Q377 :1. When slaughtering a chicken, a Muslim who
is doing the slaughter is helped by a non-Muslim who holds the chicken.
Is the meat permissible to eat?
2. Is the meat of animals slaughtered by Christians and Jews
permissible to eat, even though they may not slaughter their animals in
the manner renetmended by Islam. If during the slaughter, the head of
an animal gets separated from the body netpletely by accident, is that
animal permissible to eat?
3. Is it permissible for a Muslim living in a non-Muslim country to
eat the meat of animals slaughtered according to the prevailing method
there? Can a Muslim eat meat prepared by Christians, Jews, etc., if he
finds that necessary as in the case of a student living on a university
campus and having often to eat at the cafeteria?
A377 : 1. Such a chicken is permissible to eat,
provided that the slaughterer observes the Islamic rules. He should
mention the name of Allah and, using a very sharp blade, should cut the
main arteries in the neck of the animal to help it lose consciousness
immediately and thus reduce its pain to a minimum. The fact that the
one who holds the chicken for him is non-Muslim does not affect the
situation in any way. 2. If the Christians and Jews slaughter their
animals in the method renetmended by the Bible, then they will be
following the same method as Muslims. Jews still do this, but
Christians have introduced new methods as stunning by electric shock.
The stunning is used in order to make the animal totally unconscious
when it is slaughtered. In the case of large animals, such as sheep and
beef [cattle], the animal regains consciousness within a minute or two,
unless it is slaughtered in the meantime. Therefore, the meat of such
animals is permissible to eat. With chicken, it is likely that the
animal dies as a result of the electric shock. It is, therefore, far
more preferable to avoid eating chicken killed by Christians in Europe.
In Muslim countries, Christian butchers use generally the same methods
as Muslims. Therefore, it is permissible to buy meat from them. There
is nothing wrong with the meat of an animal whose head is, by accident
totally separated from its body during slaughter, provided that the
Islamic rules are followed from the beginning. What is important is the
mentioning of Allah’s name at the time of slaughter. 3. Allah tells
us in the Qur’an that we eat of the good of Christians and Jews as well
as other people whom He favoured with revelations. Therefore, unless
there is a specific reason for the prohibition of a particular type of
food prepared by such people, it is permissible to eat. In the case of
Jews, they slaughter animals in the same way as we do. Christians,
especially in Western Europe and America, have adopted different
methods of slaughter. Scholars have different opinion on whether such
meat is permissible for Muslims to eat. However, in such a matter there
is no harm in choosing the easier option, since it is supported by
sound arguments advanced by learned scholars. A Muslim who finds
himself living in a Christian country, such as those of Western Europe,
needs to familiarize himself with the methods of slaughter prevailing
in that country. If he determines that the animals killed for eating
are not dead before they are finally slaughtered, he may eat their meat
after mentioning the name of Allah. If he finds out that the stunning
operation which is normally adopted in many of these countries actually
kills the animal, he should not eat its meat. In most cases, the large
animals, such as sheep, beef [cattle], etc. are only stunned by
electric shock which affects them for a short period while they are
slaughtered. This is done in order to make the slaughter painless. That
is acceptable from the Islamic point of view. Smaller animals, such as
chicken, may be more suspicious, because it is often the case that the
chicken dies before it is slaughtered. In that case it benetes carrion
which is forbidden to eat.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )