one release. Although hunting is emergency slaughter and our topic is voluntary slaughter (not directly comparable), due to the need for mass production, the hardship, and limited manpower, analogy may be acceptable here to lift hardship, as in sharī‘ah. But I do not definitively assert this, and I have not issued a fatwa. Especially since a better alternative exists: removing the rotating blade and replacing it with four Muslims who manually slaughter while saying the name of Allah. I suggested this in Réunion Island, and it worked well without reducing productivity.” (End of Shaykh Muhammad Taqī al-‘Uthmānī’s statement from “Majallat Majma‘ al-Fiqh al-Islāmī,” Issue 10, Vol. 1, pp. 541–544)