Sunday, February 24, 2013

IMPORTANT MEAT issue of AHL' KITAAB !!!

SubhanAllah there has been an issue going on again amongst some Muslims in regards to the Meat of the Ahl' Kitaab (Jews and Christians) being Halaal on us WITHOUT any condition!!! SUBHANALLAH !!! Even though this issue was already discussed in the following Article: The Issue of eating Meat of Ahl' Kitab BUT Astaghfirullah some sell-out Scholars, some amongst the Mur'ji ones & some Jahil ones have still have to say otherwise and issue fatawa too, La hawla wala quwwata Illah Billah !!! Insha'Allah please read the linked detailed Fatawa and issues in regards to this topic by our Scholar of Haqq.

Also for some SubhanAllah who don't have time to click i.e further read to gain knowledge and understanding for the sake of Allah, we have copy pasted in brief the below IMP Points ONLY (the references on these points are in the linked file).
Bi'idhnillah share with your Muslim Ummah to correct this error Insha'Allah.
JazakAllah khair wa BarakAllahu feekum.


BRIEF: 
 
If we  have  any  doubt  in  the  slaughterer  or  the method  used  to  slaughter  the meat,  it  is considered harām. This is the case with the Western countries, Communist and Christian. 

So,  it  is  harām  to  eat  the  slaughtered meats  of  the Communist  countries  for  a  number  of reasons:

1.  They have a considerable number of atheists due to the Communist belief, and these are mixed  in with  the general population who are Christian  in origin. So, we don’t know who slaughters, and even the non-Communist generally believes in no religion.

2.  There  are  methods  of  slaughter  used  that  oppose  the  Islāmic  method,  such  as strangulation  or  drowning  of  birds,  and  such methods  are mixed  in with methods that are in accordance with the Shar’ī one.

3.  They  openly  declare  war  on  religion  as  a  whole,  and  some  countries  –  such  as Bulgaria – forbid that the Muslims name their children with Muslim names, and they do  not  allow  them  to  attend  school  unless  they  adopt  the  names  of  the disbelievers.
In  fact,  they do not even provide  them with birth certificates  if  they have Muslim names. So, it would be even more expected that they would not allow the Muslims to slaughter by the Islāmic method.

So, there is uncertainty regarding their meats, whether that is of the method of slaughter or the slaughterer himself, and this makes these slaughtered meats forbidden.  

As  for  the  Western  Christian  countries,  the  slaughtered  meats  in  them  are  harām  for  a number of reasons:
 
1.  There is a significant presence (not less than a third) of people who do not believe in religion at all. Such people’s slaughtered meats are not allowed, and they are mixed in with  the  rest of  the population. So,  the Existentialist,  the Communist,  the atheist – even  if they are descended from Christians – are disbelievers who are not  from the category of the People of the Book, as Ibn ‘Abbās said: “The slaughtered meats of the Jews  and  Christians  are  allowed  because  they  believe  in  the  Torah  and  the Gospel.” And the percentage of atheists reaches half in some of these countries, and even  if  only  a  fourth  of  the  population was  atheist  and  their  slaughtered meats were mixed with  those of others,  this would be enough  to make all of  these meats forbidden.

2.  There  is  a  use  of  non-Shar’ī  methods  of  slaughtering,  especially  with  birds.  It  is established that a significant portion of slaughterhouses strangle them, stun them by electric shock, and then drown them in scalding water to kill them. I personally saw dead  birds  being  sold  in  Europe  with  their  heads  and  necks  untouched.  Some brothers  and  I  inspected  them  and  looked  at  their heads  and necks,  and  found no sign of any cut having been made.

There is also the method of severing its spinal column. As for sheep, they use a steel bolt to cut its spinal cord, and this causes it to die. They also use bullets to kill bulls by  firing  them  into  their heads, and  they slaughter  them  immediately afterwards, as the bull usually doesn’t die from the bullet, as its main purpose is to stun the bull and prevent  it  from  resisting during  slaughter. However,  if  they delay  slaughtering  it,  it dies from the bullet.

There is also the method of striking it on the forehead with a hammer to kill it.

In any case, even  if 90% of  the methods used were  in accordance with  the Sharī’ah and only 10% of them conflicted with it, 100% of the meats would be forbidden due to the mixing of these meats with that.

3.  The  Catholic  Church  permits  the  consumption  of  the  meat  of  animals  killed  by strangulation or violent blows.
Sālih  ‘Alī  al-‘Ūd,  who  lives  in  France,  said: “I  asked  Father  Hubuz  about  the methods utilized  in the slaughterhouses of Paris and Europe to kill animals, and he replied: “You know that these slaughterhouses are run by the government, and they do not abide by divine  law.” I  then asked him about  the  texts  that  forbid carcasses and blood,  and he  said: “They  are  in  the Old  and New Testaments. However,  the Church has ruled against abiding by them.”

4. It  is  not  allowed  to  eat  the meat  slaughtered  by  one  who  is  drunk,  and  a  good portion of them drink alcohol.

