Question:
Thank you Brother Kamau for connecting me to the fatwa council and I will be appreciated to hear our dear Shaikh Kabbani’s wisdom on these two questions.
Salaam Alaikum Shaikh Kabbani,
I work in the prison, and the prison administration provides Kosher Certified food for Muslim inmates, especially those who strictly eat halal. But some Muslim inmates claim that the Kosher Certified Food is not halal food. To my knowledge the meat that slaughtered by Ahl al-Kitab is permissible (halal) to be consumed by Muslims based on Qur’anic verse “This day are (all) things good and pure made lawful unto you. The food of the People of the Book is lawful unto you and yours is lawful unto them… (5:5). Considering the meat that has a Kosher certification is a strong indication that animal slaughtered by ahl al-Kitab, My first question is that whether the food, including meat, which does not have pork or by pork products that prepared according to strict Kosher laws is halal or not?
My second question is that what is your interpretation of Machine slaughtering based on Islamic Dhabiha guidelines. For example, IFANCA (Islamic Food And Nutrition Council of America) a Halal Certification Organization certifies machine slaughtering based on the following guidelines:
In the machine slaughter process, the cut is made in the proper area, the minimum required passages are all cut, and the blood is drained. On this basis, IFANCA accepts machine slaughter of poultry under IFANCA supervision. In IFANCA supervised machine slaughter, Muslim slaughter men must be present, reciting the name of Allah (Tasmiyyah) continuously on the birds passing by the knife, and slaughtering any birds missed by the knife. (It is not uncommon that some birds will be missed by the mechanical process.) The entire process is under the control of Muslims and further processing does not take place until the bird is lifeless.
Again, the major requirement for halal slaughter is that the cut cause bleeding which results in the loss of life of the chicken. Just as with slaughter using a hand held knife, the knife (or blade) must be sharp, it should cut the throat causing bleeding which results in the loss of life, and Tasmiyyah must be performed.
My question is that if these guidelines were followed, is the method of machine slaughtering permissible (halal)?
Answer:
Alaykum Salam,
The answer to the first question is yes it is halal provided no alcohol was present at any stage of the preparation of that food as well.
The answer to the second question is “yes it is halal provided the supervising Muslims are morally upright individuals who are qualified for knowledge of the criteria of halal slaughtering and professional inspection thereof.”
Hajj Gibril Fouad Haddad
