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Salamun Alaikum (Peace be upon you

IS KOSHER MEAT PERMISSIBLE FOR CONSUMPTION?

!opyright " #$$% &oseph A 'slam: Article last modified ($th &anuary #$)#

KOSHER
*oods which conform to the regulations of the &ewish law and are fit for consumption by the &ewish community are known as +,osher+. -ften the requirements for +,osher+ are more stringent and detailed with greater prohibitions than that required by 'slamic law. kosher, .iddish ,osher/ 0ebrew ,1sh2r/ (3fit/4 or 3proper4 / in &udaism/ the fitness of an ob5ect for ritual purposes. Though generally applied to foods that meet the requirements of the dietary laws (kashruth / kosher is also used to describe/ for instance/ such ob5ects as a Torah scroll/ water for ritual bathing (mikvah / and the ritual ram6s horn (shofar . 7hen applied to food/ kosher is the opposite of terefah (3forbidden4 8 when applied to other things/ it is the opposite of pasul (3unfit4 .
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SHECHITA
Shechita or shehitah is the pro#ess o$ r%&'al sla'(h&er according to &ewish 9aw much like the 'slamic +:hiba+. The laws of shehitah/ the slaughter of animals for kosher meat/ are particularly comple;. They are strictly regulated by the rabbis. Special knowledge is required for the slaughtering of the animal/ the e;amination of the lungs/ and the removal of the blood and fatty tissues. Special licensing is required of the 3shohet<bodek4 (slaughterer and e;aminer . The certification for shehitah is known as 3kabbalah/4 meaning acceptance/ since the shohet accepts the responsibility of reviewing the laws of shehitah every thirty days. The original law had no gender specifications for shohetim/ yet today they are e;clusively male. )"

=any =uslims while relying on the following verse of the >uran/ assert the permissibility of the consumption of ,osher meat. **+,**+ ?This day (all the good things are made lawful for you8 and the food of those who have been given the @ook is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them...? 7hat is often not appreciated/ is the conte;t of the verse which first addresses the practices of those communities from the People of the @ook which were #o-&empora-eo's to the Arabian Prophet+s ministry. 7hether or not today6s &ewish practices conform entirely to those encountered and e;pected by the >uran in Ath century Arabia remains an area which requires some scrutiny. There is no doubt that there is considerable overlap between the &ewish and 'slamic dietary laws such as the prohibition of swine flesh. As &ewish +,osher+ practice is far more comple;/ it is usually understood that a food type under ,osher requirements would have undergone a far more rigorous procedure to make it fit for consumption and would therefore/ sufficiently satisfy the relatively less stringent requirements under 'slamic law. This is usually cited as proof for its permissibility. As we will note below/ though the above is generally correct/ there is an area of possible contention which must be satisfied for ,osher meat to be rendered completely fit for consumption by believers. AN AREA OF POSSIBLE CONTENTION -ne of the requirements stipulated by the >uran is that the ending of an animal6s life for food must be done in the name of Bod. ISLAMIC PRACTICE *)).*/0 ?The sacrificial animals 1Ara2%#, B'34-a5 we have made for you as among the symbols from Bod: in them is (much good for you: &he- me-&%o- &he -ame o$ 6o3 o7er &hem as &he8 l%-e 'p: when they are down on their sides (after slaughter / then eat from them and feed the needy that do not ask and the needy that ask. Thus 7e have sub5ected them to you so that you may be grateful. Please note that the Arabic word +@ud+na+ (from the root @a<:al<Cun is not restricted to +camels+ as is often translated but the term covers any animal of sacrifice such as a cow/ bull/ goat or camel. As it can be argued that the above is a requirement specific to sacrificial rites/ the following verse imparts an e;ample which does not pertain to sacrificial animals. **+.**9 :They ask you what is lawful to them Say: lawful to you are (all things good and pure: and what you have taught your trained hunting dogs in the manner directed to you by Bod: eat what they catch for you/ 2'& pro-o'-#e &he -ame o$ 6o3 o7er %&, and fear Bod8 for Bod is swift in taking account4 0unting animals (such as dogs normally catch pre8 and this verse is not necessarily dealing with sacrificial animals. This verse also follows the verse which details food restrictions (D:(

The verse is clear that one is to pronounce the name of Bod over the food that is caught. 't can be argued that this verse simply requires one to pronounce the name of Bod before eating the animal and not during slaughter. 0owever/ as carrion (dead meat is forbidden/ the hunting animal will be trained to bring the prey alive or in a state where it can be made lawful to eat (by slaughtering it in a lawful manner . 't is in this conte;t that the pronouncement of Bod6s name is being mentioned which is being posited as a requirement for slaughter. Albeit/ &ewish practice stipulates that it is necessary to recite a blessing before ritual slaughter/ it is still considered permissible to eat the food e7e- %$ a 2less%-( %s -o& re#%&e3.

