Women Slaughtering Animal
Question :

Is it permissible for women to slaughter animals?

Answer :

Yes, it is permissible.

Black Dog
Question :

It is mentioned in the edicts of his Eminence that the dog used for hunting should not be purely black; but if you use a black dog what will be the consequences of this? Will this be a sin, or will the prey be forbidden to consume?

Answer :

The meat of an animal hunted by a dog whose entire body is black is unlawful to consume based on an obligatory precaution.

Fish Taken out of Water Alive
Question :

It is mentioned the edicts of His Eminence that the fish must be taken out of the water alive when it was caught in order for it to be lawful to consume. If there is fish in a shop and it has scales, or the eggs of such a fish, how am I supposed to know whether it was caught dead or alive? Does this mean we have to know that this fish in particular in front of us was caught alive? Or can we make assumptions based on the possibility that it was caught alive?

Answer :

The conventional and usual way of fishing and catching fish is according to the sharia-defined way, i.e. take the fish alive from the water. So the doubt whether it is caught alive or not is usually not reasonable and one can ignore it.
But if the doubt is based on evidence indicating that there is also a convention that people catch fish in another way in which the fish die in the water, this will make the consumption of such fish unlawful.

Hunting By a Spear
Question :

Is a fish that is hunted and killed by a spear or harpoon lawful to eat?

Answer :

If the fish dies outside the water then it is permissible to consume it. If it dies inside the water then it is prohibited to consume.

Steel
Question :

when slaughtering an animal, can we use a knife or a sword made out of steel? or can we only use a knife made out of iron?

Answer :

One should use iron. However, it is permissible to use steel if it is made mainly from iron and the additional substances are minimal.

Meat that is Slaughtered by a Christian
Question :

Is it permissible to consume meat that is slaughtered by a Christian?

Answer :

No, it is not permissible.

Non-Muslim Butcher
Question :

If the butcher is a non-Muslim and he slaughters an animal, is the meat of that animal permissible to consume? What if the non-Muslim slaughterer has similar laws to us in his religion, and what if the non-Muslim follows the Islamic laws and conditions of slaughtering the animal?

Answer :

It is not permissible to consume meat slaughtered by a non-Muslim.

Slaughter Chickens with Automated Machine
Question :

In some countries, Muslims slaughter chickens with automated machine and a CD player read Takbir. Is such meat Halal?

Answer :

It is not permissible to consume the chicken in the mentioned case.

Stunned Animal
Question :

If the meat is stunned before slaughtering, will it be permissible to eat? What if one doubts whether the stunning has killed the animal?

Answer :

If one knows that the death of the animal was a result of the slaughtering process, it is permissible to consume. Otherwise, it is not permissible to consume.

Halal Meat
Question :

If a chicken is slaughtered using a machine, but Allah's name is mentioned over it as well, and other required conditions are also fulfilled, will it be permissible to consume?

Answer :

The slaughterer must be a Muslim and the act of slaughtering should be related to him in such a way the slaughtering and the operating of the machinery are conventionally simultaneous. If the slaughtering is related to the machine, the slaughtered bird is not lawful even if the name of Allah was mentioned.

Muslim Witnessing Fishing
Question :

For a fish to be lawful to consume, does a Muslim have to witness the person getting the fish out of the water alive?

Answer :

It is sufficient in the permissibility of consuming the fish that it is removed from the water alive, even if the person who has done that is not a Muslim. It is not a condition that a Muslim sees that take place. It is sufficient if a trustworthy person informed of such, or if this is generally known to be the case from the surrounding circumstances.

Fish Sold by Non-Muslim
Question :

In some countries, fish is mostly sold by non-Muslims. They kill the fish by throwing it on the ground (in front of buyers), clean it and cut it into pieces. Is it considered prohibited eat such fish because it is killed by a non-Muslim?

Answer :

It is permissible to eat the fish when it dies outside the water, even by cutting it into pieces or separating it into parts or by cutting the side to clean it, whether a Muslim or a non-Muslim does this.

