Bukhari

And Jurayj narrated from Ata that slaughtering (dhabh) and sacrificing (nahr) can only be done at the place of slaughtering, that is, at the throat, and at the place of sacrificing, that is, at the upper part of the chest. I asked, “Is it sufficient to sacrifice (by stabbing at the upper chest) those animals which are usually slaughtered (by cutting at the throat)?” He said, “Yes. Allah has mentioned the slaughtering of the cow (in the Quran). So if you slaughter an animal which is usually sacrificed (like a camel), it is permissible, but in my opinion, sacrificing it (nahr) is better. Slaughtering is the cutting of the veins of the neck.” I asked, “While cutting the veins of the neck, should the spinal cord also be cut?” He said, “I do not consider it necessary, and Nafi‘ informed me that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) forbade cutting the spinal cord. He said, ‘Only cut up to the neck bone (the veins), and then leave it so that the animal dies.’ And Allah, the Exalted, said (in Surah al-Baqarah) «وإذ قال موسى لقومه إن الله يأمركم أن تذبحوا بقرة‏» ‘And when Musa (Moses) said to his people: Indeed, Allah commands you to slaughter a cow.’ And He said «فذبحوها وما كادوا يفعلون‏» ‘Then they slaughtered it, though they almost did not do it.’ Sa‘id narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that slaughtering can be done at the throat or at the upper part of the chest. Ibn ‘Umar, Ibn ‘Abbas, and Anas (may Allah be pleased with them all) said that if the head is cut off, there is no harm.

Narrated Asma bint Abu Bakr: We slaughtered a horse (by Nahr) during the lifetime of the Prophet and ate it.