THE MEAT: LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL IN ISLAM Author(s): Muhammad Samiullah Reviewed work(s): Source: Islamic Studies, Vol.

21, No. 1 (Spring 1982), pp. 75-104 Published by: Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Islamabad Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20847191 . Accessed: 15/12/2011 02:50
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THE MEAT : LAWFULAND UNLAWFUL IN ISLAM

Muhammad Samiullah

preconditions must be satisfied :? to the Shari'ah.

For a meat to be lawfulfor Muslims, the followingfive (1) The animal shouldbe aHaM one, according (lawful)

Dog, Cat, monkey or themeat of any suchHaram (unlawful) animal can be lawful for aMuslim only in case of extreme urgency where a

person is threatened with starvation and his life " : Allah has to be saved. We read in the Qur'an and the flesh of swine, and that over which any other name than that of Allah has been invoked. But

has forbiddenyou what dies of itself, and blood,

withoutwilful dis whoever is driven by necessity,

obedience guiltless.

(2 : 173). and not (2) The animal shouldbe properlyslaughtered dipped inboilingwater or killed by electricshocks. adopted tokill the Anymethod other than slaughter animalwill not be lawful. Stuningby bolt shotor electric shock before slaughter is not valid and should be avoided as it is tantamountto torturing
an animal which is inhuman and unlawful in Islam.

nor transgressing due limits, then he is is forgiving, merciful." Surely Allah

of make The tendency theShari'ah (IslamicLaw) is to more humaneby reducingthe suffering the slaughter of the animal. The Holy Prophet is reported to

76 MUHAMMAD SAMl'ULLAH

have said that ifyou must slaughter,slaughter in

the best possible manner,

but not in frontof the time before you slaughter

sharpen your knife every

animal to be slaughtered. Do not slaughter an animal in the presence of other animals and feed and rest the animal before slaughter. The idea is to stop cruelty a practice still prevalent in theWest to animals? in various forms and guises despite claims to the contrary, as we ing the animal. shall This see later.

while slaughter (3) The name ofAllah shouldbe recited a Muslim or by a Jewor Christian in his own as unlawfulonwhich thename ofAllah has not been
recited : name " And not Lo hath eat not of that whereon Allah's for Lo ! it is been mentioned, !the devils do inspire their minions (6 : 122). language. The Holy Qur'an describes that slaughter recitation may be done by

abomination.

with you. But if to dispute you obey them, will ye

be in truth idolators."

not simplyenough that (4) For meat to be lawful,it is " the animal has been slaughtered by People of the
Book."

should be performedaccording to theirprescribed

religious rites and practices. or haram For instance, if a If the same

It is very essential that the act of slaughter

his would Muslim kills a chickenby twisting neck, it method of killing is adopted by a Jewor Christian, then how sucha chickencan becomeHalal (lawful) ? consists in cuttingthe jugular veins of Slaughtering theneck, so thatall theblood isdrained out. The
be a carcass, (unlawful).

THE MEAT : LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL IN ISLAM spinal cord must not be cut, because

77 the

nervefibresto the heart may be damaged during tionof theblood in theblood vessels of the animal.
Since blood is also forbidden in Islam, it is incum bent to see to it that the blood is completely drained from the animal during slaughtering. This meat is then called halal or lawful. Like other Islamic teachings, dietary restrictions in Islam relate to material well being, even as they are spiritually the process, causing cardiac arrest and hence stagna

(5) The animals should be in lawfulpossession of the

person who owns them and free from any apparent or grave etc. The slaughterer slaughtered on an idol must be sane. Slaughter is not allowed to be carried a drunkard, a child by a mentally deranged person, It would be not able to discriminate or a Magian.

significant.

or hidden impurities.Similarly,theyshould not be

meet the lawful need of food, and allowing all the blood to drain and European out. The meat sold commercially in theU.S.A. since when countries etc., is not lawful (halal) for Muslims, " " is not said over animals are slaughtered there, Bismillah them and the methods The Holy of slaughter are also objectionable. states :? Qur'an

recognising that its life is takenonlybyAllah's permissionto

during the act of slaughter. The Islamic mannerof slaughtering an animal is to slit " " Bismillah its throat, saying thus (In the name of Allah),

made to lie facingQibla desireable if theanimal is

made lawful you. "This day are (all) good things for who have receivedtheScriptureis The food of those
lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them.

78

MUHAMMAD SAMl'ULLAH And so are the virtuous women of the believers and the virtuous women of those who received the Scrip

ture before you are (lawful for you) when ye have given them theirmarriage portions and live with th em in honour, not in fornication, nor taking them as secret concubines. Whoso

work isvain and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter. (V : 5).
exposition of the above Qur'anic

denieth the faith, his

The leading religious luminariesof the timeshave in

verse stated as under :?

(i) "The authoritieson the commentaryof the Holy

like Ibn Abbas, Abu Umama, Qur'an Mujahid, Saeed bin Jubair, Ikrimah, Ata, Hasan, Makhool, have commented Ibrahim, Nakhi, Suddi, Muqatil

This issue with their slaughtered meat (Zabihah). is based on the consensus ofMuslims, as the meat of lawful animals slaughtered by them is permissible consider as unlawful any flesh of an animal which has been slaughtered in the name of any other being than God. They recite the name of God while

" " upon thefood of the people of theBook along

for Muslims because they (People of the Book)

animals, although they are guilty of slaughtering attributingto God certain thingsof which He is
free, elevated and glorified as He is". Vol. Ill

p. 19). " (ii) "If a person belonging to the People of theBook"

does not redte animal, the name ofGod; of such an animal

or recites the name is un-lawful.

