Ḏabīḥah

Ḏabīḥah (ذَبِيْحَة) is the prescribed method of ritual slaughter of 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's blood, resulting in more hygienic meat, and to minimize the pain and agony for the animal. Detractors, most notably animal rights groups, contend that this method of slaughter 'causes severe suffering to animals'.

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

Slaughtering Process
The slaughtering process referred to as Ḏabīḥah, 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.

Prerequisites
According to the laws of Ḏabīḥah halal, certain prerequisites must be met before an animal is slaughtered:
 * 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" (Arabic: Ahle-kitaab, i.e, 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 People of the Book should not be eaten.

Several other conditions are also stated: the knife's blade should be extremely sharp yet not be sharpened in front of the animal, the animal must not be slaughtered in front of other animals, and the animal's eyes and ears must be checked to ensure its health and suitability for slaughter. If it is deemed to be healthy, it is given water to drink (to quench its thirst). The animal should then be stood to face the Qibla, and the actual slaughter can begin.

Slaughter
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). 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.

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 two goals. It is said to provide for a relatively painless death, but some dispute this claim. It also helps to effectively drain blood from the animal. This 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.

While the blood is draining, the animal is not handled until it has died.

Animal rights


Detractors of Ḏabīḥah halal, most notably some animal rights groups, contend that this method of slaughter 'causes severe suffering to animals' compared to when the animal is stunned before slaughter. In the United Kingdom, the government funded Farm Animal Welfare Council recommended that conventional Ḏabīḥah (along with Kosher slaughter) without prior stunning be abolished. The FAWC chairwoman of the time said 'This is a major incision into the animal and to say that it doesn't suffer is quite ridiculous'. They suggest that the method is immoral and unethical.

On the other hand, advocates for Ḏabīḥah contend that it causes little or no pain to the animal and drains its blood more effectively than other methods. They also claim that the Islamic method of slaughter is the fastest method to kill the animal among those used in the modern day. Many refer to a study done by Professor Wilhelm Schulze et al. at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Germany. This study is cited by the German Constitutional Court in its decision regarding Ḏabīḥah slaughtering. The Muslim Council of Great Britain has stated, regarding Ḏabīḥah slaughter, that "The brain is instantaneously starved of blood and there is no time to start feeling any pain."

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." 

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.

Ḏabīḥah 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.

Christianity
Many 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.

However, Christians in Ethiopia and neighbouring countries still practice ritual slaughter and Muslims from those countries eat meat slaughtered by them.

Judaism
There are many similarities between the laws concerning Ḏabīḥah and kashrut, the Jewish dietary laws.

Muslims are 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.