Hadith: Use whatever causes blood to flow, and eat the animals if the name of Allah has been mentioned before slaughtering them

عن رَافِع بْن خَدِيج رضي الله عنه قال: «كُنَّا مَعَ رَسُولِ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بِذِي الْحُلَيْفَةِ مِنْ تِهَامَةَ، فَأَصَابَ النَّاسَ جُوعٌ فَأَصَابُوا إبِلاً وَغَنَماً، وَكَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي أُخْرَيَاتِ الْقَوْمِ، فَعَجِلُوا وَذَبَحُوا وَنَصَبُوا الْقُدُورَ فَأَمَرَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِالْقُدُورِ فَأُكْفِئَتْ، ثُمَّ قَسَمَ فَعَدَلَ عَشَرَةً مِنْ الْغَنَمِ بِبَعِيرٍ، فَنَدَّ مِنْهَا بَعِيرٌ فَطَلَبُوهُ فَأَعْيَاهُمْ، وَكَانَ فِي الْقَوْمِ خَيْلٌ يَسِيرَةٌ، فَأَهْوَى رَجُلٌ مِنْهُمْ بِسَهْمٍ، فَحَبَسَهُ الله، فَقَالَ: إنَّ لِهَذِهِ الْبَهَائِمِ أَوَابِدَ كَأَوَابِدِ الْوَحْشِ، فَمَا نَدَّ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْهَا فَاصْنَعُوا بِهِ هَكَذَا، قُلْتُ: يَا رَسُولُ الله، إنَّا لاقُو الْعَدُوِّ غَداً، وَلَيْسَ مَعَنَا مُدىً، أَفَنَذْبَحُ بِالْقَصَبِ؟ قَالَ: مَا أَنْهَرَ الدَّمَ، وَذُكِرَ اسْمُ الله عَلَيْهِ، فَكُلُوهُ، لَيْسَ السِّنَّ وَالظُّفْرَ، وَسَأُحَدِّثُكُمْ عَنْ ذَلِكَ، أَمَّا السِّنُّ: فَعَظْمٌ، وَأَمَّا الظُّفْرُ: فَمُدَى الْحَبَشَةِ».
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه]

Rāfi‘ ibn Khadīj (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in Dhul al-Hulayfah when the people were stricken by hunger. They got camels and sheep as war booty. He added: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was behind the people. They hurried and slaughtered the animals and put their meat in pots and started cooking it. (When the Prophet came), he ordered the pots to be overturned. Then, he distributed the animals (of the booty), regarding ten sheep as equal to one camel. One of the camels fled and the people ran after it till they were exhausted. There were only a few horses with them. A man threw an arrow at the camel, and Allah stopped the camel with it. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Some of these animals are like wild animals. So, if you lose control over one of these animals, treat it in this way." Before distributing them among the soldiers, my grandfather said: "We may meet the enemy soon and we have no knives; can we slaughter the animals with reeds?" The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Use whatever causes blood to flow, and eat the animals if the name of Allah has been mentioned before slaughtering them. Do not slaughter with teeth or claws, and I will tell you why: It is because teeth are bones and claws are the knives of the Abyssinians."
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim]

Explanation

In this Hadīth, Rāfi‘ ibn Khadīj (may Allah be pleased with him) reports: We were with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in Dhul al-Hulayfah when the people were stricken by hunger. They got camels and sheep as war booty. He added: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was behind the people. They hurried and slaughtered the animals and put their meat in pots and started cooking it. (When the Prophet came), he ordered the pots to be overturned. Then, he distributed the animals (of the booty), regarding ten sheep as equal to one camel. One of the camels fled and the people ran after it till they were exhausted. There were only a few horses with them. A man threw an arrow at the camel, and Allah stopped the camel with it. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Some of these animals are like wild animals. So, if you lose control over one of these animals, treat it in this way." Before distributing them among the soldiers, my grandfather said: "We may meet the enemy soon and we have no knives; can we slaughter the animals with reeds?" The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Use whatever causes blood to flow, and eat the animals if the name of Allah has been mentioned before slaughtering them. Do not slaughter with teeth or claws, and I will tell you why: It is because teeth are bones and claws are the knives of the Abyssinians."