MEAT

Introduction

Praise be to Allah Who created mankind in the best proportion, and Who sent down the regulations of permissibility and prohibition for their benefit. I testify that there is no god but Allah, alone without any partners, and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and worshipper. O Allah ! There is nothing easy except that which You make easy, and You make the difficult things easy when You will.

To proceed : the issue of Halal meat, being of almost universal relevance, is one discussed by all and sundry. Fatawa, discussions, arguments, personal opinions and confusion all abound concerning it. In such a situation, more so than in others, it is useful to review the issue in the light of the Qur'anic verses, the authentic hadith, and the analysis of the scholars. in For some time, I have been intending to write a detailed article on this, and I pray that Allah grant me the guidance and ability to perform this task well, and that what follows can serve as the basis for a more comprehensive and thorough article at a later time.

Before we delve into the details of this issue, let us remind ourselves of the importance of Halal food. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) has said, "Indeed, Allah is good, and does not accept other than good. And indeed, Allah has ordered the believers with that whereby He has ordered the messengers, for He has said, (translated), "O Messengers! Eat from the good/wholesome things, and do righteous deeds," and He has said, (translated), "O you who believe! Eat from that which is in the earth Halal and wholesome." Then, he mentioned a man who undertakes a long journey [presumably for Hajj or jihad or da`wah], dusty and dishevelled, raising his hands to the sky, [saying] 'O my Lord! O my Lord!' and yet, his food is Haram, his drink is Haram, his clothing is Haram, and he is nourished on Haram. How then can that one be responded to? [Muslim]

1. Qur'anic Evidences

The fundaments here are of three categroies:
i) General texts of permissibility of wholesome things
ii) Specific texts of prohibition
iii) Texts of concession

1.1 General texts permitting the wholesome

Let us cite first some examples of the first category: "[Allah] is is Who has created for you all that is in the earth." [al-Baqarah] This verse is a basis for the fact that, in general, everything is permissible. Other texts clarify further that what is permissible is that which is wholesome, for it is not in keeping with Divine wisdom to permit that which is injurious or harmful. "Say : Who has prohibited Allah's adornment which He has brought forth for His servants, and [similarly] the wholesome things of sustenance? Say : They are for those who believe in this world, and exlcusively [for them] on the Day of Resurrection." [al-An`am]

1.1.1 Clarification of the principle "The Default in all things is Permissibility"

As for prohibition, it requires a clear declaration in the textual evidences, since the default is that all is permissible (based on the preceding category of evidences) except that which has been explcitly forbidden for the welfare of mankind and as a test of their faith. "Say : Bring forth your witnesses who testify that Allah has prohibited this. Then, if they testify, do not testify with them." [al-An`am]

This having been said, I wish to draw attention to a commonly-held misconception, arising from a misapplication of the above-mentioned principle. Some people are under the illusion that they can eat any meat unless they know with certainty that it is Haram. This is not correct, because although the default is permissibility _in general_, this flawed approach ignores the texts of prohibition. Simply stated, since it has been established by clear evidences that meat only becomes permissible upon completion of a very specific slaughter procedure (details of which are to follow, Allah willing), the default for meat is thus prohibition unless it can be established that the required procedure has been performed. [Refer to Ibn `Allan's "Daleel al-FaaliHeen li-Turuq RiyaaD al-SaaliHeen." for discussion of this.] In this light, the scholars have stated explicitly that the default in all things is permissibility, with the exception of meat and sexual intercourse. [See : Hukm al-LuHoom al-Mustawradah, by `Abdullah `Azzam] So, in the same way as a man cannot have intercourse with a woman he finds in a tent on a dark night on the pretext that there is a chance she is his wife, similarly one cannot eat meat indiscriminately on the mere basis that there is a chance it was slaughtered correctly.

1.2 Specific texts of Prohibition

Let us proceed now to mention the most prominent of the specific

Qur'anic texts related to prohibition of certain types of meat. We will suffice ourselves, in this section, with citing the verses, postponing discussion of them, Allah willing, to a later section.

1.2.1

"And eat not of that on which the name of Allah has not been mentioned, for verily it is transgression. And indeed, the devils inspire their comrades to dispute with you, but if you obey them you are polytheists." [al-An`am, 121]

1.2.2

"Prohibited to you are :
- carrion,
- [flowing] blood,
- the flesh of the pig,
- that which has been dedicated to other than Allah,
- that which has been strangled to death,
- that which has been killed by a blow,
- that which died by falling from a height,
- that which was gored to death [by an animal] and
- that from which wild beasts have eaten,
except for that which you make pure [by slaughtering before it dies]. And [forbidden also is]:
- that which has been been slaughtered on stone altars [to idols], and
- [it is forbidden] that you raffle by arrows.
That is an abomination . . . . .
But whoever is forced by [extreme] hunger, without the will to sin, then indeed Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful." [al-Ma'idah, 3] There are several other verses which mention some of the prohibitions mentioned in the above verse.

1.3 Texts of concession

There exist concessions:

- to eat the prohibited in a dire situation where no other food is available. Scholars have said that a dire situation is one where one has not eaten for 24 hrs, and there is no Halal food available, even for a price. We have already mentioned above the textual basis for this concession.

- for hunting. When one sends forth the hunting dog, or shoots the animal, one pronounces the name of Allah. "They ask you what is lawful for them. Say : the wholesome things are lawful for you, and those beasts and birds which you have trained as hounds are, teaching them what Allah has taught you. So, eat from that which they catch for you, and mention the name of Allah over it. And fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is swift in taking to account." [al-Ma'idah, 4]

- to eat the slaughtered meat of the People of the Book (i.e. Jews and Christians). "This day are wholesome things made permissible for you. And the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them." [al-Ma'idah, 5] Ibn `Abbas said it means their slaughered meat.