What are the requirements for halal slaughter (dhabihah)?

Dhabihah is the Islamic method of slaughtering permissible land animals and birds so their meat is halal. The Quran forbids eating meat from anything not slaughtered in Allah's name and lists carrion, blood, and swine as forbidden regardless of how they die (5:3), and later reaffirms that meat over which Allah's name has not been mentioned is impermissible (6:121). Based on this and the Sunnah, jurists set out core conditions: the slaughterer should be a sane, responsible Muslim (or, in most schools, a Christian or Jew) who invokes Allah's name (Bismillah) at the time of cutting; a sharp instrument must swiftly sever the throat, windpipe, and the two major blood vessels, allowing the blood to drain fully, since blood itself is forbidden; and the animal must be alive and healthy at the moment of slaughter, not already dead or dying from injury. The Prophet ﷺ taught that Allah has prescribed excellence in all things, including how an animal is slaughtered, instructing that the blade be sharpened well and the animal spared unnecessary suffering, such as not sharpening the knife in front of it (Sahih Muslim 1955). Mechanized slaughter can be halal if these conditions are genuinely met, which is why certification and traceability matter for meat sold as halal.

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