ASK A MUSLIM SCHOLAR OCTOBER 2019
Are we allowed to eat animals that have been machine-slaughtered? I hear some people insisting that only hand-slaughtered meat is halal. Is this correct? There is no basis in Islam for making a distinction between hand-slaughtered meat and machine slaughtered meat. It is not warranted by the principles of Shari’ah nor by the rules of Fiqh. The only valid question to ask is whether the slaughter fulfills the prescribed standards of slaughter. The rules of the Islamic slaughter are quite precise and straightforward. Let us list them here: Invoking the name of Allah, cutting the throat/arteries with a sharp knife/instrument, thus administering a quick death and sparing the animal unnecessary torture and suffering. In reply to a question about lawful slaughter, the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated: ” As long as one invokes God’s name, and the animal is slaughtered with a sharp instrument letting the blood flow, you may eat it.” (Reported by Bukhari and others). In other words, the instrument used should be sharp enough to cut the arteries letting the blood flow efficiently thus sparing the animal of torture or inflicting unnecessary pain. In another hadith, he states: “Allah enjoins benevolence in all things we do:…