What is difference between Halal and Haram Meat?
The debate of what represents halal (allowed) and haram
(prohibited) meat goes on. Some Islamic ulama (scholars) assert it is fine to
eat meat from your neighborhood market, as long as it's not pork and when
before it's eaten the name of Allah is pronounced over it. Other scholars say
that meat in the"People of the Book" is halal for Muslims to eat and
nothing special needs to be mentioned. Finally, there are scholars who qualify
the gap between the conditions halal and zabiha (a more specific method of
slaughter). They state that, according to the Qur'an and the Hadith, Muslims
should just eat zabiha meat. They explain that a type of meat (poultry, beef,
etc.) could be halal if it's taken from animals that we are allowed to consume,
but that, unless these animals are killed according to Shariah law, their meat
isn't zabiha and therefore to not be eaten. In other words, all zabiha meat is
halal, but not all halal meat is zabiha.
To be able to prove that of the aforementioned three
perspectives is right, it has to be determined which one is in agreement with
all the Qur'an.
The belief that meat can come from local shops as long
as"Bismillah" is said more than it runs counter to the subsequent
Qur'anic ayyat:"He hath forbidden you only carrion, and blood, and swine
flesh, and that over which has been invoked (the name of) any other than Allah.
But he that is driven by necessity, neither craving nor transgressing, it's no
sin for him. Lo!
This Allah is telling us that no name other than His should
be invoked over the meat we consume. This is clear, and all Muslims agree. The
question is: When should"Bismillah" be mentioned -- prior to eating
or at the time of slaughter? For those who argue it is meant to be mentioned
before eating, I ask: Why do we need a special ayaat to tell us this when
Muslims have to say"Bismillah" over our food, not just meat? Additional
the following ahadith explain that it's while slaughtering the animal
that"Bismillah" must be declared and That There's a consequence for
not doing so:
The Messenger (SAW) said to this Companion Sa'd:"O
Sa'd! Purify your food and your supplication will be approved. From the one in
whose hands lies the life span of Muhammad, verily a servant places a morsel of
haram in his belly (and consequently ) forty times of worship won't be accepted
from him" [Imam Tabrani].
Reading these verses of the Qur'an and the above ahadith it
makes it crystal clear that we aren't allowed to eat just any brand of grocery
; this isn't halal for us. Halal meat needs to be killed in the Zabiha manner.
However, this view can be disproven also. Neither Jews nor
Christians invoke the name of Allah Subhana T'Allah over the animal before
killing it, as Muslims do. If they had been calling on Allah, they'd be
Muslims, right? Some sheikhs, scholars, and Imams assert the Qur'an states
which we can eat the meat of Jews and Christians based on this ayyat:"This
day are (all) good things made lawful for you. On the other hand, the Arabic
term used in this ayaat, ta'am, doesn't necessarily refer to beef. Those
scholars that argue rigorously in favor of zabiha say this word ta'am is
referring to produce and grains, not meat, as the edict for meat has been made
apparent elsewhere. When Allah speaks about beef in the Qur'an it's usually
referred to using the word for meat or flesh, which is lahm.
As if the above ayaats weren't sufficient to make you wonder,
in 6:119 Allah says:"And what hath occurred for you that ye eat not (meat)
of the over which hath been mentioned the name of Allah, what ye were forced
toand many could lead people astray by their own vain desires without
knowledge; Verily, thy Lord knoweth best the transgressors." This should
definitely make one stop and ponder the validity of their initial two
arguments.
The third view that's taken by many scholars in Islam is
that the only meat that's halal for Muslims to eat is that which has been slaughtered
in accordance with the shariah law. In short, just zabiha meat is halal. It is
zabiha to slaughter, kill, or forfeit an animal by cutting his throat,
according to the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad. There is no denying the fact that
zabiha meat is halal. Nobody can refute this announcement. Zabiha meat is
legal, and it is the best choice of all. The ayaat and ahadith that I have
supplied are sufficient to prove that zabiha meat isn't just halal (great ) but
also wajib (obligatory).
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