Women doing the slaughter

Reference: Fataawa Noor ‘alad-Darb – Question No.5997, Page 421, Volume 11

Question: Is a woman allowed to carry out the slaughter – whether that is of a bird or any other animal?

Response: Yes, it is permissible for a woman to slaughter a bird or any other animal larger than a bird. And the evidence for that is [the story of] the slavegirl who was looking after the sheep by the mountain pass in Madeenah, and a wolf attacked one of the sheep, so the slavegirl slaughtered it with a stone[1], and this was during the time of the Prophet ﷺ.

So the slaughter done by a woman is halaal – even if she is on her menses, and even if there is a man around who is capable of doing the slaughter. And based upon this, the response to the question is the slaughter carried out by the woman is halaal, with the condition that she is a Muslimah, or from the people of the Book – either a [practising] Jew or a [practising] Christian.

Translator’s note
[1] al-Bukhaaree – No.5182

He is a graduate of the Islaamic University of Madeenah, having graduated from the Institute of Arabic Language, and later the Faculty of Sharee'ah in 2004. He currently resides in Birmingham, UK.

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