Slaughtering the Mother Slaughters the Fetus
Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
Definition:
The term janīn refers to the unborn offspring within the mother’s womb.
[Al-Munjid, p. 126]
Hadith Evidence
Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
ذكاة الجنين ذكاة أمه
“The slaughter of the fetus is the slaughter of its mother.”
[Sahih: Sahih Abu Dawud 2452; Abu Dawud 2828; Ibn Majah 3199; Tirmidhi 1476; Dar Qutni 4/273; Ahmad 3/31; Ibn Hibban 1077 – al-Mawārid; Sharh al-Sunnah 11/228; Irwā’ al-Ghalīl 2539, 8/172]
Scholarly Opinions
- Imam al-Shāfiʿī, Imam Muhammad, Imam Abu Yusuf:
The fetus does not require separate slaughtering. - Imam Abu Hanifah:
If the fetus emerges alive, it must be slaughtered separately before consumption; if dead upon extraction, it is not permissible to eat.
Preferred View (Rājiḥ)
The opinion of Imam al-Shāfiʿī and others is correct, as it is closer to the hadith.
This hadith appears, at first glance, to contradict the principle of prohibition of carrion; however, the One who prohibited carrion also made the fetus — like fish and locust — an exception. In reality, it is not carrion but a part of its mother’s body, and slaughtering each individual part is not necessary.
References for Further Detail:
- Aʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn 2/353
- Subul al-Salām 4/1856
