Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times
Pew Research Center has beautifully described the Muslim experience in USA about Halal food as for so many other issues and is well described in the above picture. Whereas 80 percent of the Muslims fast, which is not an easy or simple thing, yet only 50% think it is important to have only Halal meat.
According to comments in Reddit, a lot of Muslims in the West make a great deal of effort to find Halal meat. Halal has wider meanings and a more precise term for animal slaughtered according to the Muslim tradition is Zabiah. In my Muslim family, I have seen a diversity, some will never eat meat that is non-Zabiah and others will never cook non-Zabiah food in their homes but would freely eat when at restaurants and lastly some will cook non-Zabiah as well in their homes.
For the rest of the article Halal will mean permissible by Allah.
The purpose of this article is not to define how the Muslims should slaughter or to discourage or replace the practice. It is only to examine if the Muslims living in the West can eat beef, chicken and mutton that is slaughtered by others.
According to the Quran what is Halal or Haram is jurisdiction of Allah and not anyone else, not even the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be on him. Let us review the following Quranic verses:
You who believe, do not forbid the good things God has made lawful to you–– do not exceed the limits: God does not love those who exceed the limits –– but eat the lawful and good things that God provides for you. Be mindful of God, in whom you believe. (Al Quran 5:87-88)
Say, ‘Think about the provision God has sent down for you, some of which you have made unlawful and some lawful.’ Say, ‘Has God given you permission to do this, or are you inventing lies about God?’ What will those people who invent lies about Him think on the Day of Resurrection? God is bountiful towards people, but most of them do not give thanks. (Al Quran 10:59-60)
Do not say falsely, ‘This is lawful and that is forbidden,’ inventing a lie about God: those who invent lies about God will not prosper –– they may have a little enjoyment, but painful punishment awaits them. (Al Quran 16:116-117)
Prophet, why do you prohibit what God has made lawful to you in your desire to please your wives? Yet God is forgiving and merciful. Allah has indeed allowed you the dissolution of such of your oaths, and Allah is your Friend; and He is All-Knowing, Wise. (Al Quran 66:1-2)
Therefore, I decided to read the literal Word of God, the Quran on the subject at hand to find what is Halal for us.
The Halal and Haram or prohibited are discussed in several Surahs, firstly in Surah Baqarah:
O mankind, eat of that which is lawful and wholesome in the earth; and do not follow in the footsteps of Satan; surely, he is your declared enemy. He enjoins upon you only that which is vicious and foul and that you should say concerning Allah falsely that which you know not.
…
O ye who believe, eat of the lawful and wholesome things We have provided for you, and render thanks to Allah, if truly it is He Whom you worship. He has made unlawful for you only that which has died, and blood and the flesh of swine, and that on which the name of any other than Allah has been invoked. But he who is driven by extreme need to partake of any of them, not being defiant of the law nor exceeding the limit of his need, it shall be no sin for him. Surely, Allah is most Forgiving, Merciful.
Those who conceal that which Allah has sent down of the Book and take in exchange for it a paltry price, only fill their bellies with fire. Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Judgment, nor will He purify them; and for them is a grievous punishment. These are they who have chosen error rather than guidance and punishment rather than forgiveness.
How great is their endurance of the Fire! They will find themselves in this predicament because Allah has sent down the Book comprising the Truth; and those who disagree concerning the Book are, surely, deeply entrenched in opposition. (Al Quran 2:168-176)
In Surah Maidah:
Forbidden to you is the flesh of a dead animal, and blood, and the flesh of swine; and that on which the name of one other than Allah is invoked; and the flesh of an animal that has been strangled, or is beaten to death, or is killed by a fall, or is gored to death; and of which a wild animal has eaten, unless you have slaughtered it properly before its death; and that which has been slaughtered at an altar. But whoso is driven by necessity to eat any of these, without being willfully inclined to sin, in such a case, surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Ever Merciful. …
They ask you what is declared lawful for them. Tell them: all good things are declared lawful for you; and that which you teach hunting animals to catch for you, training them for the hunt and teaching them of that which Allah has taught you. So eat of that which they catch for you, and pronounce thereon the name of Allah. Be mindful of your duty to Allah; surely, Allah is Swift at reckoning.
This day all good things are declared lawful for you; the food of the People of the Book is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them.