an of a deity other than God while slaughtering

the meat

This is theview ofAbu'd Darda, Ubada bin Samit

THE MEAT : LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL IN ISLAM

79

and a group of the Companions of the Holy Prophet. The same is also the view of Imam Abu Hanifa,
Imam and zufar. yusuf, Imam Muhammad Imam Nakh'l and Iman Nawawi are of the view that the meat of such slaughtered animals is Abu

hateful in the eyes of Allah." (Abu Hayyan Andulsi inBAHRE-MUHEET Vol. IV, p. 131.) (iii) "In our opinion, the slaughteredanimals of the
" are unlawful for Muslims People of the Book which have been slaughtered in such a way that the name of God has not been intentionally recited at "

eating

or the timeof slaughter which have been slaughtered in thename of a dietyother than God on the condi tion thatit isknownwith certainty thatthename of God has not been recitedor the name of a diety
other than God of God's declared of the Book." has been recited, or if this omission " name becomes a habit with the People Those

of our ancestors who have

of the slaughtered animals of the "People of theBook" isunlawful forMuslims, same their verdict with have the given intent and purpose. said that the meat because Similarly, when Hazrat Ali of the slaughtered animals of

that the meat

of the ChristiansofBani Taghlib isunlawful Muslims,

they have learnt nothing from Christianity except wine drinking, he meant the same thing. Hazrat Ali may have received positive evidence God's name when slaughtering their animals

that theChristians of Bani Taghlib do not recite

or

theyrecitethename of some dietyother thanGod.

80

MUHAMMAD SAMl'ULLAH

This also applies to non-Arab Christians if it habit to recitethename of some diety becomes their
other than God i.e. the meat unlawful. day Christians And slaughtering their animals, of their slaughtered animals becomes while

kill themby stunning." (Qazi Sanaullah Panipati in TAFSIR-E-MAZHARI Vol. Ill p. 37).
what does theGlorious

there is no doubt that the present do not slaughter their animals but

we of In the light theabove elucidation, would now like mean by the food of theAhl-al-Kitab (People of the Book) mean by Muslims ? Does it whichAllah has made lawfulfor thisthefoodwhichAllah had made lawfulfor theAhl-al-Kitab
in their Scripture (i.e. revelations from Allah) and according to the their Prophets ? Or does it mean everything which Ahl-al-Kitab has good eat even though Allah had forbidden it for them ? It iswell known that in every one of the revealed religions, Allah forbidden things certain items of food while allowing other It is also well-known that in every community, to pose the following question: Qur'an

some of its people opposed theirprophetsand infringed the which theprophetshad prescribed for them, so they limits
eat some of the food forbidden to them. Therefore, does theQur'anic verse intend by "the food of the food of the Ahl

would

those who have

mean

al-Kitabwhich Allah had made lawfulfor Muslims, the food which is halal to them in accordance with of theAhl-al-Kitab theirBook and the teachingsof theirprophets ? Or does it
every kind of food that they actually eat, regardless of

received the Scripture"

whether it is lawfulor unlawful for them?

THE MEAT : LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL IN ISLAM

81

Surely the above passage from the Qur'an does not give a blanket approval to consume whatever is available in the food markets and confectionaries of the Christian West as is conten scholars1 . It should be emphasized ded by some modern conclusions

however, that the law of Allah is higher than the simplistic

of such absurd interpretations. The true meaning, then, of these two parts of theQur'anic verse referred to above, :?

which suits the glory of Allah's Law may be summarizedas

follows

(1) All foodwhichAllah made lawfulfor theJewsand

Christians Muslims. in their respective Scriptures is lawful for

Muslims in (2) All food which Allah made lawfulfor

the Qur'an is lawful for the Jews and Christians.

If this is the truemeaning and interpretation the of we in Qur'anic verse, whould thenagain be justified posing the
question whether themeat of animals, as they are slaughtered Western countries, was originally lawful commercially today in so that itmight also be regarded as for Jews and Christians controversy. However, those2 who regard it lawful do so on " the basis of Allah's decree : The food of those who have received the Scripture is lawful for you."(Al-Qur'an, 5 :5) saying that this verse indicates the lawfulness of the animal

lawful Muslims ? This is thepointwhich has raisedall this for

to themethod of slaughtering or to the characteristics of the per son who undertakes it, as long as he is a man from among the " " People of Book." They further argue that We are not re required to consider the way in which the animals have been name has been slaughtered, and whether or not Allah's

slaughtered the "People of theBook" withoutany reference by

82

MUHAMMAD SAMl'ULLAH

mentioned

of the People of theBook" are lawful unless thereis evidence are we blood or swine flesh. All otherfoodstuffs lawfuleven if
are sure that they are dedicated to some other being than Allah or are not slaughtered legally according to the Islamic rites."3 This is an over verse simplification of the Qur'anic " " The Zabihah of the People of the Book that they are unlawful for themselves, such as carrion,

"

over them.Foodstuffs

imported from countries

referred to above. has been made unlawful

lawful for the Muslims the name of God

on account of the fact not been recited

of that in theirScripturethe slaughter that animal is deemed

on which has

New

or intentionally which has been dedicated to any other diety thanGod. The modern versions of theBible (bothOld and
Testaments) have almost similar regulations for Zabihah

have discarded However, now when the People of the Book the regulations of their own Scripture, their Zabihah cannot be considered lawful. The Surah Al-Maidah

and Nikah (marriage) which are to be observed in Islam. " "

permission given in verse 5 of is thus conditional and does not confer a

blanket approval to eat the animal slaughtered by those who have a Book regardless of theway itwas killed, whether itsneck was

according to the religious perscription, regardless of whether or or a man from among the not the slaughterer is a Muslim "People Hamid, of the Book."*

is whether the animal has been legally (ritually) slaughtered

twisted or it died by suffocation.

