SubhanAllah, it comes down to a good practicing Muslims or an average Joe (muslim)

What kind of meat should Muslims eat? Halal, zabiha halal or any kind of meat. Sheikh 'Alaa talk about the ahl al-wara', those who choose to be more cautious, and those who abide by the basics. Also, Sheikh mentions that a general statement can not be made on the matter. Sheikh 'Alaa is the Director of Religious Affairs at ISNA Canada Headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Segment aired on October 18, 2008 on Vision TV

After going through a few Salafi scholars and their opinions, I finally found one that speaks sense.

Halal Meat vs Haram Meat in Non Muslim Countries by Abu Mussab

An EXCELLENT article from one of the meat suppliers who is authorized by the Halal Food Authority

Source

"IT MAY BE ZABIHA BUT IS IT HALAL?"



Dear Brothers and sisters,

Before you sink your teeth into the next Zabiha slaughtered meat product, ask yourself:

Is it Halal?

This is a question most Muslims don’t think to ask. The issue of Halal meat has been a bone of contention amongst the Muslim communities in UK.

Some Muslims argue that the meat of the Jews and Christians is Halal for Muslims. Others say the meat must be slaughtered according to Islamic rites for it to be fit for Muslim consumption.

As a Muslim, we must try our utmost to practice Islam in its entirety. Islam has given injunctions to eat Halal/Zabiha according to Islamic dietary laws- meaning eating the meat slaughtered by a Muslim according to the Islamic mode of slaughtering. Meat available in supermarkets and fast food restaurants is not slaughtered according to the Islamic method of slaughtering (Zabiha).

Those who eat the regular meat at in those restaurants argue that it is permissible because it is the food of the people of the book (namely Jews and Christians). As a matter of fact there is so much of a controversy about the regular meat of the supermarket as to whether it can be considered as the food of the people of The book or not.

Allah, with His immense mercy, did provide a provision to eat the food of the people of the book. But it is an exception to the rule. Halal/Zabiha meat slaughtered by a Muslim is the meat we as a practicing Muslim eat all the time. In case of absolute emergency and necessity (meaning non-availability of the Halal/Zabiha meat for this emergency and necessity), one may partake the food of the people of the book.

When the Halal/Zabiha meat is available so abundantly, why should one indulge in something, which is controversial? Does a Muslim have to whet his/her appetite with something controversial/ doubtful when there is Halal/Zabiha available? Is eating in the fast food restaurant that important? Halal/Zabiha is the Muslim identity. Is it worth loosing this identity by succumbing to our appetite for eating regular meat? While we cannot say that the regular meat is Haram, yet it certainly cannot be said that it is the best choice for a practicing Muslim. Be proud of our identity and maintain it by eating only Halal/ Zabiha slaughtered by Muslims according to the Islamic method of slaughtering. It is closer to piety.

But what’s often ignored is that regardless of whether you choose to eat Zabiha or not, the meat of the animal itself may not be Halal.

Mechanical slaughter is of three types:

1. Chickens are transported to the place of slaughter through a conveyer belt and are manually slaughtered. If there is certainty that the chicken is alive and the Muslim slaughterer recites the name of Allah upon slaughtering, then the chicken is Halaal. In this case, only the transportation is mechanical but the slaughtering is manual. This procedure is unanimously permissible and recommended.

1. Chickens are transported by means of the conveyer belt to the mechanical slaughter blade. Once the mechanical plant comes into operation, the blade also comes into operation and cuts the chicken. This procedure is not permissible. It does not matter if the plant and the blades are controlled together or separately.

1. The chickens are transported by means of the conveyer belt to many slaughter blades and a Muslim who recites the name of Allah upon affecting the mechanical slaughter controls every blade separately. This procedure conforms to the principles of Sharée Zabh set out by the Fuqahaa. According to our knowledge, such a procedure does not yet exist. (AHF Editor Comment, we use this method in Fukuoka)

THE USE OF ELECTRIC SHOCK ON ANIMALS

With regards to meat that is not slaughtered according to Islamic rites, it is not Halal because of the effect electric shock (stunning) on blood drainage.