Lawful for you are chaste believing women and chaste women from among those who were given the Book before you, when you give them their dowers, contracting valid marriages, not committing fornication nor taking secret paramours. Whoever disbelieves, having believed, his work has doubtless come to naught, and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers. (Al Quran 5:3-5)
In Surah Al Anaam:
Of the cattle there are some for burden and some for slaughter. Eat of that which Allah has provided for you, and follow not in the footsteps of Satan, surely he is your declared enemy. Allah has created in pairs eight animals; of the sheep two and of the goats two. Ask them: Is it the two males He has forbidden or the two females or that which the wombs of the two females contain? Answer me on the basis of knowledge, if you are truthful. Again, of the camels there are two, and of the oxen two. Ask them: Is it the two males He has forbidden, or the two females or that which the wombs of the two females contain? Were you present when Allah enjoined this on you? If not, then who is more unjust than one who fabricates a lie against Allah that he may lead people astray without knowledge? Surely, Allah guides not the unjust people.
Tell them: In that which has been revealed to me I do not find aught forbidden to one who wishes to eat, except that which dies of itself, or blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine, all these being unclean; or that which is profane, on which the name of someone other than Allah is invoked.
But whoso is driven by necessity, not intending disobedience or exceeding his need, should know that thy Lord is Most Forgiving, Ever Merciful.
To the Jews We forbade the flesh of all animals having claws, and the fat of oxen and sheep and goats, save that borne by their backs or intestines or that which adheres to the bones. We prescribed this as a penalty for their rebellion; and most certainly We are Truthful. Should they accuse you of falsehood, answer them: Your Lord is possessed of all-embracing mercy, but His wrath will not be averted from the guilty people. (Al Quran 6:142-147)
In Surah Al Nahl:
Eat of the lawful and wholesome things that Allah has provided for you; and be grateful for the bounty of Allah, if it is Him you worship. He has forbidden you only the flesh of dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine and that on which the name of any other than Allah has been invoked.
But he who is impelled by necessity to partake of any of these, neither being defiant of the law, nor going beyond the limits of his immediate need, will surely find Allah Most Forgiving, Ever Merciful.
Say not, because of the false utterances of your tongues: This is lawful and that is unlawful; fabricating lies against Allah. Surely, those who fabricate lies against Allah do not prosper; theirs is only a brief enjoyment to be followed by a grievous punishment.
We had made unlawful for the Jews before this all that We have recited to you. We wronged them not, but they used to wrong themselves. Surely, your Lord is Most Forgiving, Ever Merciful towards those who do evil in ignorance and repent thereafter and make amends. (Al Quran 16:114-119)
And finally in Surah Hajj:
Livestock have been made lawful for you, except that which has already been announced to you in the Quran.
…For every people We appointed rites of sacrifice, that they might pronounce the name of Allah over the quadrupeds of the class of cattle that He has provided for them. …
We have appointed the sacrificial camels also as the Signs of Allah, for you. In them there is much good for you. So pronounce the name of Allah over them when they are tied up in lines; and when they fall down on their sides slaughtered, eat thereof yourselves and feed the needy, those who are content and those who are distressed. Thus have We subjected them to you that you may be grateful.
Their flesh reaches not Allah, nor their blood, but it is your righteousness that reaches Him. Thus has He subjected them to you that you may glorify Allah for guiding you; and give glad tidings to those who carry out all commandments to the full. (Al Quran 22:30-37)
There are a few important bullet points one can pick up from the above verses:
- All wholesome things are Halal.
- Food of the people of the book is Halal.
- Allah has forbidden us only the flesh of dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine and that on which the name of any other than Allah has been invoked.
- Pronounce the name of Allah at the time of slaughter.
- Allah advised the same to the people of the book, as in the above reference of Surah Hajj.
- The discussion of Halal and Haram is in continuation of what was revealed to the Jews.
- Say not, because of the false utterances of your tongues: This is lawful and that is unlawful; fabricating lies against Allah. Surely, those who fabricate lies against Allah do not prosper.
To get a wholesome message from these bullet points the most important point to realize is that the Quranic message or the message of the All Knowing God cannot be contradictory. For this I suggest a previous article by me: After Monotheism, the Two Most Seminal Verses of the Quran.
In the seventh century Arabia one could simply ask the host if God’s name was invoked at the time of the slaughter or not. In the age of industrialization such simplicity does not exist. Not even in the Muslim countries.
The best resolution to harmonize above seven principles is that unless we know with enough certainty that the name of any other than Allah has been invoked, at the time of slaughter, we eat in good faith after saying Bismillah. In other words invoke Allah’s name at the time of eating, whether it was said at the time of slaughter or not.
God of Islam is not petty, small minded, obsessive or revengeful. Allah is most Forgiving, Merciful, He has said so in the above verses and numerous other times in the Quran. He merely wants us to lead a God conscious life, to Him the timing of when Bismillah is said is immaterial: We are all living in the Womb of God-the-Mother, 13.8 billion Years Pregnancy.
Additional prohibitions apply in the days of the Hajj for the pilgrims (Al Quran 5:95-96).
Sometimes we obsess over and go a long distance to find Zabiah meat or that has been slaughtered by the Muslims with all the rituals, but fail to say Bismillah at the start of our meals and I have been often guilty of that.