The crux of thematter

The

legal opinion (Fatwa) of Sheikh Abdullah ibn

SharTah Law Supreme Council and Presi

Assembly in Saudi Arabia is summarised dent, Jurisprudence

as follows :?

President,

THE MEAT : LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL IN ISLAM

83

slaughtered, and these people do not mention Allah's name upon their slaughtered beasts. The legal slaughter the trachea and

"The Slaughtered animals of the People of the Book are not to be eaten at present because they are not legally

in the upper part of the chest. The slaughter must not be done elsewhere. The People of the Book do not adhere to this rule."5 it says :? 'Forbidden unto you (for food) are carrion and blood and swine-flesh, and that which hath been dedicated unto any other than Allah, and the strangled, and the dead

that the general public rightlyagrees to should be in

The Holy Qur'an is very expliciton thispoint when it

throughbeating, and the dead throughfalling froma height, and which has been killed by (the goring of)
horns, and the devoured of wild beasts-."(5

: 3)

Muslims are also forbiddento eat animals that Thus the

died from strangulation, beating, or a headlong fall, or those It is comnon which have been killed by goring of the horns. knowledge that in all these conditions unconsciousness precedes knew of these forms in the early days. In death. Mankind were asked to use the presence of this knowlege Muslims carotid method.

with this process of slaughtering animals by Muslims

because and of its aileged cruelty, although these are unfounded

The Qur'an describes thewhole process by two " and Zakdh ? technical terms Zabah cutting and draining are associated some misconceptions the blood." Generally, as

shot etc., are far shattering the brain through bullet more painful, as we shall see later. Islam prescribes a humane

methods ofkillinganimals likeElectrocution, suffocation other

84

MUHAMMAD SAMl'ULLAH and Muslims need not be shy on this account before they cannot make

method

unlawful and what He has made

made lawful Allah, theycannotmake it what is the West, for by

unlawful,

it lawful

In the light of Qur'anic verses? 6 : 122, 22 : 36, 22 : 34, 6 : 139, 16 : 115, 6 : 119, 2 : 173, 5 : 3, 5 : 5,
5:4 ?

Book animalsof thePeople of the goingaccount, theslaughtered

in Western or other countries are not lawful because when animals are slaughtered then "Bismillah" and themethods of slaughter are also not in conformity with the there are other Besides, requirements of the Shari'ah. There are is not said over them

some of which have already been quoted and the fore

instances, when maitah (carrion)6 has been served because the system of slaughter is based on stunning and many of the animals actually die before reaching differences. of the Book' which Allah which Allah made had made lawful forMuslims is that food

theblade. The Ulama are agreed that the food of the "People

lawful for them in their Scriptures and scholars need not say through their Prophets and modern more about it because the matter is plain and clear. Finally, there are some people who say, "it it permissible to eat it (i.e. non-Zabihah meat) after saying Bismallah at the time of eating." We have, however, never heard that saying

" food Bismillah on foodwhich isunlawfulturnsit into lawful What we are sure of is that theProphet (peace be upon him) "
used to say " Bismillah " when he commenced

useful with the grace of "Bismillah." Furthermore, he advised Muslims to do the same but he never told them that what was

or drinking liquids, thereby, blessing themand making them

eating any food

Bismillahover it.The unlawfulcould bemade lawful saying by

THE MEAT : LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL IN ISLAM advocates of Bismillah below :

85

formula are in fact not aware of the

and purpose of a Hadith inBukhariwhich background, intent

is reproduced

Narrated byAisha (R.A.) :A group of people said to theProphet (peace be upon him), "Some people bring
us meat and we He do not know mentioned animal". eat." Allah's Name they have or not on slaughtering the name on it and Islam recently. whether

Those

(Bukhari vol. VII

It is obvious Muslims

said, "Mention Allah's people had embraced

page 302 English translation).

and not the slaughterof Kuffar (Jews and Christians). In anotherHadith theHoly Prophet (peace be upon him) even
advised care inmatter of utensils so that the purity of food is inwhich swine flesh and Abu its derivatives may have been : I came Thalaha Al Khushaui Apostle! We

that this relates to the slaughter of neo (i.e. those people who had embraced Islam recently)

Book"

not disturbedby using such utensils of the "People of the

served: Narrated

to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's take our meals

are in

and we livingin the landof thePeople of the Scripture,

in their utensils, and there is game hound and with my untrained hound." The Prophet

that landand I huntwithmy bow andwith my trained

(peace be upon him) said, "As foryour sayingthatyou are in the land of the People of theBook, you should

not eat in their utensils, unless you find no alternative, inwhich case you must wash the utensils and then eat in them..." (Bukhari) It would be worthwhile and advise-able to consider and reflect on the implications of the following ahddith regarding

86

MUHAMMAD SAMl'ULLAH in Islam :

lawful and unlawful (i) An-Nu'man

ofAllah (peacebe upon him) said : "What is lawful

is clear and what is unlawful He

bin Bashir reported that theMessenger

things keeps his religion and honour blameless. But he who falls intodoubtfulthings, falls into what
is unlawful, just as a shepherd who pastures his animals round a preserve will soon pasture them into it." as saying

do not recognise.

whichmany people themare certaindoubtfulthings

who guards against doubtful

is clear, but between

(Bukhari and Muslim). (ii) Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger and He has

to the given the same command believers as He has given to themessengers, saying, " eat of what is good and act O messengers, " : 51) and also, You who righteously," (XXIII believe, eat of the good thingswhich We have provi ded for you." man who makes (II : 172) Then he mentioned a a long journey in a dishevelled and

