The Halal Process
The person slaughtering an animal should be a mentally sound male or female adult. He or she may be a Muslim or Christian. Slaughter performed in a state of madness or drunkenness, or by a child, will not be deemed lawful and valid.
At the time of slaughter, one should pronounce the name of Allah. Pronouncing the name of any being other than Allah will render the slaughter invalid. The revealed religions agree on the point that slaughter, performed in the name of any being other than Allah, or associated with anything else, will not be considered as lawful. There is no harm if one forgets to pronounce the name of Allah, but omitting it intentionally shall render the slaughter unlawful.
The knife used for slaughtering may be made of any metal like iron, or material like wood, but it should be so sharp that the veins are cut, causing blood to flow out. However, the use of teeth and nails is prohibited.
The knife should be applied to the animal's neck in such a manner that the throat, food pipe and two inside veins are cut, or it should be thrust into the lower part of the throat as is done with the camel. This act is called 'Nahr'. The condition of applying the knife to the animal's neck will be waived if there us no opportunity to slaughter the animal, as in the case of the animal falling headlong down a well, so that its neck cannot be held, or if it goes berserk. In such a situation it will be treated as is done in the case of hunting. That is, it will suffice to wound the animal with a sharp edges weapon in any part of its body, so that it may die by bleeding.
On the one hand, there is Divine approval for Muslims to eat the flesh of lawful animals slaughtered by the people of the book while, on the other hand, we see that in our generation the majority of the people of the book have turned away from their religion to the extent of becoming unbelievers. However, of all the people of the book, there are Jews who still adhere to their faith. It is due to this adherence that we can obtain the meat of animals slaughtered according to Jewish religious norms at particular shops known as Kosher Meat Shops. This slaughter conforms to the Islamic Shari'ah.