The Fiqh of Halal Consumption

Date: Sat 14th May 2011 Time:4:30pm-8:00pm

Venue: Al-Hikmah School Hall, Bury Park Road. Luton
zuhriacademy@mail.com

Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari

Darul Iftaa, Leicester, UK

www.daruliftaa.com

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I. Importance of Halal Consumption and Refraining from Haram

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah
bless him & give him peace) said, "Indeed Allah is pure; He accepts only that which is pure. Allah
has commanded the believers that which he commanded the Messengers, thus He said: "O
Messengers! Eat of the pure things and do righteous actions" and He Most High said: "0 you
who believe! Eat of the pure things We have provided you." Then he (Allah bless him & give him
peace) mentioned a man who, having journeyed far, is dishevelled and dusty, who extends his
hands to the heavens [saying] 0 my Lord, 0 my Lord, but his food is unlawful, his drink unlawful,
his clothing unlawful, and he is nourished unlawfully, so how can he be answered." (Sahih
Muslim)

Key Concepts:

1. The diet of a Muslim is one of the most important matters that Islamic law addresses. Allah
Most High says, "O people! Eat from whatever is upon the earth that is lawful (halal) and
wholesome (tayyib)." (Qur'an 2:168)

2. Allah Most High is Transcendent, Pure and free from any defects. Thus, He only accepts

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 that which is pure - in terms of belief, action, speech and charity (although the obligation is
uplifted in many cases).

3. Consuming the lawful (halal) and pure/wholesome (tayyib) is a strong means to making
one's worship and acts pure. As such, the believers, as well as the Messengers, have been
commanded to consume the halal and pure.
4. The consumption of haled or haram has a direct impact on our worship. Halal assists in
carrying out good deeds, whilst haram intake is a barrier.
5. Unlawful food includes:
a) Food mentioned categorically as unlawful, e.g. pork, blood
b) Meat not slaughtered according to Islamic Guidelines
c) Food purchased through unlawful income

6. Pure and wholesome (tayyib) covers everything from the non-doubtful nature of the food and
income to the intake of healthy food and the manner of its preparation.
7. Consuming the haram becomes an obstacle to supplications and acts of worship being
accepted.
8. Four states have been mentioned which, in their own right, are situations where one's
supplication is accepted. Despite having all four prime states in the given example, the
supplication is still rejected due to haram food intake (or unlawful income).
9. Haram intake is a means of creating bad character-traits. "You are what you eat!"
10. Avoid even the doubtful as a way of taking precaution from the unlawful. Doubtful matters
can be identified by looking into one's heart. A true believer's heart becomes restless by that
which is forbidden and tranquil by that which is permitted. Many of our early scholars (salafi)
would adopt the strictest opinion for themselves and facilitate and create ease for others.
This is the path of taqwa.
11. Unfortunately, we live in a time where most people do not care! "A time will come on the
people wherein an individual will not be concerned from where he takes: is it from the lawful
or unlawful." (Bukhari)

II. Animals that are Lawful or Unlawful to Eat

Key Concepts:
1. The Sacred Law (Shari'ah) only commands and prohibits that which is in the best interest
of humans, though we may not be able to understand the logic behind every ruling. Dead
animals have been declared unlawful (haram). Animals harmful to the welfare of humans
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 are also prohibited such as a pig, dog, cat and wild animals.
2. Originally all things are permissible unless proven otherwise (a/-As/ fi 'l-Ashya al-ibaha).
However, meat and chicken is unlawful until proven halal. Proof: Hadith of Adi' ibn Hatim
(Allah be pleased with him) in Sahih al-Bukhari.
3. Animals born and living in water are all haram with the exception of fish; according to the
Hanafi School (a fish that dies naturally in the sea without any external cause is also
unlawful). According to the other 3 Imams, all sea-animals, more or less, are halal There is
no requirement to slaughter.
4. Land-animals that have no blood are considered haram for consumption such as spiders,
beetles, scorpions, ants, etc, with the exception of locusts. Land-animals that do have
blood but it does not flow are also haram such as snakes, lizards, etc.
5. All types of pests (hasharat al-Ardh) are haram such as a mouse, hedgehog, jerboa, etc.
6. Land-animals containing flowing blood, who survive on grass and leaves and do not prey
on other animals (i.e. non-predatory terrestrial animals) are all halal such as a camel, cow,
goat, buffalo, sheep, deer - although a donkey is exempted from this general ruling.
7. All terrestrial predatory animals are considered haram such as a lion, cheetah, tiger,
leopard, wolf, fox, dog, cat, etc.
8. All birds of prey, i.e. those that hunt with their claws/talons, are considered haram such as
a falcon, eagle, kite, hawk, bat, etc.
9. Birds that do not hunt with their claws or prey on other animals but eat grains and crop are
all halal such as a chicken, duck, pigeon, dove, sparrow, crow, etc.
10. If a halal animal only consumes impure things to the extent that it creates bad odour in its
meat and milk, then its consumption is prohibitively disliked (makruh).