In regular meat slaughterhouses, animals are brought into an alley and given an electric shock (stunned) before Dhabh (slaughtering) to the head to make them unconscious. The animal’s legs are then tied up and it is hung upside down. A knife is put to its neck, and then it is slaughtered. The animal is then temporarily left alone to allow the blood to drain from its body. From there, the meat is processed. But using electric shock (stunning), means that all of the animal’s blood does not leave its body, because electric shock (stunning) affects the central nervous system and as many of the animal are die from effect of stunning.

On the contrary, if an animal is slaughtered in accordance with Islamic guidelines, the central nervous system works properly, and the entire animal’s blood comes out.

Remaining blood in the animal is a source of fermentation and destruction of meat quality. This means bacteria can grow easily on the meat. From an Islamic perspective, it is Haram to eat meat-containing blood, and dead animal as it is clearly stated in the Qur’an that Muslims cannot consume blood.


THE CONDITIONS OF HALAL

"Halal is Halal if the following conditions are taken into consideration.”

The first is that the animal is itself is Halal. That means no pork, for instance.

The second is that the food the animal consumes does not contain any blood, meat and animal protein. The animal has to be herbivorous to be Halal; an animal becomes Haram if it consumes blood and /or meat or their by-products and animal protein (for food). If this occurs, according the Fuqaha (Islamic law Sharia) these animals are “Lahm Al-Jallalah”. They have specific digestive enzymes for vegetarian food but not for animal protein. If you break the laws of Nature, then you cannot blame Nature for the consequences. "Islam dictates that if an animal has received meat and/or blood (for food) while it was Halal, it becomes Haram and in order to become Halal you have to put that animal in a quarantine “purification period of three to forty days in order to clean their system and to offer them their natural diet as herbivores (grass, plants, and vegetables)“ area before you slaughter it to make it Halal".

If this is not respected, "that animal will contain the disease called Mad Cow Disease, or others" Muhammad (saw) has prohibited Muslim from eating the meat, eggs and drinking the milk of al-jallalah. All considered IZRA. Al-jallalah is any herbivore (cattle, sheep etc.), which is the meat of an animal or any filthy substance.

The third condition for an animal to be Halal is that it should not be given any hormones.

In the meat industry, he says beef and chicken are given female sex hormones. This is meant to increase the weight of the animal in a short period of time.

The effect of consuming an animal with injected female hormones is a reduction in the masculine appearance of boys and men. It also reduces sexual appetite, adding that this of course would not happen by eating just one meal containing meat. Rather, it can result when people are consuming meat daily, and "KFC and and McDonald’s" as two examples.

But eaters of Zabiha meat should not get on a high horse either: even if an animal is slaughtered in the Islamic manner, it will still contain these hormones.


PRESERVATIVES ADD TO THE LETHAL MEAT MIX

The meat industry also puts the preservatives nitrite or nitrate in meat. These react with the amino group of amino acids of the meat or protein to produce nitro so-amine. This is red pigment. This results in meat still looking red in its color, as if it is fresh, even if it has been on the shelf for one or two weeks. While this may be good for industry, but it causes cancer.

Animal food containing meat and blood, as well as dangerous hormones and preservatives leads one thing. "If that animal has been fed all of the above, then it is no longer Halal, even if a Muslim goes to the farm and slaughters the animal in the name of Allah, [it] does not make the animal Halal."


HORMONES IN MILK TOO

In February 1994, the United States Food and Drug Administration (USDA) approved the use of another hormone for cows-estrogen. This was used to increase milk bladder size and milk excretion resulting in greater production of milk in a shorter period of time.

Estrogen can cause cancer of the breast and other cancers in general. This is particularly frightening when we consider that many people drink milk daily, and consume its by-products like milk, cheese and cookies. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) demanded that farms put the label EST on milk cartons if they use estrogen on cows, the milk industry convinced the FDA to forego putting this label. That means you don’t know if the milk you drink contains estrogen or not. Consider what is happening here in UK!