5.  Based  on  the  principle  that  what  can  be  assumed  from  the  current  reality  takes precedence  over  what  would  be  assumed  from  the  original  reality, the  original reality  is that they were People of the Book, and the current reality contradicts this. When Islām allowed for us to eat the meats of the Christians, this was because they slaughtered like the Muslims did, and they believed in ‘Īsā and their religion, and the condition was placed  that  it not be heard  that  they slaughter  for anyone other than Allāh. Today,  this  is no  longer  the case.

Their method of slaughtering sometimes goes against  that of  the  Islāmic one, and a significant portion of  them do not even believe in their religion. In Chicago, there were two magazines that spent six months debating as to whether ‘Īsā actually existed or was an imaginary personality!
 
As for the Jews – may Allāh’s curse be upon them – they still slaughter according to their traditions and religion, and the rabbi goes to the slaughterhouse and slaughters a  large number of animals  in a single day. When  the meat  is  ready  to be packaged, they write ‘Kosher (K)’ on the outside. If they fly on an airplane, they ask the airline to provide them with food that is prepared in accordance with the Jewish method of slaughter  and  is  free  of  pork,  and  the  airline  writes  ‘K. Meal’  on  the  side  of  the package. If only the Muslims had zeal for their religion and purchased Islāmic meals! In any case, the slaughtered meats of the Jews are allowed in the Islāmic Sharī’ah until today.

These slaughterhouses vary  in the methods they use  in slaughtering. Some of them comply with  the  conditions  of  the  Sharī’ah,  while  some  of  them  contradict  them.  From  these methods:

1.  An inch-long steel bolt is shot by gun into the forehead of the animal, and it dies and  is  skinned  without  being  cut  with  a  knife  or  slaughtered  in  any  way,  as  was personally  witnessed  by  brother  Sālih  ‘Ūd,  a  Tunisian  brother,  in  two slaughterhouses in the outskirts of Paris.

2.  Sālih  said: “As  for  the chickens,  they hit  it with an electric current at  the  tip of  its tongue, and  this kills  it. It  is  then dragged on  the conveyor belt  to have  its  feathers plucked.”
 
3.  The magazine  ‘al-Mujtama’’ published  a    great  study  conducted  by  ‘Abdullāh  bin ‘Alī  al-Ghasīnī  in  al-Qasīm,  Buraydah,  accompanied  by  pictures  of  chicken processing plants that slaughter and process their meat, and he concluded: 

a.  A truck transports the chickens from the farm, and some of them die on the way there.
b.  The chicken  is hung  from  the ceiling by  its  legs, and  it  is  then hooked  to a conveyor belt, and is then moved and slaughtered by a machine upon which is inscribed ‘Slaughtered by Stunning.’ It is then moved onto a large vat upon which  is written  ‘Very Hot,’ and  this  is  filled with water and steam, and  the poor chicken is then dunked into this vat to breathe its last, and all of this is written in the catalog of the processing plant.

4.  The  magazine  ‘al-Mujtama’’ published  an  appeal  from  the  Muslim  Youth Association  in Denmark  in which  they  said  that many of  the  slaughtering methods used are not in accordance with the Sharī’ah. 

5.  The  International High Assembly  for Mosques  issued an advice during  its  fourth seminar in Makkah to prevent the import of meat slaughtered outside the Kingdom.

6.  The  scholar  ‘Abd  al-‘Azīz  al-Binānī,  sent  by  the Muslim World  League  to  Brazil, found  that  the animals  there were killed by violent blows, specifically using an  iron hammer to the forehead.
 
7.  Dr. Mahmūd at-Tabbā’ visited Hanover, Germany with some Muslim brothers, and they saw that the cattle there were killed by being shot in the head.

8.  The noble scholar ‘Umar al-Ashqar told me: “I saw with my own eyes birds prepared to  be  eaten,  and  I  saw  that  their  heads  and  necks  had  no  signs  of  cutting  or slaughter.”  And  he  said:  “A  carton  of  chicken  was  sent  to  Kuwait  that  had  ‘Slaughtered Islāmically’ written  on  it.  I  opened  it  to  find  that  their  heads  and  necks were  left untouched.” 

He  also  said: “We  spoke  about  this  issue  a  lot  in  the  ‘Mujtama’’ magazine, and  the Kuwaiti  government  formed  a  council  to  tour Western  slaughterhouses.  So,  this group went, and said upon its return: “After our tour of many slaughterhouses in the West, we saw that the number of them that slaughter in accordance with the Islāmic method  is not more than 30%.” In other words,  less than a third are  in accordance with the Sharī’ah, and the Kuwaiti press reported this.

And  after  this,  can  it  be  said  that  it  is  permissible  to  eat  the meat  of  animals  and  birds slaughtered in the West?!

The Solution

1.  For the Muslims who live in the Muslim lands: 

These countries must buy meat from slaughterhouses  in Europe that employ Muslims who are  aware  and  concerned  with  this  issue.  There  are  large  Pakistani  and  Yemeni Muslim communities  in  Britain  for  example,  and  there  are  Tunisian,  Algerian,  and  Moroccan communities in France. 

They could also import live animals and slaughter them in their own lands, which would be quite expensive. 

