Q. I
love your website, keep it up. I just wanted to say I am glad to have stumbled
across (or been guided to) this site. I am researching everything I know about
Islam and amongst a massive list of things I need to rediscover, the concept of
"halal" food is one I need
clarification on.
I have read in the Qur’an
that all good food is lawful except what has been expressly forbidden. Also
before we eat anything, to make it lawful we need to pronounce God's name over
it. In my reflection and contemplation, I am inclined to believe that saying “Bismillah” over
my food and drink is what makes the food and drink halal to me. But then
there's a majority of the ummah that is saying otherwise.
I don't speak Arabic so I
have to rely on translation and commentary (and intellectuals) to make sense of
things. Please could you point me in the right direction?
A.
Thank you for your kind remarks. Muslims often make the case for "dhabihah"
meat by quoting the Qur'anic verse (Q6:121) to not consume
meat on which Allah's name has not been mentioned. However, our view is that
the verse is situational and in response to what the polytheists were doing:
they would dedicate meat to their pagan gods, and it is this meat that we are
forbidden to eat. The mention of God's name is at the time of consumption, as
you correctly noted and the construction of the verse makes evident. Another
verse (Q5:5) states that we can also eat meat from the People of the Book, and
this is not limited to only Jews and Christians as commonly interpreted.
What Muslims know as and
mistake for halal is simply ONE of
the ways of slaughtering. It is our view that any form of killing that is
deemed humane by the relevant authorities is halal. What makes something haram,
apart from the obvious prohibitions, is it being consecrated to a deity other
than God. We are allowed to eat the permissible meats even when they are
slaughtered by non-Muslims. We utter "Bismillah" at the time of
eating and that is what matters. Now having given you our juristic opinion,
this may also come down to your situation and personal choice. Dhabihah meat,
once a scarcity in the West, is now plentiful in many urban areas. If you live
in a city or suburb where there are Muslim markets and dhabihah is readily available for
purchase, this option might be preferable for you. On the other hand, if you
live in a rural area where there are hardly any or no Muslims and dhabihah meat is
unavailable, then purchasing meat from the local
supermarket is fine.
Posted
May 11, 2013