72/37. Chapter:
Sahih Bukhari 5544 — Slaughter Rules on Journey
To kill a runaway camel.
لِخَبَرِ رَافِعٍ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.
Hadith About Slaughter During Travel and Runaway Animals
Sahih Bukhari : 5544
Sahih BukhariHadith Number 5544
حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ سَلاَمٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ الطَّنَافِسِيُّ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ مَسْرُوقٍ، عَنْ عَبَايَةَ بْنِ رِفَاعَةَ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، رَافِعِ بْنِ خَدِيجٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ كُنَّا مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي سَفَرٍ فَنَدَّ بَعِيرٌ مِنَ الإِبِلِ ـ قَالَ ـ فَرَمَاهُ رَجُلٌ بِسَهْمٍ فَحَبَسَهُ، قَالَ ثُمَّ قَالَ " إِنَّ لَهَا أَوَابِدَ كَأَوَابِدِ الْوَحْشِ فَمَا غَلَبَكُمْ مِنْهَا فَاصْنَعُوا بِهِ هَكَذَا ". قَالَ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّا نَكُونُ فِي الْمَغَازِي وَالأَسْفَارِ فَنُرِيدُ أَنْ نَذْبَحَ فَلاَ تَكُونُ مُدًى قَالَ " أَرِنْ مَا نَهَرَ ـ أَوْ أَنْهَرَ ـ الدَّمَ وَذُكِرَ اسْمُ اللَّهِ فَكُلْ، غَيْرَ السِّنِّ وَالظُّفُرِ، فَإِنَّ السِّنَّ عَظْمٌ، وَالظُّفُرَ مُدَى الْحَبَشَةِ ".
Rafi' bin Khadij Narrated from:
While we were with the Prophet. on a journey, one of the camels ran away. A man shot it with an arrow and stopped it. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Of these camels some are as wild as wild beasts, so if one of them runs away and you cannot catch it, then do like this (shoot it with an arrow)."I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Sometimes when we are in battles or on a journey we want to slaughter (animals) but we have no knives." He said, "Listen! If you slaughter the animal with anything that causes its blood to flow out, and if Allah's Name is mentioned on slaughtering it, eat of it, provided that the slaughtering instrument is not a tooth or a nail, as the tooth is a bone and the nail is the knife of Ethiopians."
Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 5544In-book reference : Book 72, Hadith 69USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 7, Book 67, Hadith 452
Summary of Sahih Bukhari Hadith 5544
This Hadith gives a practical answer about slaughter during travel and battle. Rafi bin Khadij said that they sometimes wanted to slaughter animals but did not have knives. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم told them that anything which makes the blood flow, with Allah's Name mentioned, may be used, except a tooth or nail. The Hadith also tells of a camel that ran away during a journey. A man shot it with an arrow and stopped it. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم explained that some camels may act like wild animals, so if one overpowers people and cannot be caught, they may do the same. This is a clear Hadith about halal slaughter rules in a hard situation.
What we learn from this hadith
- Slaughter should include mentioning Allah's Name.
- The tool must make the blood flow, but not be a tooth or nail.
- When an animal runs away and cannot be caught, it may be stopped as described in the Hadith.
