The dhabih must adhere to the following guidelines when performing dhabihah:

• The animal must be slaughtered by a registered IFNAS Dabhih.
• The animal must be alive before slaughtering (this can be determined by the movement of the animal).
• The animal's head should face the direction of Mecca (Ka'aba).
• VAJU should be made before starting of slaughtering of animals by dhabih.
• All knives used for slaughtering must meet the following specification
  (a) All knives must be sharpened on a grinding stone and a smooth stone after each animal sacrifice.
  (b) Use a 16-inch knife when slaughtering cattle, a 12-inch when slaughtering calves, sheep, goats, and lambs, a 10-inch knife when slaughtering poultry.
• Animals should be slaughtered one at a time. No other animal should be in the slaughtering area when another animal is being slaughtered.
• When slaughtering an animal, the Dabhih must recite, "Bismillah-allahu Akbar"
• When slaughtering, the animal's esophagus, trachea, carotid arteries and jugular veins must be cut swiftly to ensure the fullest possible bleeding of the animal. This shall ensure its quick death.
• The neck should neither be completely severed nor broken in the process.
• The cutting stroke must be continuous and employed without hesitation.
• All vital parts must be severed.
• No hacking or stabbing is allowed during the slaughtering or any other action which causes tearing, or lacerations of the flesh. The cut must be clean and smooth.
• The animal's head must not be skinned or in the case of poultry, must not be submerged in water until the animal is motionless and not exhibiting any signs of life and otherwise is determined to be dead.
• Cold water should be used during poultry processing in order to reduce the possibility of cross contamination.
• Halal meat under no circumstance shall be cross-contaminated with non-Halal meat or pork in the slaughterhouse, processing and packing plant, freezers, or chillers when loading and unloading.
• Equipment used for killing haram animal must not be used for slaughtering animals meant for Halal consumption.
• The slaughtering area must, at all times, be free of contamination from all other non-Halal meat and animal feces.
• Stunning the animal before slaughtering is not recommended. The animal must be alive (i.e., the heart and brain must be functioning) before slaughtering.
• If the animal is stunned for any justifiable reason, it should not kill the animal or sere its spinal cord. If the animal is shocked electrically, the current passed through the animal should not cause death.
• All methods used to stun the animal prior to its slaughter must be fully investigated before such method is approved. All proposed methods used to stun the animal prior to its slaughter must meet the following criteria:
  (a) Any method employed to stun the animal prior to its slaughter should cause less pain to the animal than the actual prescribed slaughter.
  (b) Any method employed to stun the animal prior to its slaughter should not result in death.
  (c) Any method employed to stun the animal prior to its slaughtering must be free of doubt (Shabha).

SUGGESTED PROTOCOL FOR SLAUGHTERING LARGE ANIMALS:

The animals are driven into a pen, one at a time and thereafter, one of its hind legs should be shackled and attached to a chain and hoist which causes its fore legs to rest or barely rest on the ground. A device may be used to slip a nuzzle over the jaws (muzzle) of the animal and thereafter its head is drawn backward which should expose the neck completely for slaughter.