III. Islamic Laws of Animal Slaughter (dhakaf)

Key Concepts:
1. Slaughtering animals is a ritual act subject to certain strict laws determined by the Qur'an
and Sunna. It is not a normal and mundane issue; "Whoever prays as we [Muslims] pray
and faces our Qiblah and eats our slaughtered meat; that is a Muslim for whom is the
protection of Allah and His Messenger's protection." (Bukhari)
2. Requirements of Shari'ah for a valid animal slaughter:
a. The veins (including the Jugular vein) must be cut with a knife or sharp tool that
causes blood to gush out.
b. The name of Allah must be mentioned (tasmiya) at the time of slaughtering,
whether actually or effectively - such as when it is forgotten by someone who would
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 normally have said it.
c. The slaughterer must be either a Muslim or from the People of the Book (Kitabi).
(All these conditions are independently necessary; hence failure to fulfill either of
them will render the slaughter unlawful).
People of the book must:
a) slaughter according to the Islamic method,
b) mention God's name, and
c) be a genuine Christian or Jew.

Some Etiquettes of Slaughter

When slaughtering animals, harming them, causing them undue pain and making them suffer
unnecessarily are all prohibitively disliked (but the slaughtered animal is not rendered unlawful).
The best form of slaughter is where one is mindful of the following etiquettes:
1. The animal should be lead to its place of slaughter gently without pulling, using
excessive force and placing it down harshly onto the ground.
2. The knife should be concealed from it.
3. The knife should be sharpened as much as possible (in the absence of the
animal) to enable a swift act of slaughter.
4. The animal should be cut from the throat and not the rear of the neck.
5. A pregnant or nursing animal should not be slaughtered.
6. One animal should not be slaughtered in front of another.
7. The head of the animal must not be totally cut off from the remainder of its body
during slaughter.
8. The animal's head should not be separated from its body neither should the
animal be skinned until it cool downs post slaughter.

Dunking Chicken in Hot Water after Slaughter

In most abattoirs, birds are immersed into hot water directly after being slaughtered. The animal
will only be rendered unlawful if:
a. It is dunked into water that is extremely hot and boiling.
b. It remains in the water for a considerable length of time enabling its
impurities to penetrate into its flesh.

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Mechanical/Machine Slaughter
Slaughtering animals mechanically refers to transporting birds by means of the conveyer belt to
the rotating mechanical slaughter blades. Once the mechanical plant comes into operation, the
blade also conies into operation and cuts the animal.

Problems with this method:

1. The required veins may not be properly cut due to the rapid movement of the rotating
blade leaving doubt in the lawfulness of the slaughter,
2. Mentioning the name of Allah (tasmiya) when switching on the machine is not sufficient
to render all birds haled, since tasmiya is required on each and every individual animal,
and also there is lengthy separation between the tasmiya and subsequent slaughters.
3. Taped tasmiyas are invalid. Similarly, the tasmiya of the person standing close to the
blade is unacceptable, because the act of slaughter cannot be attributed to him.
4. Tasmiya has to be recited on every animal, by a living human, to whom the act of
slaughter can be attributed, without any separation between the tasmiya and slaughter.

