In the name of allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful What is sin in Islam?

Inquiries concerning the slaughtered animal, when there is doubt, or lack of indication:

It is obligatory to ascertain where the community in which one lives is comprised of mainly non Muslims, the method of slaughter of animals, before buying any meat. This is definitely not an innovation. Abdul Razzaq in his Musannaf, relates the following saying for Kays Ibnul Sakan: "Ibn Mas'ud said: 'You have alighted in a land where the animals are not slaughtered by Muslims, but by Nabtis and Farsis, so if you wish to buy any meat, ask, if it has been slaughtered by a Jew or a Christian eat from it as their food is lawful to you'" (note 6), however, if the majority of the inhabitants of the land are people of the book, then it is not obligatory to ask.

The general rule: "The basis when it comes to these things is permissibility", this has two exceptions, man/woman relationships, and the slaughtered animals. This rule has the consensus of all the scholars. The following below is the proof:

1- The Hanafi school- It is reported in the Darar: "slaughtering in due form makes the meat permissible, and purifies it unless the animal has been contaminated." In the Hashia of Ibn Abdeen: "an animal is made unlawful if not killed in due form." (darar / Gharar 2/344).

2- Ibn al-Arabi said: "Our scholars said: 'the rule with the animal is its impermissibility, and it does not become permissible except when killed in due form, or through hunting, however, if there was doubt in the hunter, or the slaughterer, then it becomes impermissible.'", this is the rule with the Maliki school. (note 7)

3- Imam Nawawi said: "the basic rule with an animal is its impermissibility, until it can be established that it was killed in due form." This is similar to what has been stated by Alkhtabi, and Ibn Hajr Al'Asqalani, this rule is followed by the Shafie School. (note 8)

Ibn Qudama said: "the basic rule is impermissibility, they only become lawful if killed in due form by a qualified person." (note 9)

4- Ibn Taymiyyeh said: "Blood is protected if there is doubt. However, man / woman relationships, and slaughtered animals are not made permissible where doubt exists. (note 10), this is the rule with the Hanbaly school.

AlShawkani said: "The slaughtered animal does not become lawful if there is doubt, as also if there is doubt and the person is not sure if it has been killed in due form or not." (note 11)

The above shows that the majority of scholars are unanimous on the basic rule concerning the slaughtered animals, where the form of killing is not ascertained, and that doubt in the case of a slaughtered animal makes it unlawful, and the basic rule with animals is impermissibility.

Any doubt as to the cause of death of an animal also makes its meat unlawful, and it does not become lawful, unless it can be ascertained that the animal was killed in due form. Scholars have taken guidance from the narration of Adiy Ibn Hatem reproduced in Bukhary and Muslim that the Prophet Mohammad (peace and blessings upon him) said: "If you send your dog, and you recite the name of Allah, and your dog makes the catch and kills the prey, then eat...", to the end of the narration where he said "If you get an animal you are hunting, and you do not find it until after one day or two days, then eat, however, if it falls in the water, then do not eat." (note 12). The commentary of Qurtuby shows: "if you find the kill drowned in the water, then do not eat it, for you do not know whether your arrow killed it or whether it died through drowning." (note 13).
The points to the Hadeeth

1- The permissibility of hunting with trained dogs,

2- the necessity of reciting the name of Allah before hunting,

3- if the cause of death of the animal is unknown for any reason, such as its falling into water for example, then it does not become permissible until it can be ascertained that it was killed in due form.

Therefore, the fundamental rule amongst scholars is that the slaughtered meat which contains doubt does not become permissible until it can be ascertained if it was killed in due form.
An investigatory visit to some abattoirs in NSW

During my visit to two abattoirs in New South Wales, one public, and the other private, I witnessed the following two methods of killing animals: