Explanation

Shaddād ibn Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) relates in this Hadīth that he learned two things from the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him): 1. “Indeed, Allah is benevolent and He loves benevolence to everything.” “The Benevolent” is one of the names of Allah, the Almighty, and it means the Bestower of favor, the Benefactor, the Merciful, and the Compassionate. So, our Lord loves graciousness, benevolence, mercy, and compassion in all matters. 2. It is based on the first thing. “So, if you kill, kill benevolently, and if you slaughter, slaughter benevolently. Let one of you sharpen his blade and relieve his animal of suffering.” In other words, if you kill a soul justly and lawfully, like a warring disbeliever, an apostate, or a murderer, you should do so in a good manner. Likewise, if you slaughter animals, you should do this well, by sharpening your blade and acting swiftly, so as to alleviate the suffering of the animal. It is also favorable not to sharpen the blade in front of the animal, slaughter one animal in the presence of another, or drag the animal to its slaughter place.