Allah is good and accepts onlywhat is good, that

dusty state, who stretches out his hands to heaven " when his food, Lord," saying, My Lord, my drink and clothing are of an unlawful nature, and he is nourished by what is unlawful, and such a one could be given an answer. asked how (Muslim),

(iii) The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) isalso repor " ted to have said : Flesh which has grownout of
what is unlawful

what is unlawful."

which has grown out of for ismore fitting all flesh

(Ahmad, Darimi and Baihaqi).

will not enter Paradise,

but hell

THE MEAT : LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL IN ISLAM

87

(iv) Al-'Irbad b. Sariya declared that Allah's messenger " got up and said, Does any of you, while reclining

on his couch, imaginethat Allah has prohibited only is to be found in theQur'an ? By Allah, what

exhorted and prohibited various I have commanded, matters as numerous as those is found in theQur'an, or more numerous. Allah has not

permission, or beat theirwomen, or eat their fruits, when they give you what is imposed on them."

houses of thepeople of the Book without to enterthe

permittedyou

(v) Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger as saying, " came down showing five aspects : The Qur'an

(Abu Daud).

what

fixed, believe in what from the parables." masabih. Baihaqi

So firmly fixed, what is obscure, and parables. treatwhat is permissible as permissible and what is prohibited as prohibited, act upon what is firmly is obscure, and take a lesson This is the wording in Al transmitted in Shu'ab al

what is prohibited,what is is permissible,

diet may not injure the body. The so that indiscriminate well and He Allah knows our constitution perfectly Almighty knows how to keep itbest in health. As soundnessof mind may be said to depends on soundnessof body, food and drink

There can be no gainsaying the fact that the effect of food and drink upon the body and temperament is very powerful. The Physicians, therefore, prescribe special diet for patients,

Imdn, his wording being, "Act according to what is prohibited, and is permissible, avoid what follow what is firmly fixed."

88

MUHAMMAD SAMl'ULLAH lead a man to do ev il or

be one of the principal causes which

act virtuously The

to therefore, prescribed such food formen as are conducive them from a temporal and religious point of view. This is also the reason why lawful food, unlawfully acquired, has been made unlawful, as it greatly affects the moral tendency of a man. It may be

AlmightyAllah and His Messenger,

pertinent to mention here that at present are exporting a lot of frozen meat to Argentina and Brazil etc., This meat is not quite Arab countries including Saudi Arabia. lawful for theMuslims as the animals are not slaughtered ac The exporting acording to the way prescribed by the Shari'ah. on theirproducts which HaUl mark firms very cunningly put the in reality is not the case. There are no Muslim butchers or

as such their statement supervisors attached to these firms and It is very important that the Islamic cannot be relied upon. should probe into the matter urgently to ensure Organizations that theMuslim masses inArab countries are not fed on this type of meat as, according to a Hadith of the blessed Prophet, the prayers of a person nourished on unlawfu food are not This is a grave issue and should be taken heard or accepted. in right earnestness by Muslim governments. The probing summary of this somewhat heated discussion :? and

" " (a) No food of the People of the Book is awfulfor " aMuslim exceptthat for which is lawful the People
themselves, according to the directions of their Scripture and their prophets. And conse " " prepare quently, when the People of the Book an animal for food, it would not be lawful for a of the Book "

is as follows

THE MEAT : LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL IN ISLAM

89

Muslim, unless they had slaughtered it, according to the directions in their Scripture.7 (b) Halal meat is available in many western countries

able

and it is easy for anyone keen on gettingit to be

it. And, now, that the correct Islamic decision on thematter ismade known, there to eat unlawful to to procure

through the efforts* of dedicated

Islamic workers

meat. And itshouldbe known thatthebodywhich

is nourished on unlawful food will be consigned in the Hadith. Hell as mentioned

would be no excuse for any Muslim

(c) Although on the surfaceof it theHalal Zabihah

meat may appear a little expensive in the USA and countries as compared to themeat other European of animals slaughtered automatically by a machine, of the animal

is completely drained out by slitting its throat. Furthermore, the eating of meat which is sold in themarket is not lawful for a Muslim on account of the fact that except for as the blood

more hygenic because it is far it isworthpurchasing

kosher* meat, the conditions set forth earlier (p. 1) are not fulfilled. The machine slaughter procedure standards and as such the Muslims despite at present cannot

Islamic with the strict West isnot compatible in the

get suppliesof genuinehalal meat in the ordinarily

open market,
quarters.

contrary claims by certain

to before slaughter shouldnot be resorted (d) Stunning

except in cases as when of utmost necessity, large

90 MUHAMMAD SAMl'ULLAH animals like camels etc., are to be slaughtered because ever, no justification to routine method because a 'practise stunning as it causes unnecessary

in of thedifficulty controlling them. There ishow

sufferingand toruretothe animal which is detested by Islam. Furthermore, it is affirmed that electric of flesh stunning hastens the initiation of decay and affects its taste (this was one of the reasons for complaints by meat producers inDenmark), produces blood clot in the meat to be in the animal and even causes paralysis slaughtered. As such the

that which causes the least pain and suffering. The Islamic slaughter is in fact painless ? technical ? and arguments in favour of this view abound ismost which

The Islamic is way of slaughter stillthebestway and

stunning operation is considered harmful to the flesh and causes great suffering to the animal.

ing the full draining of blood from the animal,

is essential for the meat being halal. Its neck must not be broken. cool.

importantly, the only effectiveway of assur

(e) The animal should also be treated kindlyafter it is

killed. becomes It should not

nor any part of itsbody cut before it be skinned

If inadvertently the name of Allah is not mentioned, the slain animal may be eaten. " It is related that Abu Hurairah said : A man

came to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and said : " O Messenger of Allah, what of a man who slays and forgets to mention Allah's name ?". The " : Allah's name is upon Prophet replied every

THE MEAT : LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL IN ISLAM Muslim."

