My brother raises falcons and he feeds the falcons with pigeons. He slaughters the pigeons for them without adhering to the conditions of slaughter, such as facing towards the qiblah and saying Bismillah. Sometimes he asks the worker to slaughter the pigeons, and we have both Muslim and non-Muslim workers, including a Buddhist, and we have a Muslim worker who is afraid to slaughter, and he told my brother that he is scared to slaughter because of something that happened to him when he was a child, but my brother sometimes forces him to slaughter the pigeons. We also have other workers who are able to do it. We have a Buddhist working with us, and my brother does not make him slaughter the pigeons out of respect for his religion. I said to my brother: Why do you respect the feelings of the Buddhist, but you do not respect the feelings of the Muslim worker who is scared? But after I said that, I got worried that I had said something wrong. Is there anything in what I said that is contrary to sound creed? The Muslim worker also told my brother that he should slaughter facing towards the qiblah. Is it stipulated when slaughtering pigeons to feed to the falcons that the conditions of slaughter must be met?
Firstly:
It is permissible to feed dead meat (animals that were not slaughtered according to Islamic teachings) to birds of prey and the like, which are not permissible to eat.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Majmu`, 4/448: He may feed honey that has been contaminated with impurity to bees, and he may feed dead meat to hunting dogs and falcons, and the like, and he may feed food that is contaminated with impurity to animals. This is our view, and this is what was stated by `Ata’ and Muhammad ibn Jarir. End quote.
And he (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is permissible to feed dead meat to birds of prey, but it is not permissible to sell it.
End quote from al-Majmu`, 9/285.
It says in Kashshaf al-Qina`, 6/193: It is permissible to feed impurities to animals that are not going to be slaughtered or milked soon… It says in al-Mubdi’: It is prohibited to feed impurities to them if they are going to be eaten or milked soon, but if they are going to be slaughtered or milked later on – and it was said that that should be after the time determined by the scholars – then it is permissible [to feed impurities to them] according to the more correct opinion, in contrast to animals that are not to be eaten [and may be fed impurities at any time], according to the more correct view. End quote.
So there is nothing wrong with giving the falcons pigeons that have died.
Secondly:
If the conditions of slaughter are not met, then the slaughtered animal becomes dead meat (maytah).
The conditions of slaughter are that the slaughterman should be qualified, meaning that he should be a Muslim or one of the People of the Book [that is, a Jew or a Christian]; the slaughter should be done in the place of slaughter, by cutting the trachea, the oesophagus and the two veins; and the slaughterman should say Bismillah, according to the more correct view. See the answer to question no. 85669.
As for facing towards the qiblah, that is not a condition of slaughter.
Thirdly:
In the case of animals that may be eaten, such as pigeons, it is not permissible to kill them; rather they should be slaughtered in the manner prescribed in Islamic teachings, regardless of whether the one who slaughters them is going to eat them or feed them to birds of prey.
It was narrated from `Abdullah ibn `Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever kills a sparrow without giving it its rights, Allah will question him about it on the Day of Resurrection.” It was said: What are its rights? He said: “That you slaughter it to eat it, and you do not cut off its head and throw it away.” Narrated by an-Nasa’i, 4349; ad-Darimi, 1978. Adh-Dhahabi said in al-Muhadhdhab, 7/3614: Its isnad is good (jayyid). Ibn al-Mulaqqin classed it as authentic in al-Badr al-Munir, 9/376. Ibn Kathir classed it as sound in Irshad al-Faqih, 1/368. Al-Albani classed it as sound in Sahih at-Targhib, 1092.
The version narrated by Ahmad (6551) says: “Whoever kills a sparrow without giving it its rights, Allah will question him about it on the Day of Resurrection.” It was said: What are its rights? He said: “That you slaughter it properly, and do not hold it by its neck to pull its head off.”
Slaughtering without fulfilling the conditions of slaughter is killing the animal and wasting its value, because that makes it dead meat.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami ash-Shafa`i was asked: What is the ruling on selling things like musk to a disbeliever when it is known that he is going to perfume his idol with it, or selling an animal to a non-Muslim who is in a state of war with the Muslims when it is known that he will kill it for food without slaughtering it properly?
He replied: It is prohibited to sell in both cases, as that is included in the words of the scholars: Everything that the seller knows the purchaser will use for sinful purposes, it is prohibited for him to sell it to him. Perfuming idols and killing animals for food without slaughtering them properly are two grave sins, even for them (the disbelievers), because the more correct scholarly view is that the disbelievers are also obliged to follow the minor issues of sharia, like the Muslims. Therefore it is not permissible to help them by selling them things that enable them to commit those deeds. What is meant by knowing here is thinking it most likely to be the case. And Allah knows best.
End quote from al-Fatawa al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubra, 2/270.
So what your brother must do is slaughter the pigeons in the manner prescribed in Islam, and it is prohibited for him to kill them, meaning bringing about their death by any means other than the prescribed method of slaughter.
Fourthly:
Your brother has no right to force any worker to slaughter the pigeons, whether he is Muslim or not, so long as he did not hire him to do that. But if the agreement with the worker was that he should do this task and others, if the worker is afraid of slaughtering, he should be requested in a gentle way to try to get used to it. It is not permissible to ask the Hindu to slaughter the animals, because it is stipulated that the slaughterman should be a Christian or one of the People of the Book (a Jew or a Christian), as noted above.
The religion of the polytheists has no sanctity; rather sanctity is only for the religion of Islam, which Allah, may He be Exalted, has prescribed and is pleased with.
And Allah knows best.