CONSIDER SOME FORM OF VEGETARIANISM

The option is simply eating a vegetable-based diet, as opposed to a meat based one. While Islam has not forbidden meat eating, it also has not made it a religious requirement to consume meat on a daily basis. Moderation in eating, as is the case with other aspects of life, is the key, according to Islam. By opting for a more vegetable-based diet, this will reduce the meat intake of individuals, and lessen the amount of hormones and other dangerous chemicals ingested indirectly because of the meat. Current science and health research has also found eating a vegetarian diet can be healthier for you.


EATING ORGANIC FOODS

Meat, dairy products and eggs that are from animals, which have been fed with organic food, is also an option for those who want to keep eating meat. Organic livestock are not given antibiotics or hormones. They are given products that have been derived from natural sources. While organic foods may be more expensive than meat bought at the supermarket, the fact that it’s free of cancer-causing ingredients is well worth the cost if you want to maintain your meat eating. Organic foods can be bought at natural foods stores, the health food sections and produce departments of supermarkets and at farmers’ markets.


NOW ARE YOU AWARE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN YOUR LOCAL BUTCHER SHOP. 95% OF ALL BUTCHERS ARE SELLING STUNNED CHICKEN OR Al-JALLALAH.


THE REASON FOR THIS IS:

1. THESTUNNED CHICKENS ARE CHEAP.

1. BECAUSE THE POUND IS STRONG THEY ARE IMPORTING CHICKENS FROM EUROPE AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD. MOST OF THE CHICKENS ARE NOT EVEN HALAL.

• MOST CHICKEN PRODUCT ESPECIALLY COMING FROM HOLLAND AND DENMARK ARE INJECTED WITH 25% TO 49% WATER AND 5% TO 7% ADDITIVES WHICH MAKES IT VERY CHEAP.

1. THEREIS NOWHERE IN EUROPE WHERE YOU CAN SLAUGHTER CHICKENS WITHOUT STUNNING. (EXCEPT U.K)

1. THERE ARE SOME VERY WELL KNOWN SO CALLED HALAL MEAT AND POULTRY COMPANIES WHO BRING IN HARAM PRODUCTS FROM EASTERN EUROPE AND PACK IT IN THEIR BOXES AND SELL IT AS HALAL.

WE MUST STOP THESE CHEATS!

WE MUST GET TOGETHER AND STOP THESE CHEATS FROM FEEDING THE MUSLIMS ON HARAM MEAT.

FIRST I MUST TELL YOU THE LAW IN UK. UNITED KINGDOM IS THE ONLY COUNTRY IN EUROPE WHICH ALLOWS MUSLIMS AND JEWS “NOT TO STUN” THE ANIMALS BEFORE SLAUGHTERING THEM. SO THERE IS NO NEED TO STUN.

WHY THEN THEY DO IT? !!!


THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD DO:

1. ASK THE SHOP OWNER WHERE HE GETS HIS CHICKENS. [INVOICE, DELIVERY NOTE, EEC NUMBER OF THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE (This is very important)]

1. ASK HIM TO PRODUCE A HALAL CERTIFICATE SAYS; ”SLAUGHTERED WITHOUT STUNNING”.

1. ASK THEM WHEN THERE ARE SHORT OF CHICKEN WHERE THEY GET THERE SUPPLY FROM

HALAL OR HARAM?

STUNNED CHICKEN

THE CHICKEN IS SUSPENDED ON THE SHACKLE UPSIDE DOWN THEN THE HEAD IS DRAGGED THROUGH A BATH OF ELECTRIFIED WATER, WHICH STUNS THE CHICKEN. THE FOLLOWING THINGS HAPPEN TO THE CHICKEN:

1. DROWNING AND SUFFOCATION RESULTING IN DEATH.

1. 17% TO 35% DIE (24% IN UK - MAFF Report, 17% TO 35% IN USA) BEFORE REACHING THE POINT OF KILL (SLAUGHTERING) DEPENDING ON THE ELECTRIC VOLTAGE USED.

