Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem,
Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,
Praise be to Allah the Almighty who is the Lord of the Worlds, and Endless Blessings be upon Our Master, the Most Beloved Prophet & Last Messenger of Islam (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam).Thank you brother for your question in relation to halal chickens. This particular issue is a very controversial one especially in this day and age of modern technology, whereby so many animals can be slaughtered in a matter of seconds rather than minutes.
Previously, I had answered a question similar to your own, in relation of halal chickens. It maybe found under the
Halal/Haram Archives, in this Ask Imam section. It must be made clear, that an animal when it is to be slaughtered, must be done so on an individual basis. That is that each and every chicken, must have the name of Allah recited upon it, prior to slaughtering.
The verse of the Qur'an al kareem which states:
'wa ma uhilla bihi li ghayrillahi'
'and the flesh of animals slaughtered, by invoking a name other than Allah'
(Surah Baqarah 2, 173), and:
'wa ma uhilla li ghayrillahi bi hi'
'and that on which any name has been invoked other than Allah'
(Surah Ma'idah 5, 3.)
is a clear meaning to this.
Those chickens which are placed in a line, and are slaughtered all at once, with a blade, with Allahs name recited upon them at once have been deemed as an impermissable method to the slaughter of the animal, and have been stipulated as being haram, by some of the scholars of the Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jama'ah.
Similarly, those animals that are slaughtered, after the bad treatment of the physical animal, for example, chickens with broken legs, or wings, is also permissable, yet their consumption maybe permissable, as they have not yet been slaughtered, but have been injured, and Islam looks at the well being of animals in every circumstance, whether they are going to be slaughtered, or not.
In a hadith of the Beloved Prophet of Allah
(Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam), Hadrat Anas Bin Malik
(Radi Allahu anhu) narrates: 'The Messenger of Allah
(Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) slaughtered two spotted horned goats, that He slaughtered them with His own to hands, He recited the 'Bismillah' and the 'Takbir', he further states that he saw the Messenger of Allah
(Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam), place his Ennobled Foot upon their sides, as the Messenger of Allah
(Salla Allahu ta'ala alayhi wa Sallam) would say 'Bismillahi wallahu Akbar'.
This hadith is a 'Muttafiqun 'Alayhi' hadith, meaning everyone had had a similar agreement upon its meaning, and is a Hadith from the Mishqat Shareef, in the chapter entitled 'Babu fil adhiyyati'. This hadith suggests that animals for slaughter are kept at first, and looked after, then it shows what is to be recited when they are slaughtered, and the method they are to be slaughtered in, for it to be deemed halal.
You may notice, that there is no hadith of the Most Beloved Messenger of Allah
(Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam), which suggests that more than one animal can be slaughtered with a single 'takbir'. Nor is there any hadith of the Beloved Messenger of Allah
(Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) that suggests the ill treatment of animals, prior to their slaughter. Rather there are Ahaadith-e-Mubarikah and verses of the Qur'an al kareem, which suggest the good treatment of both humans and animals, regardless of whethere they are to be slaughtered or not.
May Allah the Almighty provide us all with a halal sustenance, and may He keep us upon His Path, and the Path of the Most Beloved Prophet of Allah (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam), (Amin).Wallahu A'lamu Biththawaab
M. Waseem Ashrafi