ISLAMIC SLAUGHTERING AND
MEAT QUALITY
Prof. Dr. Javaid Aziz Awan
Country Director
Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America,
Shan Plaza, New Garden Town, Lahore
ifancapk@gmail.com
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INTRODUCTION
 Meat indispensable for sound human health
 Provides several essential nutrients:
Proteins
Amino acids
Mineral elements
Vitamins
 Meat subject to spoilage by:
Chemical reactions
Biochemical reactions
Biological agents, including bacteria
 Responsible for food-borne diseases
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INTRODUCTION
 Hence meat be produced so as to:
Minimize chemical and biochemical changes
Prevent chances of bacterial contamination and
growth
Preserve quality
 Slaughtering of lawful animals and birds essential to
prepare for food purposes
 Pre-slaughter management and bleeding methods
regulated by:
religious practices and
legislations
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ESSENTIALS OF HALAL SLAUGHTERING
 Islamic method of slaughtering - based on two
important principles:
Tasmiya - invoking name of Allah - slaughter being
done with His permission
Tazkiyah - means purification
 This in accordance with several commands given in
the Holy Quran
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ESSENTIALS OF HALAL SLAUGHTERING
“Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of
swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other
than God; that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a
violent blow, or by a head long fall, or by being gored to death;
that which hath been partly eaten by a wild animal, unless ye
are able to slaughter it (in due form) ….…. (Al Maida - V:4)
 The Holy Prophet (pbuh) gave comprehensive guidelines on
slaughtering of animals in following Hadith:
 “Verily Allah, has prescribed proficiency in all things. Thus, if
you kill, kill well; and if you slaughter, slaughter well. Let each
one of you sharpen his blade and let him spare suffering to the
animal he slaughters”.
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ESSENTIALS OF HALAL SLAUGHTERING
 Process of slaughtering in Islam - consolidated
 Slaughterer:
must be adult Muslim or
one who believes in Holy Scriptures
should be in possession of his mental faculties
 Lay animal (except camel) on its left flank, preferably
facing Kibla
 Recite name of Allah:
Subhan Allah, or
La illaha illila ho, or
Allah-o-Akbar or
Bismillah Allah-o-Akbar
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ESSENTIALS OF HALAL SLAUGHTERING
 Lay animal (except camel) on its left flank, preferably
facing Kibla
 Recite name of Allah:
Subhan Allah, or
La illaha illila ho, or
Allah-o-Akbar or
Bismillah Allah-o-Akbar
 Give quick incision using very sharp knife on front of
the neck to severe: Wind pipe, Oesophagus, Carotid
arteries, Jugular veins
 Prohibited - practice of cutting off part of an animal or
removing its skin while still alive
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PRE-SLAUGHTER HANDLING OF ANIMALS 1. Selection of animals
 Islam permits consumption of few animals and birds
only
 Strictly prohibited:
Pork
Blood
Carrion
Dead animals
All carnivorous animals
All birds of prey
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1. Selection of animals
 Permitted animals:
All herbivorous, even-toed ruminants
 Animal for Halal slaughter be:
Healthy
Free from any apparent or
hidden impurities/disease
Must be legally owned
 The Holy Prophet (pbuh) advised companions to use
very sharp knife
 Further instructed that sharpening of knife not be
performed in front of slaying animal
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3. Rest prior to slaughtering
 Islam promotes calm and rested animals prior to
slaughtering:
 Not fatigued
 Not excited
 Not nervous
 Prohibited - any act that causes neurosis or
excitement or other abnormal behavioural changes in
animal
 Prohibited in Islam - Practice of collective slaughtering
- other animals do not view their companion being
killed
Research reveals - practices inhumane
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3. Rest prior to slaughtering – Scientific
evidence
 Modern methods require animal prior to slaughtering
not be subjected to:
Stress
Fatigue
Neurotic
Otherwise excited
 Rough handling of animals in pre-slaughter period
adversely affects meat quality
Result - dark, firm and dry meat (dark cutting meat)
 Fatigued or starved animals
 Organisms from gut may invade blood stream and
eventually muscles
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3. Rest prior to slaughtering – Scientific
evidence
 Proper relaxation before slaughtering:
Helps animal to bleed well
Builds up muscle glycogen essential to lower pH of
meat
Increases storage life by reducing chances of
microbial growth
Improves taste due to conditioning/ tenderness
Helps delay or reduce fermentation in stomach
 may otherwise give meat characteristic smell
known as ‘bone taint’
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4. Stress prior to slaughtering- Scientifc
evidence
 Generally regarded undesirable that animal awaiting
slaughter view slaughtering process – causes stress
 Animals under stress - lead to undue emotional
instability and fatigue
 Anorexia, etc. Discharge hormones from adrenal
glands:
adrenaline from adrenal medulla
17 hydroxy- and 11-deoxy-corticosterones from
adrenal cortex
 Hormones deplete muscle glycogen and potassium
 Deleterious effects on meat quality
 To prevent these adverse effects, tranquilizers
recommended to calm stocks in transit.