1. THE HEART IS WEAKENED SO IT CANNOT PUMP OUT ALL THE BLOOD FROM THE BODY. WHEN BLOOD IS LEFT IN THE BODY IT IS VERY HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH AS IT CONTAINS TOXINS AND UREA, AND MAY CONTAIN BACTERIA, PARASITES, VIRUSES, NEW CHEMICALS AND DRUGS ETC. BESIDES THIS, BLOOD CAN LEAD TO POISONING WHEN STILL IN MEAT TO BE CONSUMED

1. ELECTRIC STUNNING SEVERELY HURTS THE ANIMAL BECAUSE IT CAUSES AN IMMEDIATE NERVE SHOCK, WHICH CAUSES THE BIRD INTENSE PAIN. THIS IN EFFECT IS AN EXTREME TORTURING FOR THIS POWERLESS BIRD. THOSE WHO STUNNED POULTRY HAVE NO MERCY IN THEIR HEARTS FOR ANIMALS.

ALLAH SAYS IN THE QUR’AN: “FORBIDDEN TO YOU (FOR FOOD) ARE DEAD ANIMALS, BLOOD, THE FLESH OF SWINE AND THAT OVER WHICH HAS BEEN INVOKED OTHER THAN THE NAME OF ALLAH.” (CHAPTER 5, VERSE 4)


REASONS WHY CHICKENS ARE STUNNED ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. YOU CAN DO UP TO 15,000 OR MORE CHICKENS PER HOUR THUS REQUIRING LESS STAFF WHICH MEANS LESS OVERHEADS AND MORE PROFIT FOR THE CHEATING WHOLESALER AND RETAILER.

1. STUNNING RESULTS IN AN INCREASE IN THE WEIGHT OF THE BIRD OF ABOUT 10% OF ITS TOTAL WEIGHT. THE INCREASE DOES NOT BENEFIT THE CONSUMER BECAUSE IT IS CLOTTED BLOOD IN THE VEINS AND ARTERIES.

1. POULTRY SLAUGHTER HOUSES ARE VERY KEEN TO STUN AS MANY CHICKENS AS POSSIBLE IN THE LEAST POSSIBLE TIME AND SO COMMERCIAL INTERESTS HAVE OFTEN BEEN THE OVERRIDING FACTOR.

HOW TO RECOGNISE STUNNED CHICKEN:

1. WHEN THE CHICKENS ARE STUNNED THEY DO NOT FLAP THEIR WINGS, WHICH MEANS YOU WILL NOT FIND ANY BROKEN WINGS.

1. If YOU OPEN UP THE CHICKEN YOU WILL SEE SPECKS OF BLOOD ON THE INSIDE OF THE BREAST FILLET.

1. IF THE STUN IS SEVERE THE WISH BONE WILL BE BROKEN.

1. THE LEG MEAT IS DARK BECAUSE BLOOD IS STILL IN THE MEAT.

21st Century shortcuts practiced in the Halal meat industry

Slaughter men at abattoirs not reciting the Tasmiyah which is a condition for the animal to be Halal

Tape Tasmiyah

Some slaughterhouses have introduced the practice of playing pre-recorded Bismillah. Hundreds and thousands of animals in particular chickens are being slaughtered as Halal with a tape playing ‘Bismillah Allahu Akbar’ in the background.

Blessed Blades

The blessed blade is simply a blade or rotating mechanical blades which have been blessed.a) ‘Bismillah Allahu Akbar’ is inscribed on the blade making it blessed through the writing or b) a Muslim is called to pronounce the words and then blow on the blade making it blessed through the act of blowing.

Non-Muslim slaughtering at various abattoirs, rendering the meat Haram

Non-Muslims have been found to be slaughtering animals destined for the Muslim market either when a Muslim slaughter man is unavailable or when the Tasmiyah is being recited by the tape.

Minimum amount of Required Vessels not cut resulting in the Animal Being Haram

According to the majority of Fuqaha (Jurists), at least three out of four veins must be severed for a Halal slaughter. Unfortunately, due to the speed of the slaughter in many abattoirs or due to the sheer ignorance, many times the required amount of veins are not severed and as a result it would be unlawful to consume meat of such birds.

