Question
:
What shall
I do if there is no halal meat available in the city where I
live? Can I eat non-halalmeat? I live in Somerset, UK and there
is no halal meat in my area. What are the Islamic rules for
eating meat in a non-Muslim country like the UK, keeping in mind that
they slaughter animals by stunning them with electricity to make them
unconscious, and then they are shot in the head. I am not sure whether
they provide water to the animal before slaughter or not. What shall I
do regarding all that? Please help as I am really confused.
Answer :
The
question of meat slaughtered by the People of the Book has been a
controversial issue among Muslim scholars. The vast majority of scholars
from all of the four schools consider it permissible for us. They base
this on the clear statement of the Qur'an:
"Today, I
have permitted for you all good things, and the food of the People of
the Book is permissible for you, and your food is permissible for
them…..."
(Al-Ma`idah 5:5)
According to Ibn Abbas, the food of the People of the Book mentioned in
the above verse refers to the meat slaughtered by them.
Based
on this, the majority of scholars belonging to the four schools of
thought consider it permissible for Muslims to eat animals slaughtered
by the Christians and Jews so long as these animals are considered
lawful for us to eat.
If you
fall in this category of those who live among the People of the Book,
then you may eat their meat especially if you cannot find meat
slaughtered by Muslims.
As for
stunning the animal, it does not make the animal dead, for it is
intended only to knock the animal unconscious so that it does not feel
pain and it is brought under control. This itself does not render the
animal impure and unlawful unless it is dead before slaughter. My own
experience with the slaughter houses is that they do not make use of
animals which are already dead before slaughter. Inspectors, who are
appointed by the government (in countries such as Canada), do make sure
that this is not the case.
As far as
the wisdom of stunning is concerned, it is really in conformity with the
wisdom established in the Prophetic hadith in which the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, "Allah has
prescribed excellence and compassion in all things, so when you kill,
kill well; when you slaughter, slaughter well, and let him sharpen his
knife and spare the animal pain."
In
conclusion, we are definitely allowed to partake of such meat,
especially if we do not find meat provided by Muslims."
Excerpted,
with slight modifications, from:
www.islamonline.net
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