91

It is also permissible (Al-Dar Qutni). to eat the flesh of a slaughtered animal whose head had been cut off in an act of swift slaughter i.e. hen etc. This is lawful as an accidental : Anas view of the following Hadith is mentioned." Ibn Abbas, happening in "Eat from what and Ibn Umar

theblood shedsand upon which thename ofAllah

are of opinion that if in the act of slaughtering an animal fromthe side of his jugularveins,his head
separated from the body, the meat of such an animal is lawful. But this should not be done is intenionally , otherwise itwould become Mukrooh

neck having been cut from the upper side, itwould not be lawful in any case, whether or not its head is separated from its body. In either case, itsmeat will become unlawful.

by (disapproved). If the animal is slaughtered its

jurisprudence, it is conclusively, decisively and that chickens and animals covincingly proved slaughtered a built-in rotating saw or blade and motivated by machines with

not legally(ritually) of Thus, in the light principles slaughtered.

of Islamic

the general practice inWestern countries. Since the Islamic method of slaughter is a form of wor ship, theMuslims are not allowed to eat the flesh of any animal

This method of cuttingtheneck fromtheupper side is

by electric current or any other motive power are forbidden and While Allah may forgive our past lapses Muslims. unlawful for for not takingHalal meat due to ignorance or its non-availabili

ty at certain places, but now we will be great sinners in the sight of Allah ifwe do not switch over to Halal meat, fish, Kosher

92

MUHAMMAD SAMl'ULLAH

meat and green pulses which are within our easy reach. The price of halal zabihah meat in non-Muslim countries will come down, once all Muslims there start consuming it,because of the economics of large scale production.

This is all we can say.

to If inour effort findthe truth

and bring it out, we have said something which is correct, then And ifwe have made a mistake, we ask Him for pardon and Finally, may peace and blessings be showered on

it is from Allah and to Him is due all praise and gratitude.

Muhammad, theSeal of theProphets,thebest ofAllah and on his family, companionsand those his who followhis teachings.

forgiveness.

********************************************* a hath showngrace to thebelieversby sendingunto them Messenger (1) "Allah verily
of their own who reciteth unto them His

andteacheth them theScriptureand wisdom although before (he came to them) theywere in flagrant error." (3 : 164) that ye are overburdened is grievous, full of concern for you, for the believers full of pity and merciful." (9 : 128) of Messenger of (3) "Muhammad is not thefather any man among you, but he is the Aware of all things" Allah and theSeal of theProphets and Allah is (33 : 40) "We sent thee(OMuhammad) not save as amercy forthepeop^s." (21 : 107) (4) (5) "Lo !Allah and His angels showerblessings on theProphet. O yewho believe ! Ask belessingson him and salutehimwith a worthy salutation." (33 : 56) **********************************************************
(2) "There hath come unto you a Messenger, (one) of yourselves, unto whom aught

revelations,

and

causeth

them to grow,

APPENDIX FATWA MUFTI ABDUH OF EGYPT ABOUT OF MECHANICAL SLAUGHTER

of (An exposition a mistakenverdict)
consensus

About 50 years ago Mufti Abduh of Egypt, against the

of the whole of the Ummah and four Imams, decl

methods prevailinginEurope are ared thatall kinds of slaughter

lawful. A wave of great resentment and anxiety arose all over Demands were made to remove Mufti the Islamic World.

Dar-ul-Ifta and renowned his Abduh from high post in Ulama of theMuslim World rejectedhis verdict. ments and scholarship Mufti Abduh, yetno one is innocent of miraacle of except theProphets ofAllah. It is an outstanding
any scholar, however, great he may be , is found indulging in error in contravention of the provisions of the Qur'an and the Sunnah while giving a verdict, theUmmah, inspite of having due regard for his high scholarship, never Islam that whenever Although no one can deny the high intellectual attain

accepts his wrong verdict.

Not to speak ofMufti Abduh, when Imam Shafi'l (a of from the recognisedreligious luminary Muslims) differing majority ofUmmah said thatalthough it is not lawfulto for sake recitation Bismillah intentionally thetime slaughter of at of meat it makrooh(disapproved), ingan animaland eating of such
yet we cannot declare it Haram, the majority of the Ummah

94

MUHAMMAD SAMl'ULLAH

the said Imam, declared that it was on his part. Several the Ulama

of and Jurists Ummah having fullregardforthehigh statusof

an error of belonging judgement to the Shafi'l

relying upon a Qur'anic Nass, and disagreeing with him believes Hence such slaughter to be totally Haram. eminent Ulama

his opinion. School of thought also disregarded

No doubt, Mufti Abduh was a great scholar, yet there and Imam Shafi'i.

