Question
I live in the US. My question is about halal meat and halal meals in the country. I have researched the slaughter houses both Islamic and non-Islamic. In both animals were bled from the neck, hung upside down, the only difference was that a recording of holy Qur’an was played in the background in Islamic slaughter houses.
So if healthwise both are same can we use regular halal category of meat by saying Allah’s name on it before cooking? There is also availability of organic high quality meats but we are confused about consuming them? When I read in Qur’an 5:3, 5:5, 2:173, 6:145, and 6:115 it appeared that we can eat after saying Allah’s name on it. This is also supported by the hadith where the Prophet (sws) allowed consumption of eatables from non-Muslims after saying Allah’s name on it. Please comment.
Answer
The Shariah rules regarding slaughtering animal has two aspects, physical health and spiritual aspect. Issues like blood draining are about the physical health while pronouncing the name of God relates to the spiritual aspect. Pronouncing the name is in fact us justifying the killing of what God has created, for our eating purposes. This justification is a legitimate one simply because God Himself has instructed us about it. Therefore while the two meets you described might be similar from health perspective, from the spiritual perspective they are totally different.
Answered by: Farhad Shafti
Date: 2015-02-28