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5. Feeding the animals
 Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) advised that animals
destined for slaughtering be:
well fed
provided with drinking water
 Preferable that animals have free access to feed and
water prior to slaughtering
 Two schools of thoughts:
Animal to remain hungry - Fasting
Animal be well fed
 Fasting animals - Fasting animals before slaughter
recommended in modern abattoirs
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5. Feeding the animals – Scientific evidence
Fasting animals - Advantages claimed:
 Bleed better
 Carcass easier to dress
 Carcass has brighter appearance
 Reduced bulk of animal’s stomach
 Reduced chances of bacterial contamination from
gut
 Fasted animals - Disadvantages:
Loss in weight of carcass and liver
Lower glycogen reserves in muscles
Reduced gustative quality of meat
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5. Feeding the animals – Scientific evidence
Well-fed animals:
 Glycogen level in muscle reaches higher level
 Ensures production of adequate lactic acid
 Lowers pH of meat
 Such meat has good: Appearance, Taste,
Tenderness, Longer shelf-life
 Meat spoilage bacteria prefer growth at high pH levels
- around pH 7.0
 Any decrease from normal value of about 6.8 reduces
chances of bacterial multiplication, especially food
poisoning ones
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5. Feeding the animals – Scientific evidence
 Meat of soothed and well-fed animals:
pH attains 5.5 or even lower level
 Meat of fatigued or neurotic animals:
pH varies from 6.5 to 7.0
 To produce meat of good keeping and eating quality,
often recommended to feed animals prior to
slaughtering
 In some cases sugar solution fed to quickly restore
glycogen level in tissues
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6. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE - Halal
 Slaughtering rules apply to animals and birds in complete
physical control of man - all domesticated birds and animals
(except camel)
 Conventionally, slaughtering process consists of two to three
different stages
 Depends on religious practices and legislations
 Posture of animal and bleeding method governed by religious
and national legislations
 Western countries require animals be stunned before
slaughtering
 Stunning widely practiced in Western abattoirs
 Main objective
make animal unconscious for gentle and painless death
 No
standard method for all animals under all conditions
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 Muslims and Jews not in favour of stunning
6. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
Modern method - 1. Stunning
 Stunning effective in having calm animal
 Stunning may adversely affect quality of carcass
cause injury to medulla oblongata in brain controls blood circulation and respiration
 Desirable these systems continue to function - help
pump blood out of carcass when blood vessels
cutMethod of shooting by free bullet - too dangerous
to use in abattoirs
 Captive bolt - discarded
 Carbon dioxide anesthesia - exact dose of gas
important for specific length of time
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6. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE –
Modern method -1. Stunning
 Electrical stunning widely used
increases frequency of ‘blood splash” - appearance
of small dark red areas in meat
also lowers glycogen reserves of muscle
approximately in 5 % electrically stunned animals
heart failure - animal dead before incision made
 Stunning - outcome of industrial revolution
 Initially meant to protect the slaughterer and other
employees
 Reality - no relation with mercy on animals
 More animals be slaughtered in least time
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SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
2. Animal positioning
 Islamic method - lay animal on left flank preferably
facing Kibla
Scientific evidence
 When laid on left flank, likelihood of more blood to
drain owing to body pressure on heart
 Laying animal enables it to convulse
 results from contraction of muscles due to lack of
oxygen in brain cells when incision made in neck
 During convulsions blood squeezed out of vessels
 Hence more blood drains out
a pre-requisite for meat of superior eating and
keeping quality
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SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
2. Animal positioning -Scientific evidence
 During convulsions blood squeezed out of vessels
 Hence more blood drains out
a pre-requisite for meat of superior eating and
keeping quality
 Evidence suggests more blood lost from sheep in
horizontal position than those hung vertically
 Islam permits use of knife or any sharp object for
bleeding
 Incision made in neck with simultaneous recitation of
the name of Allah - Takbir
 Takbir has religious significance to believer
makes submission to Allah
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SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
3. Bleeding techniques
 Slaughtering actually done in the name of Allah
 “So eat of (meats) on which God’s name has been
pronounced if ye have faith in His Signs”
 (Al Anaam - Vl:118).