Black Dogs
Question :

I have heard that you cannot eat the meat of animals hunted by black dogs. Is this true?

Answer :

It is permissible to consume the meat of an animal hunted by a dog provided that the rest of the hunting conditions are met. Yes, if the dog is black, and it is not mixed with any other color, then based on compulsory precaution, it is not permissible to consume the animal that such a dog hunts.

Artificial Fish Cultivation
Question :

Today in non-Muslim countries, there are a lot of artificial fish cultivation places where the fish are pulled out alive (not dead). Even in the assembly line at a factory, the fish often alive where it is treated. I also worked on the ship in a non-Muslim country and saw that the sea fish are caught alive. Is this information sufficient to safely buy fish sold by non-Muslims, or is it necessary to know that the particular fish that I am buying was taken out of the water alive?

Answer :

If the general trend in fishing is that the fish are removed out of the water alive and the business is based on not marketing fish found dead in the water, and the possibility of selling fish which has died in the water is because of error, one should not pay attention to such possibilities and the fish may be bought and eaten.

Stunning animals
Question :

If one doubts whether the animal was slaughtered correctly or not, can he buy its meat and eat it?

Answer :

If one doubts whether the animal was slaughtered in the religious correct way when purchasing the meat from a Muslim, then it is permissible to assume that it is slaughtered correctly. Yes, if he knew that the meat sold by a Muslim is not slaughtered in accordance to the religious teachings, then it is not permissible for him to buy it or consume it.

Slaughtering Process
Question :

If the person who pushes the button to start the machine for the slaughtering of large quantities of chicken is a Muslim who recites the Bismillah while the slaughtering takes place, is this method sufficient?

Answer :

Reciting the Name of Allah suffices while slaughtering such a large quantity as long as the slaughtering and the operating of the machinery are conventionally simultaneous and the machinery is merely a tool of the slaughterer, as long as all other conditions are fulfilled.
However, if the machine is continuously slaughtering the chickens with its automated movement due to the continuing supply of electricity, without the direct involvement of the person and him being regarded as the actual slaughterer, then it is not sufficient.

The Slayer Must be Muslim
Question :

Can we hire non-Muslims in a halal butcher shop?

Answer :

It is permissible to hire him, but if he is not a Christian or Jew and he touches the meat with dampness it becomes Najis based on compulsory precaution.
If the animals are slaughtered there too, the slayer must be a Muslim.

Stunned Animal
Question :

We have recently learned that animals are stunned with electricity to make them unconscious before they are slaughtered. Is this allowed according to Shia fiqh, and if so up to what level of stunning is allowed?

Answer :

If its death is caused by electric shock, then it is prohibited to consume. If the shock just put the animal to sleep and death was caused by slaughtering the animal, then it is permitted to consume.

Slaughtered by Nawasib
Question :

According to Shia jurisprudence, we are not permitted to eat meat of a lawful animal if it was slaughtered by Nawasib. Are we allowed to eat meat of animal slaughtered by "Wahabis” and “Salafis" since they hate Imam Ali (peace be upon them)?

Answer :

If they hate the Ahlulbait (Peace be upon them) then their slaughtered animal must be avoided based on compulsory precaution; but if they hate the followers of the Imams of the Ahlulbait without hating the Imams (peace be upon them), then it allowed to consume their slaughtered lawful animal.

Non-Practicing Butcher
Question :

If a butcher is a non-practicing Muslim, i.e. he does not offer prayers and other obligations and refrain from prohibited things, and I know that he does not observe the conditions of slaughtering, such as placing the animals to face Qibla and reciting the Name of Allah, is his meat permissible?

Answer :

If the butcher knows that the animal must face the Qibla when slaughtered and he does not observe such a condition deliberately, then the meat of the animal is not lawful to consume. If he forgot to do so or he did not know that this is a condition, then the meat is permissible to consume.
If the butcher forgets to recite the Name of Allah when slaughtering the animal, then it is lawful to consume the meat. If he did not do so deliberately or out of ignorance, then the meat is unlawful to consume.