The Ummah which did not hesitate to declare the opinion of

Imam Shafi'i as mistaken

is no comparison

between Mufti Abduh

aside all theprinciples Makrooh, whereasMufti Abduh setting

slaughtereing under tne Shari'ah declared the European way of slaughtering as definitely Halal (lawful) So the which is also repugnant to Imam Shafi'I s approach. verdict as being Ulama vehemently rejected Mufti Abduh's and conditions of as well as the against theNass of the Qur'an and the Sunnah opinion of four Imams and leading Jurists. Articles from all the corners of the Islamic World were published denouncing

opinion such action

ifest errar of Mufti Abduh? Again

is not quite

how can it accept such a man lawful and use of meat

in Imrm Shafi,ls
is

opinion ofMuftiAbduh. Mufti Abduh Allama Rashid Reza, an eminent discipleof

was a great scholar and journalist. He wrote many articles in favour of his guide and mentor and gained favour of some Ulama on account of his high position in theGovernment circles. and made However, themischief was curbed by Ulama-e-Haq a world of difference between suppress ineffective. But there is

If we study newspapers and fournals of that period, it will become.

ing a mischief and gettinga verdictaccepted by the people.

THE MEAT : LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL IN ISLAM

95

Ulama ofwhole world had declared the clearlyevidentthat the

verdict of Mufti The Abduh as wrong and unreliable. rules and regulations of slaughtering, according to and Sunnah, have already been stated in the the Qur'an foregoing pages. After this there is no need for entangling the readers in a detailed repudiation of Mufti Abduh's verdict, it

to will be sufficient reproduce the opinion of Mufti Abduh and Rashid Reza in its original formwhich the people have
lost sight of on account of lengthy debates and discussions. If it is presented in a clear and original form before Muslims,

because it is so clearly repugnant it will be repudiated itself by

of the Qur'an and the Sunnah as well as to the opinion of the four Imams and Jurists that every

to the Nass unanimous

Muslim will feel inclined to oppose it. educated CURIOUS

Muslims of

FINDINIS OF MUFTI ABOUT ZABIHAH

every

ABDUH

age and sect from the dawn of Islam till today unanimously believe that just as marriage and divorce are particular modes of social behaviour, similarly the act of slaughter cannot be lawful unless it is carried out under the prescribed injunctions set out in theHoly Qur'an and tha Sunnah. Hence it is compulsory under the Qur'anic Nass to also compulsory that slaughtering must be done by a Muslim These conditions are matters of or by the people of the Book. religious obligation.

and it is Bismillah just before starting the slaughtering recite

In one of theHadiths recorded by Bukhari, Islamic had been stated as one of the Signs( J\*? ) slaughtering

96

MUHAMMAD SAMl'ULLAH

which make a Muslim distinct from the followers other of of of Hadith is religions. The English translation the text the
given under Anas :? reported Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings of

Allah be upon him) as saying : He who observes our

prayer, faces our Qibla and eats the animal slaughtered

by us (according to theShari'ah) is a Muslim, one for of whom there is guarantee (of the safety his lifeand property) fromAllah and the guarantee from His
Messenger.

Allah with regard to his protection. (Bukhari) In this has Hadith Islamic slaughtering been described
like the prayer and facing the

Therefore,

break

not the convenant

of

Magians

that they should be dealt with like People of the Book, a except in twomatters i.e. it is not lawful for Muslim tomarry with a Magian woman and eat their slaughter. a social

Hadith the Messenger ofAllah said about the Qibla. In another

as a sign of one's being a Muslim

necessity and among the natural needs of human beings, yet Islam has laid down certain restrictions on itwhich are necessary to be fulfilled, otherwise marriage will not be

Hadith thatalthough It is evidentfromthis marriage is

of fundamentals Deen, so thereisno need togiveproof insupport of the accepted principles.

for Three words have been used in the Holy Qur'an i.e. Zakah, Zibha slaughtering according to the Islamic way

legal under the Shari'ah. Same is the case with slaughter on whi ch certain restrictions imposed by the Shari'ah are well known toMulslims of every age and sect. It is regarded as one of the

THE MEAT : LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL IN ISLAM and Nahar. Nahar as well. Zakah

97

is a common word used for Zibahand

which is proved by otherverses of the and saum as authentic of Holy Qur'an and the teachings theProphet. It it a distor
tion to make an

It is unanimously regarded a Qur'anic term just like Salat, and Saum. We regard only that meaning of salat

i.e. optional and non-optional which have been mentioned in the Holy Qur'an. Separate regulations have been prescribed for both. Narrators Tjdkah as Zibah ively.
earlier.

Zakah is a purely Islamic technicaltermhaving itstwo forms

inference merely

from its literal meaning.

of Ahadith

But

and there are certain

and Juristshave called the optional the non-optional as $ayd (game) respect requirements and

conditions as

laiddown in the Qur'an and Sunnahwhich have been explained But Mufti Abduh by overridingthe verdictsof all the

jurists and commentators of theQur'an attributed a new meaning to the said Qur'anic term. The gist of his research is that for Zak

to of will be sufficient kill an animalwith the intention eat ah it

ing,whatever, may be form of killing. He equated non-optional and Zakah against clear elaborations found in the Qur'an own guesswork. the Sunnah with optional Zakah by his He,

therefore, refused to accept the basic condition of cutting veins of throat in intentional slaughtering which is a prescribed condi

of detail is given in his famous commentary theHoly Qur'an of called Tafseer Al-ManUr (vol. 6 P. 144). One sentence the
commentary being :

a better and preferable method.

evenwent further and said thatkillingof an animal by electric schock is also lawful(Halal). It is not onlyHalal but is also
The whole discussion and

tion according to the unanimous opinion

of the Ummah.

He

98

MUHAMMAD SAMl'ULLAH

"And I believe that if theProphet ofAllah (peace be upon him) had knowledge of anymethod of slaughter
ing *S$ which may facilitate and prove painless for the animal, such as killing by electric shock, the Prophet of Allah would certainly have declared it superior to the Islamic method of slaughtering."