JE;ISH PRACTICE ?...The slaughterer (shohet recites a prayer before the act of shehitah?
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?@efore performing ritual slaughter/ it is necessary to recite the blessing/ 3@lessed are .ou/ - 9ord our Bod/ ,ing of the universe/ who has sanctified us with 0is commandments and has commanded us concerning ritual slaughter.4 Ho<e7er, %$ &he 2less%-( %s -o& re#%&e3, %& %s s&%ll perm%&&e3 &o ea& &he mea&= 9" A ritual practice which circumvents such a blessing in the name of Bod would be against the >uran+s e;pectation of permissible slaughter.

FINAL THOU6HTS
The >uran provides clear guidelines which regulate a believer+s life. :espite the rigid requirements under &ewish law for meat to be +,osher+/ the name of Bod or a suitable blessing in the name of Bod must be recited before ritual slaughter is complete for it to become fit for consumption for believers. Enfortunately/ there are =uslims that take a very cavalier approach to eating meat which may not satisfy >uranic requirements. A meat is no less fit for purpose because it has a +,osher+ authentication symbol than it is because it may have a +0alal+ symbol. 't is more important to understand the practices behind the claims (0alal or ,osher and ascertain whether they fulfil the >uran+s requirements as opposed to any other claims. Then a suitable choice can be made. 7ith regards &ewish ,osher meat/ if a suitable blessing has been pronounced in the name of Bod before ritual slaughter/ then such meat would arguably satisfy the >uran+s requirement and therefore would not be prohibited for consumption.

Rela&e3 Ar&%#les, 1!5 Slaughtering of Animals < The !orrect =ethod of Sacrifice 1)5 Thakaytum 1/5 Allah is Cot an F;clusive Came for Bod

REFERENCES

!" E-#8#lopae3%a Br%&a--%#a o-l%-e" h&&p,>><<<.2r%&a--%#a.#om>EB#he#ke3>&op%#>/))0?/>kosher A##esse3, )@&h Ja-'ar8 )*!)" )" 6URTMAN. R, Sheh%&ah, Je<%sh R%&'al Sla'(h&er, 1)**+ Th%r3 Aear Paper5, Par& I, The La<s o$ Sheh%&ah, The Bas%# La<s, Pa(e 0 A7a%la2le a& o-l%-e" le3a.la<.har7ar3.e3'>le3a>3a&a>?**>6'r&ma-*+.r&$ A##esse3" )@&h Ja-'ar8 )*!) /" E-#8#lopae3%a Br%&a--%#a o-l%-e" h&&p,>><<<.2r%&a--%#a.#om>EB#he#ke3>&op%#>/))0?/>kosher A##esse3, )@&h Ja-'ar8 )*!)" 9" Aoma&ar%4s La<s o$ Rel%(%o-, La<s o$ J'3a%sm Co-#er-%-( Foo3 $rom &he B%2l%#al Books o$ Moses 1Torah5 a-3 &he Co3e o$ Ma%mo-%3es 1M%sh-eh Torah5, !?. R%&'al Sla'(h&er o$ A-%mals From &he B%2l%#al Books o$ Moses, A7a%la2le a& o-l%-e" h&&p,>><<<.rel%(%o'sr'les.#om>J'3a%sm$oo3!?sla'(h&er.h&m A##esse3, )@&h Ja-'ar8 )*!)" (G =T @ook D/ The @ook of 0oliness/ Sefer ,edushah8 Treatise (/ 9aws !oncerning Shehitah (Shechitah/ Hitual Slaughter 8 !hapter )/ sec # (pages D$I= #D%. 0ighlights marked in bold black are my own insertions. They have no bearing on the original te;t other than they emphasise relevance to the topic at hand. These are merely illustrations and have solely been utilised for educational and e;planatory purposes.

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