Topic: Halal & Haram

Topic: Halal& Haram ShariahBoard of New York presents I NEED TO KNOW MY DEEN series

Questions to Answer • What does 100% Halal mean? • What does Zabiha Halal mean? • Why is it a MUST to consume Halal and ONLY Halal? • What are the harms of consuming Haram? • Is the meat of AhlulKitab (the People of the Book) permissible?

First and Foremost • Principles of Halal and Haram • The principle in all things is permissibility (unless proven otherwise) & • The principle in meat is that is Haram (unless proven otherwise)

The Importance of An Islamic Diet • Firstly: Is there any consideration in Islam towards dietary laws? • 1) There are clearly animals which are Haraam and animals which are Halal, expressed in the Quran. Allah says: “Forbidden unto you (for food) are carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, on which has been invoked the name of others than Allah…” (Quran 5:3)

Through the Sunnah • 2) Slaughtering Animals according to Shariah is one of the distinguishing factors of Islam: • The Prophet (SAW) said: "Anyone who testifies that there is no god but Allah, faces our qibla, prays our prayer and eats what we slaughter is a Muslim. He is owed what is owed to any Muslim and has the same obligations as any other Muslim.“ (Sahih Bukhari)

Logically it is Part of Islam • 3) Islam is a way of life: This includes all aspects, social, economic & spiritual. This is common sense then that there should also be laws upon our food consumption as well.

Which meat is Haram? • “Forbidden unto you (for food) are carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, on which has been invoked the name of others than Allah, the strangled, and the dead through beating, and the dead through falling from a height, and that which has been killed by (the goring of) horns, and the devoured of wild beasts, saving that which you make lawful (by slaughtering)...” (Quran 5:3). • These items are either: • 1) Physically detrimental • 2) Spiritually evil

The Deception that We Have Befallen • Since the Ahl-Kitaab “supposedly” are only not allowed to eat swine, it is also believed by Muslims that this is the only food that we have to avoid • But Allah mentions the meat of swine third, after carrion and blood, indicating it is not as serious to avoid as the first two. • The first two have to deal with our slaughter: if an animal is slaughtered improperly, either it is considered carrion, or blood is still stuck in the animal, which is also Haraam.

The Rules of Halal Slaughter • 1)Three of the four main veins must be cut with a knife, blade or any tool that is sharp and has a cutting edge • 2) The name of Allah must be pronounced at the time of slaughtering, whether actually or effectively (such as when it is forgotten by someone who would normally have said it); • 3) The slaughterer must be either a Muslim or from the People of the Book (Ahl al-Kitab). (See: al-Haskafi and ibn Abidin in Radd al-Muhtarala al-Durr al-Mukhtar)

A Traveler’s Dua Unanswered • Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: • “Allah the Almighty is pure and accepts only that which is pure. Allah has commanded the faithful to do that which he commanded the Messengers, • and the Almighty has said: “O Messengers! Eat of the pure things and do right”. And Allah the Almighty has said: “O you who believe! Eat of the pure things We have provided you.” • Then he (Allah bless him & give him peace) mentioned (the case of) a man who, having journeyed far, is dishevelled and dusty and who spreads out his hands to the heavens (saying): “O Lord! O Lord!” — while his food is unlawful, his drink unlawful, his clothing unlawful, and he is nourished unlawfully, so how can he be answered!” (Sahih Muslim)

Good Deeds Unaccepted • The Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam): “I swear by Him in whose hands the soul of Muhammad lies, verily a servant (of Allah) tosses a haram (impermissible) food morsel in his stomach (due to which) no good deed is accepted from him for 40 days” (Tabrani 6395)

Benefits of Consuming Halal • The beauty of eating Halal: • Sayyiduna S'ad ibn Abi Waqqas (radhiallahu anhu) relates that the Prophet (salallahu alaihi wa sallam) said “O S'ad purify your food (and as a result) you will become one whose supplications are accepted.” • People used to flock to Sayyiduna Sa’d (RA) to get their Duas answered

The Meat of AhlulKitab(the People of the Book) Conditions Proof from Quran Proof from Scholars From their Books Final Word from Quran Today’s Times

2) The Ahl al-Kitaab • “The food (slaughtered meat) of the people of the Book is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them.” (Quran 5:5) • The food of the Christians and Jews, even with their distorted beliefs, is considered Halal for Muslims • Seems straight forward…but…

Are There Any Conditions? • The same conditions that are stipulated in an Islamic Slaughter, according to the majority opinion of the scholars, are also the conditions for the people of the Book.

Proof from Quran • “Eat not (of meats) on which Allah's name has not been pronounced, and surely it is a sin...” (Quran 6:121).

Cont. • 2) Then Allah continues to say “and surely it is a sin.” • This is clear that meat which Allah’s name is not pronounced on it is Haram and sinful to eat • Allah mentioned this part of the Ayah to remove any doubt that meat not pronounced upon is not permissible to eat.

Proof From Our Scholars • Ibn Kathir: These are lawful for Muslims because they consider slaughtering animals for anyone other than Allah as unlawful and do not invoke any name other than that of Allah on animals they slaughter - even if they believe in things about Almighty Allah from which the great Creator is free and far above (Ibn Kathir, p. 19, v. 3).