Stunning Animals Prior to Slaughter

1. •There are many methods employed to stun animals such as the captive bolt pistol
stun, electric head stun, electrified water-bath and gas stunning.
2. Problems with stunning:
a. The predominant opinion is that stunning causes unnecessary pain and suffering to
the animal which is at the least prohibitively disliked (makrun tahrim). Some experts
claim it minimizes the suffering which is not correct, as established by scientific
research.
b. It reduces the flow of blood at the time of slaughter which is one of the main
objectives of an Islamic Slaughter.
c. It has been witnessed on many occasions that animals subjected to stunning arrive
at the place of slaughter dead due to either the unbearably high voltage or a delay
in reaching the slaughterer, in particular chicken. In such a case, the slaughter
would be invalid and the meat haram.
d. Halal Monitoring Committee has set a blanket ruling disallowing stunning in any
form.
"Stunning the animal before slaughter leaves a huge doubt into the
halalness of the animal as many could be killed by the stunning especially in

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 the case of poultry. Furthermore, it prevents the drainage of entire blood
resulting in it being retained in the animal and retained blood causes germs
and bacteria, it deprives animals from the benefits of tasmiya due to it being
unconscious, it is inhumane to animals and causes unnecessary pain and
suffering, it is in reality done not for animal rights purposes, but in order for
the industry to kill more animals quicker so as to increase profits. According
to the majority of the Ulama, stunning is not accepted in Islam and could
render the meat haram in many cases,"

5. Muslim and Jews in the UK are exempt from any law that enforces stunning.

IV. What Parts of a Halal Animal are Haram to Eat?

Key Concepts:
•Seven parts of a hold and lawfully-slaughtered animal cannot be eaten. The first of these seven is
categorically unlawful, whilst the other six are considered prohibitively disliked (mafcruh tohrim):
1. Flowing Blood
2. Penis
3. Testicles
4. Vulva (external parts of the female genitalia)
5. Glands
6. Urinary bladder
7. Gall-bladder

V. The state of Destituteness (idhtirar)

Key Concept:
1. Consuming haram or doubtful meat is permitted only in dire and compelling situations
when one's life is in danger. The mere non availability or difficulty of finding ha/a/ meat
will not justify its consumption. One would have to suffice on vegetables, fish and other
hdd food
2. Key Concepts:
3. In general, one can trust another's word (Muslim or non-Muslim) that the meat has
been properly Islamically slaughtered like in predominantly Muslim countries where
meat is slaughtered locally.
4. However, when there is reason to be cautious, it is recommended to take the means of
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 ensuring that it is in fact halal.
5. When there is 'reasonable' fear that this particular meat is possibly haram or when it is
generally the case that meat labeled halal is dubious, then it is one's duty to ensure
that what they eat is halal.
6. In the current climate, based on research and facts, there is not only 'reasonable' fear
that meat labeled as halal is possibly haram; there is 'extreme' fear. As such, it is one's
duty to ascertain that the meat purchased from the butcher or available at restaurants
has come from a properly slaughtered animal. This can be done individually or through
a trusted organization who provide this assurance.
7. It is not sufficient to simply mention Allah's name over a piece of meat to make it halal.
The hadith in this regard has been taken out of its intended context.
8. When invited for a meal, if proper halal meat is readily available in the market (e.g. due
to a trusted certifying body), one may eat without enquiring of the source, if the host is
someone whom one trusts and one is confident that they would have properly ensured
to obtain halal meat.
9. Otherwise, go to the host well before the date of invitation and politely inform him,
without being judgmental, of your strict dietary limitations regarding meat. Inform them
of butchers you trust, or simply say you are perfectly happy with vegetable and fish
dishes! You may even volunteer to purchase the meat on his behalf.
10. If difficult, then ask someone, in an indirect and subtle manner, who may know where
the host buys his meat. Ensure to use wisdom!
11. If invited by someone, most of whose income is through unlawful means, one will have
to politely refuse the invite, unless he provides assurances that the food provided was
acquired through lawful income.
And Allah Knows Best

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