The Creed of Compassion-Islamic Teachings & Answering Doctrinal Misconceptions

Issue No. 2225- Slaughtering animals using machinery in which the aforementioned conditions are observed, is permissible and such animals are ṭāhir and halal.

Issue No. 2233- Nowadays, sometimes, an electric shock is given to animals to stun them and make cutting of their heads by machines easy. There is no harm in this act, if the animal is alive after the shock.

Issue No. 2227- In order to slaughter a camel, while following the above-mentioned five conditions for slaughtering, one should thrust a knife or any other sharp metal into the hollow below its neck. This is called "naḥr" and according to some narrations, it is better to thrust a knife in the neck of the camel when it is standing. But, there is no harm either, if they thrust the knife into the hollow of its neck while it has knelt down or is lying on its side with the front part of its body towards the direction of qiblah.

Issue No. 2231- The head of the animal should not be severed from its body before it has completely died as a recommended precaution. Therefore, if there is some equipment for slaughtering animals which sever the head of the animal, though the animal does not become haram but it would be better that they work in a way that the head is not cut off completely. In any case, all the conditions prescribed for slaughtering should be observed in machines. It is also a recommended precaution that the spinal cord of the animal which is in the middle of the vertebral column, should not be cut before the animal dies, nor should the animal be skinned before it dies.

Issue No. 2235- If two persons jointly hunt an animal while one of them is a Muslim and the other one is an unbeliever, or one of them utters the name of Allah, and the other one does not do so intentionally, the meat of that animal will be haram, as an obligatory precaution.

Issue No. 2242- If a person sends the dog and he himself reaches the animal with enough time needed to slaughter it, but he does not have a knife or it takes him some time to look for a knife, in case the prey dies during this time, the obligatory precaution is to avoid its meat.

Issue No. 2244- If a person sends a trained dog for hunting an animal and that dog hunts another animal, there is no harm in it, and if it hunts that animal along with another animal, both of them are halal.

Issue No. 2245- If several persons send a dog jointly and one of them is an unbeliever or does not utter the name of Allah intentionally or sends several dogs, and one of them is not trained, as an obligatory precaution, they should avoid the meat of that hunt.

Issue No. 2246- If a person hunts an animal by a hawk or a trained animal other than a hunting dog, that hunt is not halal. However, if a person reaches the animal while it is still alive and slaughters it in the manner prescribed by sharia, it is halal.

Issue No. 2249- If a fish falls out of water or a wave throws it out, or remains on the dry ground when the tide falls and it dies, it is haram. However, if it is caught by hand or by some other means before it dies, it will be halal if it dies later.

Issue No. 2260- It is haram to eat filthy, dirty and disgusting things which one’s nature abhors, like the droppings of animals, nose mucus, etc., though they may be ṭāhir.

Issue No. 2264- Drinking alcoholic beverages is haram and among the major sins. As a matter of fact, it has been considered the greatest sin in some narrations [1] , and anyone who considers it halal, in case he is aware that such consideration entails denying Allah and the holy Prophet (ṣ), is an unbeliever.It has been narrated from Imam Sadiq (as) that he said, "Wine is the root of all evils and sins. A person who drinks wine loses his senses. At that time, he forgets Allah, does not refrain afraid of any sin, respects no one, does not respect the rights of his close relatives and does not desist from committing evil openly [2] . The spirit of faith departs from him and only the impure and malicious spirit, which is far-off from the blessings of Allah, remains in his body. Allah, His angels, His prophets and the true believers curse such a man [3] and his prayers are not accepted for forty days [4] . On the Day of Judgement his face will be black" [5] .