 Slaughtering not in name of any person or deity in
accordance with following commands:
 “Eat not of meats on which God’s name has not been
pronounced: that would be impiety. But the evil ones
ever inspire their friends to commit end with you if ye
were to obey them, ye would indeed be Pagans”
 (Vl:121).
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SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
3. Bleeding techniques - Islamic method
 Cut throat transversely without injuring spinal cord to
severe carotid arteries, jugular veins, oesophagus and
trachea
 Two requirements in slaughter of animals for meat:
 animals be dispatched without unnecessary
suffering
 bleeding be as complete as possible
 When both carotid arteries and veins severed
connection between brain and body retained via spinal
cord and brain sends messages to heart and lungs
 Heart pumps blood to parts of body
 drained out from severed blood vessels in neck
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SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
3. Bleeding techniques – Scientific evidence
Results of a comparison of study on different methods of
slaughtering:
 Maximum blood lost in Kosher method
Jewish method similar to Islamic as regards
physical details
 Minimum when chicken simply beheaded
 Islamic method ensures maximum blood drainage
from body before completion of death process
 Unconsciousness induced between 3 to 6 seconds
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SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
3. Bleeding – Scientific evidence
 Blood excellent medium for growth of microorganisms
 Meat retaining more blood than critical level liable to bacterial
spoilage
 Blood retention in tissues can cause unpleasant appearance
and discolouration in meat
 Keeping and eating qualities of meat depend, in part, on
removal of maximum blood from carcass
 To produce good carcass animal be bled effectively
 Heart and respiratory system must function continuously as
long as possible after severance of blood vessels
 This attained most thoroughly when heart and respiratory
functions retained by maintaining medulla oblongata/spinal cord
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SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
3. Bleeding techniques – Scientific evidence
Positioning of animal in Islamic method:
 clearly prevents retraction of carotids
 ensures rapid onset of unconsciousness and
painless death
In Islamic method of slaughtering maximum
blood drained - outranks other slaughtering
techniques
HENCE BETTER QUALITY OF MEAT
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ANIMAL RIGTHTS IN ISLAM
 Islam recognized animal rights long before human
rights recognized in Western World
 Numerous Ahadiths on kindness and mercy towards
animals
 Holy Prophet (pbuh) advised:
 Nourish animals well
 Save animals from hunger and thirst
 Show kindness to animals
 Do not hit or mark animal on its face
 Do not shoot arrows at cattle or bird tied or held up
 Do not fight animals for sports or recreation
 Do not unjustly kill even a sparrow or smaller bird
(other than for food)
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EXTRODUCTION
Current scientific data reveals Islamic
recommendations for slaughtering animals
highly rational
Good physique and health considered basic
requirement for selection of food animals
Pre-slaughter management of animals requires
they should not be fatigued, excited or neurotic
Proper rest, absence of hunger and thirst and
use of sharp knife alleviate pains of death
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Thank You
HALAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Head Office:
192- Ahmad Block, New Garden Town , Lahore, Pakistan
Ph: +92 42 35913096-8 , Fax: +92 42 35913056
E-mail : info@halalrc.org Web: www.halalrc.org