Another option  is  to  import  from other Muslim countries  such as Turkey and Sudan, and they  should  provide  them with  funds  to  build meat  plants with modern  technology with which they can effectively slaughter their animals Islāmically.

2.  For the Muslims living in the West:

They must  either  slaughter  their  own  animals  or make  sure  that what  they  are  eating was slaughtered Islāmically. This can occur either by working together communally to slaughter their  own  animals  and  store  a  large  amount  of  the  meat,  or  by  purchasing  halāl  meat slaughtered by Muslims  there, such as  the Pakistanis, even  if  it  is  the most expensive meat around. As for birds, buying them and slaughtering them should be easier, and Allāh Knows best.

As for the issue of using a tape recorder that repeats Allāh’s Name while the animal is being slaughtered, this is not allowed, as this is like praying behind a radio. Slaughtering is an act of worship, and it must be carried out by one who is sane and of sound intellect.

This  is  what  I  was  able  to  present.  If  it  was  correct,  I  ask  Allāh  to  benefit me  and  the Muslims with  it,  to  grant  us  the  ability  to  act  upon  it,  and  to make  us  love  obeying  and worshipping Him. If it was incorrect, I ask Allāh to overlook my mistakes, and it is sufficient that I truthfully exerted my efforts and wanted nothing but for Allāh to benefit the Muslims through  this.  If  these words were  incorrect,  I  ask Allāh  to  turn people’s hearts  away  from them, to make them love what is correct and true, to grant them guidance and success, and may Allāh have Mercy on a man who pointed out my mistakes to me and clarified the truth to the Muslims.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

As salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi Wa barakatuhu

May Allah grant you all good in this life and the next I have a question in shaa Allah, with regards to those who slaughter via machine and say one basmalah for a large group of chickens for example, is this correct or must the basmalah be said upon every animal individually?

TheGhurabah said...

Waalaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh,
The basic principle with regard to saying “Bismillah” is that it must be done for each individual animal with the intention of slaughtering it in the proper manner.
But in the case of mechanical devices that slaughter a large number of chickens within a short time period, the scholars have differed with regard to the way of saying “Bismillah” that is essential for the slaughter to be halaal. There are several opinions: 

1. That it is sufficient for “Bismillah” to be said once by the person operating the machine, if it slaughters a number of chickens in one continuous time period. This is what has been stated in fatwas issued by the Standing Committee and in a statement issued by the Islamic Fiqh Council.
2. That it is sufficient for “Bismillah” to be said once by the person operating the machine, on condition that the specific chickens that he is going to slaughter are in front of him, such as if they are lined up on the conveyor belt and the like. This has been stated in fatwas issued by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen.
3. That saying “Bismillah” when using these machines is not possible, therefore it is not permissible to use these machine for halaal slaughter.

The more correct view is the first one, for the following reasons: 
It says in Fatawa al-Lajnah ad-Da’imah:  
What is the ruling on mechanical slaughter, in which dozens of chickens are slaughtered by machines at the same time, saying “Bismillah” only once? If a person is slaughtering a large number of chickens by hand, is it acceptable for him to say “Bismillah” just once, or does he have to say it for each one individually? 

Answer:
Firstly: it is permissible to slaughter using modern machines on condition that (the blades) are sharp and that the oesophagus and windpipe are cut. 
Secondly: if the machine slaughters a number of chickens in the same continuous length of time, it is acceptable for the person operating the machine to say “Bismillah” once when he begins to operate it with the intention of slaughtering, so long as the person operating the machine is a Muslim or kitaabi (Jewish or Christian). 
Thirdly: if the person is slaughtering by hand, he must say “Bismillah” separately for each chicken he slaughters, because each chicken is a separate entity. 
Fourthly: The slaughter must be done in the slaughterhouse and the windpipe and two veins, or one of them, must be cut. 
[Fatawa al-Lajnah ad-Da’imah, 22/463]

Dr. Muhammad Sulaymaan al-Ashqar said: Saying “Bismillah” in the case of a large number, if they are to be slaughtered by hand in the Islamic manner, may be exhausting for the slaughterman. For example, if a person has the task of slaughtering 1200 chickens per hour at a rate of one chicken every three seconds, then he would have to say “Bismillah wa Allahu akbar” 1200 times in an hour which would be exhausting and very difficult, and such burdensome difficulty is to be avoided in Islam because Allah says: “and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship” [22:78]. 

Conclusion: 

1 - It is sufficient for the machine operator to say “Bismillah” when switching it on, and that must be repeated after any pause.
2 - There is no point in the five men beside the machine saying “Bismillah”; rather this is a waste of time that should be put a stop to.
3 - The organisations that supervise Islamic slaughter must pay attention to the conditions and essential guidelines on the matter, and not be careless in applying them. And they should try to arrange for the slaughter to be done by hand instead of by machines. That is so as to do away with problems having to do with electrocution and saying “Bismillah”, and so as to avoid the possibility of the slaughter of some of the chickens being done inappropriately when passing over the rotating knife, because of differences in size among the chickens. This is a problem that some researchers have pointed out.

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