Proof From Our Scholars • Al-Bahr al-Muhit: “And they believe: If a Kitabi (of the People of the Book) were to omit the name of Allah while slaughtering an animal, or were to invoke upon it a name other than that of Allah, it is not permissible to eat it. And this is the saying of Abu ad-Darda, Ubadah ibn Samit and a group of the Sahabah. And this is also the belief of Abu Hanifah, Abu Yusuf, Muhammad, Zafar and Malik. However, An-Nakha'ii and Ath-Thawri rule the eating of it as Makruh (reprehensible).” (pg. 431, v. 5)

Proof From Their Books • "And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself (carrion), and the fat of that which is torn with beasts (mauqudhah), may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it." (Leviticus 7:24) • "That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled (munkhaniqah), and from fornication." (Acts 15:29) • "But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils." (I Corinthians 10:20, 21)

Comparison Quran Their Books "And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself (carrion)” “…and from blood…” “they sacrifice to devils, and not to God” “and from things strangled…” “that which is torn with beasts…” • “Forbidden unto you (for food) are carrion… • Blood… • …on which has been invoked the name of others than Allah… • the strangled, and the dead through beating…” (Quran 5:3).

In Conclusion • There is a consensus that through the Quran, the food of AhlulKitab is permissible to consume. • However, their food is an exception to the rule, and not the generality of it. • They also must follow rules in order to make their food Halaal.

Today: Christians • Mufti Rasheed in ‘Ahsan al-Fatawa’ writes about how he sent letters to the major Christian seminaries, including the Vatican, asking about if they have any dietary laws pertaining to animal slaughter. • They responded in the negative, saying that they do not have any rules for sacrificing an animal.

And their Iman? • This is from common knowledge that a good majority of Christians are atheists in belief. In other words, they are far from sanctifying their food by using the Oneness of God.

Jews • “Before performing ritual slaughter, it is necessary to recite the blessing, “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us concerning ritual slaughter.” However, if the blessing is not recited, it is still permitted to eat the meat.” • “this blessing covers all the animals slaughtered in that period.” • MT Book 5, The Book of Holiness, Sefer Kedushah; Treatise 3, Laws Concerning Shehitah (Shechitah, Ritual Slaughter); Chapter 1, sec 2 (pages 506M 259Y) - See more at: http://www.religiousrules.com/Judaismfood17slaughter.htm#_ftn5

Machine Slaughter

Machine Slaughter • “Normally, chickens are transported to the place of slaughter through a conveyer belt on which the chickens are hanged upside down with its legs tied to the hooks on the conveyer. These chickens, after passing through extremely cold water, arrive at the place where a gyratory blade or knife cuts the chickens. Thereafter, the chickens move along to the other stages of cleaning, cutting, packaging, etc.” (Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam)

What is the Claim? • The question of multiple deaths by a single act was experienced with hunting and was addressed by Muslim jurists. • They decided that the intention of killing game, regardless of the number of animals killed, in conjunction with the mention of Allah's name is sufficient. • So machines slaughter multiple animals with a single knife. So it therefore must also be permissible.

The Answer • Hunting is the foundation of the principle here for multiple deaths. If a hunter shoots an arrow and manages to kill more than one, then it is permissible. • But this is not the case with normal slaughter, a person must sacrifice each and every animal individually with the name of Allah. • Hunting and Slaughtering are two different cases and cannot be used to cross-extract rulings

Therefore • This cannot be applied to machines at all and is a baseless argument

The Solution • Mufti Taqi Usmani: “The only solution to this problem is that instead of one person, three Muslims be employed to cut the throats of chicken manually. They can slaughter the hanging chicken, alternatively. The speed of the machine need not be slowed down, nor does the production need to be reduced. Each one of these three persons will cut the throats of chickens by pronouncing the name of Allah".

Cont. • “In the way I have suggested, all the process of the mechanical production will remain as it is. The only act to be done manually is the act of cutting the throat without slowing down the machine. You can see that the separation of liver and some other parts of chicken is still being done manually, while it does not in any way, slow down the process. The same method is suggested for cutting the throat also.” (Contemporary Fatawa, p.288-289)

SBNY HALAL ZABIHA MONITORING + CERTIFICATION

SBNY HALAL ZABIHA MONITORING + CERTIFICATION • Certifies slaughter houses, distributors and retail locations that provide ONLY proper, hand-slaughtered zabiha halal meat from SBNY certified locations or SBNY monitored in-house slaughtering processes • Perpetually monitors certified locations by conducting random inspections of invoices and merchandise of certified locations • Currently, SBNY has numerous slaughterhouses, processing plants, distributors, retail stores, restaurants certified and monitored • Services are FREE OF CHARGE for the benefit of the Muslim Ummah

What can we do? • “The bystander in a scene of oppression is on the side of the oppressor” • Be aware and demand Halal- “The consumer is the master of the market” • People are in control of what they eat • If people insist on eating Halal, then a proper Halal market can be established inshaAllah, and all fraud will be removed

This is our Deen • We are Muslim • We are in need of Halal food • We need to be Active to establish this • Umar (RA) used to be active in checking the markets to ensure nothing Haram was being sold • Allah purify our food, our hearts, and all of the Muslims from today till Qiyamah, Ameen

JazakumAllah • FOR ALL YOUR QUESTIONS REGARDING THE DEEN IN ANY ASPECT OF IT, CONTACT SBNY: • CALL (718) 426-3454 • WEB: www.shariahboardny.org • EMAIL: shariahboardny@gmail.com

Topic: Halal & Haram