The Ruling on Eating the Slaughter of a Disbeliever and Food Cooked with It
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The questioner:
Once, I traveled with some friends to Romania, and on one of the days, we went to a restaurant. Three of my friends ordered a dish of food prepared with beef. I refrained from eating because I was certain that it had been slaughtered in a manner other than the Islamic way. They told me, "Eat, there is nothing wrong with it. We asked Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) about a situation like this, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, meaning: The slaughter of a disbeliever is eaten if a Muslim mentions the name of Allah the Exalted before swallowing it." One of my friends said that the slaughter of a disbeliever is eaten like any other food, and there is no need for the invocation at the time of eating because its time has passed. Another friend said, "Let us eat the food and leave the meat." I said to them, "How can we do that when the food was cooked with the meat itself?" In the end, I decided not to eat, and I left my friends in a state of confusion. One of them ate only the meat, and three ate only the food and left the meat. What is the ruling on those who ate this food and the meat? Am I sinful for refusing the opinion of the group? And if I am correct, what should I do with my friends who ate from such food? Should I cut off my association with them or not? I ask for your guidance, and direct us. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
This matter requires a detailed explanation. First, the slaughter of a Muslim and the slaughter of a People of the Book, from the Jews and the Christians, if it is slaughtered according to the Shari'ah method, is lawful. Allah the Exalted said, "except what you slaughter," and Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Ma'idah 5:5] The meaning of "their food" is their slaughters. As for the slaughter of disbelievers other than the People of the Book, from the polytheists and other religions of disbelief, their slaughters are not lawful because they are carrion, for Allah has not made lawful the slaughters of disbelievers except the slaughter of the People of the Book only. So, whatever is other than that from the slaughters of disbelievers is forbidden. This is the principle that must be known. So, the slaughter of disbelievers other than the People of the Book is forbidden by consensus. The slaughter of a Muslim and the slaughter of a People of the Book, if slaughtered according to the Shari'ah method, is lawful by consensus. As for if a Muslim or a People of the Book slaughters in a manner other than the Shari'ah method, it is also forbidden by consensus. As for what is doubtful regarding the slaughter of a Muslim or a People of the Book, where there is doubt, this is a point of disagreement among scholars. This is the point of disagreement. Some scholars say the principle is permissibility, and some scholars say the opposite, that the principle is prohibition until the Shari'ah control is established. And if a Muslim avoids it in order to avoid doubtful matters and shun shubhah (doubtful matters), this is safer for his religion and his honor, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Bulugh al-Maram 16:32 So, as long as you, O questioner, as you mentioned, know that this was slaughtered in a manner other than the Shari'ah slaughter, and you are certain of this, then it is forbidden for you.
The presenter:
All right.
The Shaykh:
As for if the matter is merely doubt, then it is not forbidden. And if you avoid it after being certain, there is no harm in that, as long as it is the slaughter of Muslims or the slaughter of the People of the Book. And as for the food, it is lawful. The food is lawful from any type of people, even if a disbeliever or a polytheist prepared it. The food that does not require slaughter, from grains, fruits, vegetables, and all foods that do not require slaughter, are all lawful. And fish, all of this is lawful wherever it is. And praise be to Allah.
And as for what the questioner mentioned regarding the statement of some of his companions that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted us the slaughters of disbelievers if we mention the name over them before eating, this is not correct. This is not preferred. What was reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is that he was asked about meats that were hung in the tents of the Muslims, slaughtered by people who had recently embraced Islam, and it was not known whether they had mentioned the name of Allah over them or not? So he said, "Mention the name of Allah yourselves and eat."
