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Animal Crusaders • Commemorative Issue • October 2010Exploitation of the mutesEgypt Fatwa : A fatwa onthe issue of live exportIn the Name of Allah, Most Gracious,Most MercifulThanks be to Allah and prayers andpeace upon the noblest of all hismessengers, Mohammed bin Abdullah,Allah's blessings and peace be upon him,upon his family, companions andwhoever had followed them with pietytill the day of judgment and upon allprophets and messengers.Mr Ahmed El Sherbeeny the Lawyerbefore the court of Cassation andChairman of the Board of Directors ofthe Egyptian Society of Animal Friendshas submitted a letter including arequest of a statement of the Islamic lawopinion in two matters:The first matter is about the opinion ofthe Islamic law with regard to those whotorture the animal at the time of itsslaughter by committing acts thatcontradict treating it with mercy.The second matter is about the opinionof the Islamic law with regard totransporting the animals for longdistances from one country to anotherby means that do not observe the safetyof the animal or treating it with leniencyin the manner mentioned in detail in hisletter. To answer the foregoing, we say:First: The Islamic law has made it a mustthat the animal would be treated at thetime of its slaughter with leniency andby the means that guarantee treating itwith mercy. All this is included in thegoodwill which was ordered by theProphet(Allah's Peace and Blessings beUpon Him) in his true saying(Hadith) inwhich he says: "Allah almighty hasdictated goodwill in everything :if youkill, you perfect the killing, if youslaughter you perfect the slaughter. Inslaughtering one must sharpen theblade and comfort the animal beforeslaughtering it" narrated by Muslim. This56Prophetic saying indicates thatslaughtering the animal must be carriedout with leniency and mercy. This is someof what is understood by the wordgoodwill mentioned in the propheticsaying and what is understood fromrequesting the sharpening of the bladewith which the animal shall beslaughtered so that the animal wouldnot be in pain from the slaughter by thedull blade. This is what is meant explicitlyby the saying of the Prophet, Allah'sPeace be Upon Him, "Comfort the animalthat will be slaughtered."To satisfy such order, it is required thatwhatever comforts the animal until itsslaughter must be done."It has been mentioned in the trueprophetic traditions what attestsforbidding the sharpening of theslaughtering tool before the animal thatwill be slaughtered. The Prophet(Allah'sPeace and Blessings be Upon Him) sawa man sharpening his knife before theanimal that he was about to slaughter,so he forbade him from doing so andtold him, "Do you want to slaughter ittwice, once with sharpening the bladebefore it and once more by cutting itsthroat!?"It has also been mentioned in thetraditions narrated that Imam Aly(mayAllah be pleased with him) prohibitedthe slaughter of sheep before each otheror any other animals so that the feelingof the animal would not be hurt in itslast moments.These evidences and others attest thatany act that contradicts leniency withat the time of slaughtering it – in themanner mentioned in the question indetail – is considered a sinful andforbidden act and does not agree withthe leniency with the animal that Islamcalls for. This is the answer for the firstquestion.Second: With regard to the secondquestion, we hereby say that the call ofIslam to be lenient with the animal andto treat it with mercy includes all casesthat necessitate such mercy, amongwhich is transporting the animal. Suchtransportation must be carried out by acomfortable mean that guarantees itssafety, prohibits its torture, threateningits life or afflicting it with diseases thatare contagious to the human being orthird party. This is deduced for theProphetic saying of the Prophet(Allah'sBlessings and Peace be upon him), "Anygood deed rendered in a hardship is likean almsgiving" and his saying, PeaceUpon Him, "A woman entered hell firefor detaining a cat which she neither fednor left to eat the leftovers of the land."These two sayings and others attest thattreating the animal must be built on itsmercy in all cases, among which istransporting it from one place toanother.Torturing the animal at the time of itstransport – pursuant to what ismentioned in the letter of the questioner– is considered prohibited and forbiddenin the law of Islam if the case is asmentioned in the question.Allah is Higher and knows Best.Azhar Sheikh ImamDr/ Mohamed Sayed Tantawy(Signed)24 April, 2008Seal : Azhar SheikhdomAuthorship and translationScientific BureauFOUAD NEMAH14(a) Sherif, St Heliopolis,Tel : 2567808 – 450621937, Kasr El Nil Street, Cairo Tel : 3922124Accurate True Translation