MuftiAbduh declared that shock killing electric by

was not different from slaughtering *S$ insisting on his baseless It was really

a great audacity on the part of Mufti Abduh thatby thatifthe method, ProphetofGod had knowledgeof this
he would adopted have certainly given up the Islamic Way it. (A matter of great sorrow indeed). and and wrong concept, he claimed

an animal by strangulation, it is also Halal. answer this open violation of the Qur'anic support of a wrong discussion over iyjJij which

of A complement his aforesaid Ijtehad is that ifwe kill

He has tried to taking verse by

(strangulated) of the holy (Al-Manar,

is against the consensus of the companions Prophet, Tabeen and themajority of theUmmah. vol. VI p. 137).

of Mufti Abduh had alreadydenied thenecessity reciting now he did awaywith the Allah's name at thetimeof slaughter,
killed Animals throat's viens. cutting requirement of According intentionally by strangulation also become Halal. animal is that which dies to his investigation the only Haram a natural death or without the interference of any man dies by

THE MEAT : LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL IN ISLAM falling from any high place or by automatic strangulation. isHalal

99 Any

whetherhe recites God's name may be themethod of killing, or whetherhe cuts theveinsof throat not, all is lawful according to MuftiAbduh. His research about thepeople of particularly theBook is that the food of thepeople of theBook isHalal withoutany conditionor restriction whetherthey have killed the
animal by method. strangulation or electric shock or by any other vol. VI, p. 200). (Al-Manar in so far as he did or not, the slaughterer may be a Muslim or a non-Muslim,

human beings

animal which iskilledwith the intention that it will be used by

;whoever may be the killer, whatever

not declare the swine flesh Halal forthem which isalso included in thefood of People of Book, thoughthebasic purpose of his " Book is lawful Muslims. Consequently themeat for ple of the of pig as well could have entered the list.
meat with Proceeding ahead he openly said that eating of animals' is one of the natural habits of human beings having no link " commentary was to prove in general that the food of the Peo

He was kind enough towards Muslims

restrictions are confined only to acts religion. Religious His words are as under :? of worship. c~*J <s"U!lj JP'ifl obUJI jjJj Ljtj a*U j J\j IjuJ irU! 4>l "

are not fromlaws of ritualsordainedbyAllah for thepeople to follow. The laws relatingto ritualsare establishedby the text Mufti Abduh's Ijtehad is nothing except In a nutshell of that thedistinction Halal and Haram in thearticlesof eating,
(nass) of the law Giver."

The customary matters relating to eating and clothing

100

MUHAMMAD SAMl'ULLAH

of Ijtehad is correct, then marriages and divorces are also amongst thematters of habit and custom. Hence discussion of Halal about the same is useless and religious restrict ions imposed on them are wrong. and Haram

and of daily use, is dressing meaningless. If such type drinking,

Mufti Abduh. As such theWesternised generation liked it

very much. It was an error, no doubt a great error of Mufti Abduh

There can't be a more suitable Ijtehad in themodern age of absolute freedom and religious indifference than that of

We

are, however, worried about the people who under some pre text and without any solid argument have followed his opinion only for ease and comfort and the statisfaction of their baser
selves.

of andAllama Rashid Reza, yet in the light theirservieesin the fieldof education and with the grace ofGod, it is hoped that by they might be forgiven Allah for giving a wrong verdict.

The commission of an error is possible, howesoever great : It is a well-known saying inArabic a scholar may be. ojifc pJU J?3j tyS" JfcJ " Every good horse may have a fall. And every scholar may commit a mistakog and make " nonsensical Ummah

themajority of the spiteof knowingtheopinion and verdictof

continues to follow the same error and makes ithis rel

remarks.

That person

is really unfortunate who

in

igion. Zahbi in his famous book ^U^JU^Ta; has quoted the following saying of Imam Auzal :

THE MEAT : LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL IN ISLAM

101

the stray opinions of the Ulama makes his exit from the fold of Islam." "Whosoever follows or are Arabs who visit Europ settled there, do not take the least care about food and eat the unslaughtered animals' meat, under the pretext of mufti Abduh's It is learnt that many verdict, which is unlawful. The people naturally regard Arabs as their religious leader, so many of them start to follow them Still there are some true Muslims who care for their religion ;we often receive their references about slaugh in thismatter. it suitable and proper, the

Urdu/translationof the samehas been added at theend of this brochure so thatthe Muslims residinginEurope may take guidance from it. SurelyAllah is the greates helper.
-Translated from Urdu from Mufti Muhammad Shaft's (GrandMufti ofPakistan) booklet 4?**i> ^ikJ Maktaba Dar-ul (pp. 37?42)published by Uloom, Karachi-U. (Rajab 1387-#).
3^* **^?*

such a reference long ago. Thinking

methods followed inEurope. tering

I had replied inArabic to

ULAMA-E-SOO The ulama-e-dhalal.the

(Non-virtuous ulama) ulama-e-soo' are those

who lack the ability todistinguishbetween right and wrong are whogather firewood in (haqq and bafil,)hence they like those
an excessively dark night. They know not on what their hands tures of living beings and animals are permissible whereas Rasullah (asllal-lahu alayhi wasallam) said that these are hardm. They

fall.

pic They suffer from oblique vision. Thus theysay that

102

MUHAMMAD SAMl'ULLAH said that it is haram.