Mechanical Slaughter / Usage of Rotating Mechanic Blades with no Muslim Slaughter man Present

The most common practice found in a majority of the larger abattoirs is machine slaughter or mechanical slaughter. This is when the slaughter is carried out by a mechanical rotating blades with no Muslim slaughter man present either to perform the slaughter, or to recite the ‘Tasmiyah’ on each individual slaughter. Thousands of chickens are slaughtered in this manner daily.

Stunning the Animal

Stunning the animal before slaughter leaves a huge doubt into the halalness of the animal as many could be killed by the stunning especially in the case of poultry, it prevents the drainage of entire blood resulting in it being retained in the animal and retained blood causes germs and bacteria, it deprives animals from the benefits of Tasmiyah due to it being unconscious,

Imports and Mixing

Even worse some slaughterhouses and suppliers in the Europe are deliberately importing meat and poultry from abroad which do not meet Halal criteria and then deceive the unsuspecting consumer by re-packing these into their own Halal boxes. This type of mixing is not confined to only imported products as some abattoirs/suppliers/distributors are mixing meat and poultry from Haram sources in the U.K.

Contamination Issue

Meat and poultry being processed on an un-sanitized lines thus causing non-dhabiha leftovers to be mixed with the dhabiha meat on the machinery. Chickens are dunked in dip tanks (de-feathering process) which has temperatures over 60c. This cause impurities to permeate the flesh, again rendering the meat Haram.

A common problem found in abattoirs is the apathy and disregard of slaughter men when it comes to reciting the Tasmiyah. Recitation of the name of Allah at the time of each slaughter is a condikhikhbkun for the animal to be Halal.

BBC Report

The broadcasting of the Panorama programmed "The Chicken Run" tore open a vicious secret of imported meat and poultry, marked Halal. It disclosed that chicken products whilst being processed were injected with or soaked in water containing enzymes from beef and/or pork. These products were then shipped to the U.K. marked Halal for the consumption of the unsuspecting Muslim public. The other issue is anonymous meat and poultry imported from around the world labeled Halal is entering the market without the importers even knowing what slaughter methods are being used. Many of these when scrutinized and checked do not even come close to being Halal.

The most abused word 'Halal'

• The word ‘Halal’ has become the most abused word equally misused by Muslims and non Muslims. It is displayed anywhere and everywhere without any kind of regulation and corroboration and the consumers are led to believe that it is genuinely Halal.
• According to a research, statistics show that over 90% of Halal labeled meat and poultry in the Europe and USA is in actual fact, doubtful. Indeed the word ‘Halal’ displayed at the outlets or on consumables is not sufficient anymore.
• Since all Muslims, regardless of the denomination or school of thought are united in the need for the assurance of Halal.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Muslims in the Europe and USA for many years have been expressing deep concerns as to the authenticity of Halal meat and poultry supplies due to the excessive deception and false labeling of Halal in the industry.

The entire meat industry of the UK, Europe and USA is facing a major problem regarding the issue of falsely labeled Halal meat.

http://www.nationalhalal.com/pagCat.php?pageid=164

Zabiha-Meat Madness

by Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf

Halal and Zabiha

Once while dining at a person’s house in the US, the host pointed out to a guest from the UK that a particular dish on the table was zabiha and that another was ḥhalāl. The bewildered guest had never heard of the term zabiha used in this context. Literally, zabiha (more accurately written, dhabīḥa) means “slaughtered animal.” Was not all halāl meat, the guest wondered, supposed to be slaughtered according to a particular rite, and thus qualify as zabiha? Why was the host then calling one dish zabiha and the other “only ḥhalāl”? Could it be that zabiha meant something else? Maybe it was a Judaic or Christian term and this meat had been purchased from a non-Muslim source. Or did it mean super- or ultra-ḥalāl meat of sorts, or perhaps signify some kind of organic meat? One of the local guests clarified, explaining that some people in the US use the term zabiha for meat slaughtered by a Muslim. This was to differentiate it from meat that many purchase from the regular markets under the assumption that it is from the People of the Book (Ahl al-Kitāb) and thus ḥalāl even though not hand-slaughtered by a Muslim. Read whole article: SOURCE