Question:
Assalamualaikum ustaz. Hopefully, the current calamity is removed from us quickly. I have a question. Is it permissible for a menstruating woman to slaughter a cow or goat? I heard that a menstruating woman is impermissible to slaughter any animal fearing that it would taint the flesh of the slaughtered animal.
Answer:
Waalaikumussalam wbt. Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Slaughter is one of the methods that would make the flesh of animals permissible to be eaten. It is haram to eat the flesh of animals that are not slaughtered first for if it is not slaughtered then, it is considered as carcass. This is in accordance with the statement of Allah SWT:
حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّـهِ بِه
“Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah,”
Surah al-Maidah (3)
What is categorized as a valid slaughter is when both the trachea and oesophagus are severed. Syeikh Zakariyya al-Ansari states:
فالذبح الشامل للنحر، وقتل غير المقدور عليه بما يأتي قطع حلقوم وهو مجرى النفس ومرئ وهو مجرى الطعام من حيوان مقدور
“Slaughter is included as al-Nahr and the killing of animals that cannot be slain through normal methods is severing the trachea (halqum) which is the respiratory tract and oesophagus (mariyy) which is the digestive tract for animals.” (Refer Fath Al-Wahhab Syarh Minhaj Al-Tullab, 2/333)
Scholars also set the condition that the act of slaughtering must be by a Muslim. This is based on the statement of Allah SWT:
إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ
“…except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death],”
Surah al-Maidah (3)
This verse is basically for Muslims. Imam al-Nawawi said:
الاول الذابح والعاقر يشترط كونه مسلما أو كتابيا
“The first condition for the slaughterer is he must be a Muslim of People of the Book.” (Refer Raudhah Al-Talibin, 2/505)
Syeikh Zakariyya al-Ansari said:
الْأَوَّلُ الذَّابِحُ أَوْ الصَّائِدُ وَشَرْطُهُ مُسْلِمٌ أَوْ كِتَابِيٌّ يُنَاكَحُ أَهْلُ مِلَّتِهِ أَيْ يَحِلُّ لَنَا مُنَاكَحَتُهُمْ
“The first requisite for slaughter or hunted animal is the slaughterer and the condition for him is he must be a Muslim or the People of the Book who is permissible for us to marry.” (Refer Asna Al-Matalib Syarh Raudh Al-Talib, 7/65)
For the slaughterer, it is not conditioned for the person to be either a man or woman. As long as the slaughter fulfils the main conditions which is the severed of the trachea and oesophagus, then the slaughter is valid. We have previously discussed the validity of woman’s slaughter in Irsyad al-Fatwa Series 277 [1]
Coming back to the presented question, it is permissible for a menstruating woman to slaughter cows or other animals. Their slaughter is valid. This is according to the hadith narrated by Ka’ab bin Malik. He said:
أَنَّ امْرَأَةً ذَبَحَتْ شَاةً بِحَجَرٍ فَسُئِلَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ فَأَمَرَ بِأَكْلِهَا
“A lady slaughtered a sheep with a stone and then the Prophet (ﷺ) was asked about it and he permitted it to be eaten.”
Sahih al-Bukhari (5504)
Imam al-Nawawi said:
تحل ذبيحة المرأة بلا خلاف لحديث كعب بن مالك المذكور في الكتاب وذكاة الرجل أفضل من ذكاتها لما ذكره المصنف وسواء كانت المرأة حرة أو أمة طاهرا أو حائضا أو نفساء مسلمة أو كتابية فذبيحتها في كل هذه الاحوال حلال
“The slaughter of a woman is halal without any khilaf according to the stated hadith of Ka’ab bin Malik and the slaughter of a man is better compared to a woman as stated by the author (Imam al-Syirazi) regardless of whether the woman is free or a slave, experiencing nifas (post-natal bleeding) or menstruating. Regardless of whether it is a Muslimah or a woman from among the People of the Book in all these situations are halal.” (Refer Al-Majmu’ Syarh Al-Muhazzab, 9/76)
He also cited the opinion of Ibnu Munzir where he said that there is an ijma’ regarding the halal status of a person in the state of junub (major hadas) or even women who are menstruating or experiencing nifas. (Refer Al-Majmu’ Syarh Al-Muhazzab, 9/77)
To conclude, the slaughter of menstruating women is valid. What’s important is she is a Muslimah and it fulfils the main conditions of slaughter which is the trachea and oesophagus are severed. If these conditions are fulfilled, then the slaughter is valid regardless of the situation of the woman such as in menstruation, nifas or others.
May Allah SWT give us all the correct understanding in religion. Wallahua’lam.
Endnotes:
[1] Refer the following link https://muftiwp.gov.my/en/artikel/irsyad-fatwa/irsyad-fatwa-umum-cat/2902-irsyad-al-fatwa-277-the-ruling-of-slaughter-by-woman