When you shoot an animal with a rifle, and the animal is killed by the bullet and you don’t have enough time to go and slaughter it so as to drain the blood in the prescribed way, then is it okay to eat the flesh of this animal. Is saying Allah’s name before firing the bullet enough, or you still must slaughter the animal from the jugular vein? What happens if you don’t have enough time to slaughter it, and it dies due to the bullet wound?
In this regard, the final decision should be taken in the light of the guidance provided by the sharī‘ah regarding slaughter. According the guidelines provided, firstly, Allah’s name must be pronounced before sacrificing the animal and secondly, the slaughter should be done in a specific manner that is called tadhkiyah. As a term, it means to slaughter an animal in such way that it drains out all the blood in the animal’s body and the animal dies because of this very reason.
Now as far as killing an animal with a rifle bullet wound is concerned, the first condition stands fulfilled if the name of Allah is pronounced just before pressing the trigger. Whether the second condition has been fulfilled or not is a decision that must be taken after examining the animal. If the animal is found alive, then of course it should be slaughtered in the stipulated way. In case the animal is found dead, then one should try to ascertain as much as possible whether it dies because of loss of blood or because of some other reason. In cases, where one is not able to determine the cause, it is better not to eat the meat of the animal.