its slaughter. This has been narrated from Ali. This is also the view of al-Nakha'i, al-Shafi'i, Hammad, Ishaq, and the scholars of reasoning (ahl al-ra'y). Ata', Mujahid, and Makhul said: If a Christian slaughters in the name of the Messiah, it is lawful, for Allah the Exalted has permitted for us their slaughtered meat, and He knows that he will say that. Our position is the saying of Allah the Exalted: {And do not eat of that upon which the name of Allah has not been mentioned} [Qur'an 6:121], and His saying: {And that which has been dedicated to other than Allah} [Qur'an 5:3]. The verse intends by this what they slaughter according to its (the religion's) conditions, like the Muslim. If it is not known whether the slaughterer mentioned the name of Allah or not, or if he mentioned a name other than Allah or not, then their slaughter is lawful, because Allah the Exalted has permitted for us to eat what the Muslim and the Person of the Scripture slaughter, and He knows that we cannot monitor every slaughterer. It has been narrated from Aisha that they said: O Messenger of Allah, there are people who have recently come out of polytheism, and they bring us meat; we do not know whether they mentioned the name of Allah over it or not? He said: "Mention [the name of Allah] yourselves, and eat." Reported by al-Bukhari.

Section: If a Person of the Scripture slaughters what Allah has forbidden for him, such as any animal with a claw—Qatada said: This refers to the mountain goat (al-ayyil), the ostrich, the duck, and that which does not have split hooves—or if he slaughters a beast that has fat forbidden to him, the manifest (zahir) statement of Ahmad and al-Khiraqi is its permissibility. For Ahmad reported from Malik, regarding a Jew who slaughters a sheep, that he said: "He does not eat of its fat." Ahmad said: "This is a subtle (daqiq) school of thought." The implication of this is that he did not see it as correct. This is the choice of Ibn Hamid and Abu al-Khattab. Abu al-Hasan al-Tamimi and the Qadi took the position of its prohibition. Al-Tamimi reported this from al-Dahhak, Mujahid, and Sawwar. This is also the view of Malik, because Allah the Exalted said: {And the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you} [Qur'an 5:5], and this is not from their food. Furthermore, it is a part of the animal that was not permitted for its slaughterer, so it is not permitted for anyone else, like the blood. Our position is what was narrated by Abdullah ibn Mughaffal, who said: "A bag of fat was lowered down from the fortress of Khaybar, so I leaped to take it, and there was the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) smiling at me." Agreed upon. Also, it is a slaughter (dhakah) that has rendered the meat and the hide lawful, so it renders the fat lawful, like the slaughter of a Muslim. The verse is an argument in our favor, for the meaning of their food is their slaughtered animals; this is how the scholars interpreted it, and their analogy is invalidated by what the usurper (ghasib) slaughters.

Section: If he slaughters something that he claims is forbidden to him, and it is not proven that it is forbidden to him, it is lawful, due to the generality of the verse. His saying that it is forbidden is not accepted.

1733 - Issue: He said: (If he is mute, he makes a sign toward the heaven)

Ibn al-Mundhir said: All scholars from whom we have reports have reached a consensus on the permissibility of the slaughtered animal of a mute person, including al-Layth, al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, and Abu Thawr. This is also the view of al-Sha'bi, Qatada, and al-Hasan ibn Salih. Once this is established, he points to the heaven, for his pointing takes the place of the speech of a speaking person, and his pointing to the heaven indicates his intention to mention the name of Him who is in the heaven. Al-Sha'bi said something similar. This is supported by the hadith of Abu Hurayra that a man brought a non-Arab slave girl to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and said: O Messenger of Allah, I have an obligation to free a believing slave; shall I free this one? The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said to her: "Where is Allah?" She pointed to the heaven. He asked: "Who am I?" She pointed with her finger to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and to the heaven, meaning, "You are the Messenger of Allah." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Free her, for she is a believer." Reported by Imam Ahmad and the Qadi al-Burti in their Musnads. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) judged her to be a believer based on her pointing to the heaven, meaning that Allah, Glory be to Him, is there; thus, it is all the more appropriate to suffice with that as a sign of the Tasmiyah. If he were to make a sign that indicates the Tasmiyah, and that were known, it would be sufficient.