They say that the keepingof a beard is not obligatory, but Rasullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said that it is compulsory.
They say that the recital of Tasmiah, when slaughtering is un necessary but theQur'an declares that it is essential. They say that the intermingling of sexes ispermissible, but theQur'an prohibits (sallal-lahu alayhi wasallam) categ orically asserted its reality. They are the ulama-e-soo who sap the blood of the Been. They are those about whom Nabi-e salam) Kareem (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said : who lead astray." "Leaders are astray and lead (others) astray." "They vol. 5 No. The Majlis, 1, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. is a myth, but Rasullah

say thatmusic ispermissible, but Rasullah

Mehdi (alayhis it. They say that theexpectedadventof Imam

REFERENCES
1 For an exposition ofMufti Abduh's fatwa please see Appendix. Mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Rashid 2 Among themare SheikhMuhammad Abduh, former Shaikh of Al Reda, a discipleof ShaikhAbduh and ShaikhMahmoud Shaltout, former Azhaand Dr. Yusuf al-Qardawi of Qatar etc. Amman 3 Dr. Abdel Aziz El Khayat, Dean, Faculty of Islamic Law, Universityof Jordan, " in Report on Food and Slaughtered Animals in Islam99 (pp. 35?44) submittedto the West Berlin. Veterinary Institute, 4 "Corbans in Islamic Law" (Arabic) by Dr. Abdalla El-Abbadi pp. (64?67.) 5 "Rissalat Hokm El Mustawrada andZabaeh Ahlul Kitab bySheikhAbdullah benHamid as a reply to Sheikh Abdullah ben Zaid binMahmoud El-Qatari. BBC has been broadcasting certaineducational programmeson thealleged 6 Recently the animals. Well how do barbaritiesand brutalitiesof theIslamicmethod of slaughtering more modern slaughter houses the theirlivestock? In the "civilised people" slaughter out heads sticking of stocks. A man then passes cattleare penned up ina rowwith their fromone beast's head to thenext touching the forehead of each with an hydraulic on the hammer is pressed the head of the beast is instantly hammer. Once trigger shattered. Chickens are more painfullykilled : theirheads are clamped into a row

THE MEAT : LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL IN ISLAM

103

one bird to thenextjamming but insteadof using a hydraulichammeraman passes from mouth of each intobrain. The blood is cleaned out of these an ice-pick throughthe much blood has had poor birds and beasts only after skinningand guttingand thus meat more corruptibleand far lesshygienic than timeto adhere to theflesh making the BBC has neglected to impart fact any kosheror halalmeat v This isa scientific which the * * most civilised But letus not neglect to touchon that in its educational programme. method of slaughterofmost respectableantiquity inBritain :pig-sticking ! A spike is held pointed towards theforeheadof the swineand hammer isused to drive the stake and agony of the animal is reflectedin itsshrilland into theanimal's brain. The terror screams. Hence what has appeared on the BBC in theguise of *educa dying lingering, tion' is nothingmore than a contemptible anti-Islamic demagogy. For an analysis and rebuttalof false and baseless propaganda against Islam and the its institutions, readers are advised to consult and circulate publications such as :

CRESCENT (iii) THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS IN THE LIGHT OFAL-QUR'AN. the grace of Allah, thesebooks (published byMalik Sirajuddin& Sons, Kashmiri By with the examples set by pious Muslims can Bazar, Lahore-8, PAKISTAN) together help eradicatemisconceptions about Islam in theWest and throw itsdoors open for the reception of the glorious Message of Islam. Muslims avoid eating theslaughter non-practising of be 7 Itwould still desireable if "People the Book" as thepermissionto eat even theirlawful slaughter isconfinedonly to the of " commited People of theBook," and we know for certain most of the people in the rather any strongfaithor conviction. by Wes todayareChristian by tradition should be made by the local Islamic do 8 Where such arrangements not exist, efforts
Centres Muslims preserve to procure Halal can band the meat meat for the Muslim slaughter the week. cow, together and for use during a group of Community. Alternatively on week-end's and sheep or chickens can be done successfully at places

(i)DISTORTIONSABOUT ISLAM IN THE WEST (k) THE CROSS AND THE

This

where Halal meat isnot easily availaable provided one has thezeal and concern for the a Faith by sacrificing littletimeand undergoinga little hardship in thisregard. man hath only that forwhich he maketh effort." "And that "But lo ! with hardshipgoeth ease, lo !with hardship goeth ease so when thou art relieved, still toii and strive to please thyLord." (94 : 5-8). "As for thosewho strivein We surely guide themtoOur paths, and lo !Allah Us, is with the good." (29 : 69) " " 9 Kosher (literally meaning inHebrew "clean and pure ") meat is permssible for from orthodox Jews refrain Swine-flesh and pork products and Mulims. The religious with a verysharpknifeso thatall theblood animals by cuttingthe throat slaughtertheir runs out and they alwaysmention thename ofGod over theanimal to be slaughtered for West who are isolated and cannot get forfood. This is a facility Muslims in the Halal meat slaughteredbyMuslims.
(Al-Qur'an, 53 : 39).

104 MUHAMMAD SAMl'ULLAH

with lard (pork-fat)or geltaindesertslike jellsandmarshmellows Pastriesprepared are also haram if suspectedof having been preparedwith pork products. Most of the
cheese

Muslims. extract (engime) of swine and are not lawfulfor

products

in France

and

other European

countres

are

prepared

with

stomach

NOTE

: Dr.

Research

of gratitudeto him forhis pioneering work in this regard. His thesismerits to be published in booklet form. The Islamic
Institute is also arranging the translation and publica

animals and birds in the early 1960's.

from Egypt)who studiedatAl-Azhar has pro (originally Jersey fuselywrittenin defenceof the Islamicmethod of slaughtering
This writer owes a debt

Suleman Duniyah,

Director,

Islamic Centre, New

tionofDr. Abdullah Abdur Rahim al-Abbadi's Arabic book on the subject of Zabiha in Islam inUrdu language for the
guidance of readers.

4?4*4*4*