I believe that frequently reminding ourselves of leading a God conscious life by invoking His name at the start of every action, especially meals is far more important than any long winded debates of trivial details of all the sacrificial rituals of the Abrahamic faiths.
Categories: Demographics, Quran, Sectarianism, Sharia Compliant Banking & Finance, Sharia Law, Shariah Law
Don’t run away from this post, please. I promise there are no graphic images embedded below that will make you regret your decision to read. That being said, I will not shy away from the fact that we slaughter cattle and we harvest corn.
This slaughter question was posed to me in the comments of this post. It is a touchy subject, because animals make the ultimate sacrifice in order for us to eat. This is not a sacrifice that I take lightly – I know that animals die in order for me to have a protein-filled diet. I care for them and give them the most comfortable life possible while they are in my care and I work very hard to make sure that they are well-cared for throughout their life.
Our calves spend the first seven or so months of their lives at our ranch grazing on grass with their mamas before we sell them to a stocker (a fancy name for a rancher who raises cattle on grass) who will let them graze on grass in another area of the country before they are sent to a feedyard. Once our calves arrive at the feedyard, when they weigh around 900 pounds, they will be given a specially formulated diet that has vitamins, minerals, grains and hay/forage so that they can grow and create muscle efficiently.
Once they reach about 1300 pounds, the cattle will be sent to the packing plant where they are processed into beef. They will be calmly loaded onto a truck called a cattle pot, and then driven to the packing plant – generally they will arrive in the morning so that they don’t have to stand on the truck for a long time. They are unloaded via ramp into holding pens at the packing plant. These plants and their pens have all been designed to give the animals a safe environment before slaughter – what that means is that all the pens have nonslip flooring and the pens will be clean and have plenty of fresh water for the cattle to drink.
A very important piece of information is that 99% of the slaughter plants in the United States, and most of the developed world, were designed by world-renowned animal behaviorist Dr. Temple Grandin. Dr. Grandin has conducted and published hundreds of animal welfare and behavior studies – she is a person with high-functioning autism which gives her a very unique perspective when it comes to understanding how animals behave and react to certain settings. When livestock slaughter facilities are built, a tremendous amount of attention is paid to every single detail – from the type of flooring in the pens, to the materials used on the conveyor belt, to the amount of light that shines in the animals’ eyes as they walk to the chute. No aspect of animal behavior or welfare is left unconsidered.
Here is a photo of a normal chute in a processing plant – as you can see it has a serpentine-type system with very high walls so that the animal feels like it is weaving back towards its original location. A key feature is the cattle cannot see any of the humans on the outside of the walls, which prevents them from getting scared and stressed out.
As I mentioned, there are no graphic images in this blog post but there will be detail of the slaughter process – so if you are looking for somewhere to stop reading now would be a good stopping point.
When it is time for a pen of cattle to make their way to the chute, plant workers will move the cattle up through the serpentine system taking great care to not shout or scare any animals – they will not use electric prods, they use what are called rattle paddles or sorting sticks. Some sorting sticks will have a plastic sack tied on the end in order to make some noise that will move them along but not spook or stress them. One by one the cattle will be walked up the ramp; when they reach the end of the ramp a V-shaped conveyor belt gently lifts them and moves them through to what is called the “knock box.” This conveyor belt immobilizes their legs, but doesn’t restrain them or make them feel frightened – when the cattle are brought into the knock box by the conveyor belt, their head is aligned so that one quick strike with a captive bolt gun renders them brain-dead.
A captive bolt gun is a pneumatic device that penetrates the brain rendering the animal brain-dead so that it feels no pain during the exsanguination (bleeding out) process. The operator of the captive bolt gun has undergone extensive specialty training, so that he can ensure only one attempt is needed to successfully bolt the animal.
After the animal has been “knocked,” a chain is attached to its back leg and it’s lifted up onto the processing line where it’s quickly exsanguinated by a skilled worker. As the carcass moves down the line, pulsating electric shocks are periodically administered to the body to ensure all blood is drained from the carcass. From here, the carcass will be dehided and then stored in a cooler for 24 hours before processed into large primal cuts of beef that will be distributed to retail outlets around the country.
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of slaughter and the process, is the presence of USDA inspectors at all points of the slaughter and processing line. There are USDA inspectors monitoring the holding pens, the knock box, multiple places throughout the processing chain and in the coolers where the sides of beef are stored. There are inspectors checking for antibiotic residues, there are inspectors checking for signs of disease and bruising, there are inspectors checking for abnormalities – the average large meat processing plant has 12-14 number of inspectors working and safeguarding our food supply at any point in time.
https://www.buzzardsbeat.com/2017/09/how-are-cattle-slaughtered.html/