by Tavis Adibudeen

In order to have a clear understanding of this issue, it is extremely important that we first define the two words in question.

In Arabic, halal means "that which is allowed, permitted or permissible." Thus, "halal meat" is meat that is considered permissible in Islam.

The term zabiha comes from the Arabic root zahaba, which means "to kill (by slitting the throat); to slaughter, butcher, to murder, slay; to sacrifice." So, zabiha meat is meat slaughtered by slitting the throat of the animal. In this context, however, it is used to mean meat slaughtered by a Muslim using the properly prescribed method as is indicated in the Sunnat-an-Nabi (life example of the Prophet, upon whom be peace). We will not describe the method of Islamic slaughter in detail here, as that is another topic that deserves its own attention.

Is Zabiha Halal? Is Halal Zabiha?

The meat that is halal to Muslims is described by Allah in the Qur'an:

"Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah; that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form); that which is sacrificed on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety..." (Qur'an 5:3)

All Muslims are in consensus that the above things such as pork, bloodymeat, etc. are all haram (forbidden). Muslims do not agree, however, on whether or not meat killed by non-muslims is halal or haram.

The argument for meat slaughtered by non-Muslims being halal is based on the following ayat in the Qur'an:

"This day are (all) things good and pure made lawful unto you. The food (ta'am) of the People of the Book is lawful unto you and yours is lawful unto them..."

The Arabic word ta'am (food) does not necessarily mean meat.

The majority of Sunni scholars have related that the word ta'am includes all food that is permissible to the People of the Book, including their meat. Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi added:

"The application of the phrase, the food of those who were given the Scripture , is general and includes their meats, produce, and other foods. All of these are halal for us excepting what is haraam in itself, e.g., the flesh of a dead animal, pork, and flowing blood, as these are haram regardless of whether they are obtained from a Christian, a Jew, or a Muslim." 1

Most of the Sunni scholars, however, did not necessarily include meat slaughtered by the People of the Book in any manner, rather it still had to be slaughtered in an acceptable manner. This includes the mentioning of no other name except Allah over the meat. In that case, a Christian mentioning the name of Jesus over the meat would render it haram.

On this, Imam Malik said:

" I classify it as makruh (disliked) but not haram: makruh because I am afraid it may have been dedicated to someone other than Allah but not haram because perhaps, with respect to the People of the Book, the meaning of the phrase, "that which has been dedicated to any other than Allah," applies only to those animals which they slaughter for the purpose of seeking the pleasure of their deities and not to eat. As for what they slaughter and eat, it is their food, and Allah says, "the food of those who were given the Scripture is permitted to you."

If we accept this viewpoint, we must analyze the TIME-SPACE factor. For Muslims living in western societies such as the United States or the United Kingdom, we have an entirely different issue with which to contend.

Most of the commercial meat distributed to grocery stores is not only not slaughtered by Muslims but may or may not even be slaughtered by a human being. The grotesque, yet cost-efficient, methods that are used today by major meat distribution companies are certainly not Islamic based on any viewpoint.