And the meaning of the mention (tasmiah) is the mention for eating, not the mention for the slaughter; because it is recommended for the one who eats to say "Bismillah" (In the name of Allah) when eating. So, the meaning is not the mention for the slaughter, but rather the prescribed mention for eating. Because the principle in the slaughters of Muslims, and the principle in what is brought to the Muslims, is lawfulness, unless it is known to be forbidden. This is the context of the hadith, and its context is not what the questioner mentioned. Because if you mention the name of Allah over the slaughter of a disbeliever before eating it, that it becomes lawful, this is a false statement, with no basis.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good. What Shaykh Salim mentioned when you were generous about your friends, should he follow them or differ with them?
The Shaykh:
As long as he is certain that it was slaughtered in a manner other than the Shari'ah method, he should leave it. And if he doubts it, he should leave it out of precaution. And if he eats, there is no blame on him. And how should he deal with his friends?
The presenter:
Shari'ah, or that the slaughter is from a non-Book disbeliever and non-Muslim, from the polytheists, then it is forbidden for him. But as long as they are in Islamic lands or in lands of the People of the Book, and this meat was presented to them, and it is more likely that it was slaughtered by a Muslim or a People of the Book, then
The Shaykh:
then it is eaten from it, except if he knows that it was slaughtered in a manner other than the Shari'ah method. Should he continue or must he cut off, and what is better? May Allah reward you with good and reward you.
Once, I traveled with some friends to Romania, and on one of the days, we went to a restaurant. Three of my friends ordered a dish of food prepared with beef. I refrained from eating because I was certain that it had been slaughtered in a manner other than the Islamic way. They told me, "Eat, there is nothing wrong with it. We asked Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) about a situation like this, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, meaning: The slaughter of a disbeliever is eaten if a Muslim mentions the name of Allah the Exalted before swallowing it." One of my friends said that the slaughter of a disbeliever is eaten like any other food, and there is no need for the invocation at the time of eating because its time has passed. Another friend said, "Let us eat the food and leave the meat." I said to them, "How can we do that when the food was cooked with the meat itself?" In the end, I decided not to eat, and I left my friends in a state of confusion. One of them ate only the meat, and three ate only the food and left the meat. What is the ruling on those who ate this food and the meat? Am I sinful for refusing the opinion of the group? And if I am correct, what should I do with my friends who ate from such food? Should I cut off my association with them or not? I ask for your guidance, and direct us. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
This matter requires a detailed explanation. First, the slaughter of a Muslim and the slaughter of a People of the Book, from the Jews and the Christians, if it is slaughtered according to the Shari'ah method, is lawful. Allah the Exalted said, "except what you slaughter," and Allah the Exalted said:
and the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you
وَطَعَامُ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ حِلٌّ لَّكُمْSo he, who saves himself from these doubtful things, saves his religion and his honor
فإذا اتقى الشبهات فقد استبرأ لدينه وعرضه،The presenter:
All right.
The Shaykh:
As for if the matter is merely doubt, then it is not forbidden. And if you avoid it after being certain, there is no harm in that, as long as it is the slaughter of Muslims or the slaughter of the People of the Book. And as for the food, it is lawful. The food is lawful from any type of people, even if a disbeliever or a polytheist prepared it. The food that does not require slaughter, from grains, fruits, vegetables, and all foods that do not require slaughter, are all lawful. And fish, all of this is lawful wherever it is. And praise be to Allah.
And as for what the questioner mentioned regarding the statement of some of his companions that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted us the slaughters of disbelievers if we mention the name over them before eating, this is not correct. This is not preferred. What was reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is that he was asked about meats that were hung in the tents of the Muslims, slaughtered by people who had recently embraced Islam, and it was not known whether they had mentioned the name of Allah over them or not? So he said, "Mention the name of Allah yourselves and eat."
And the meaning of the mention (tasmiah) is the mention for eating, not the mention for the slaughter; because it is recommended for the one who eats to say "Bismillah" (In the name of Allah) when eating. So, the meaning is not the mention for the slaughter, but rather the prescribed mention for eating. Because the principle in the slaughters of Muslims, and the principle in what is brought to the Muslims, is lawfulness, unless it is known to be forbidden. This is the context of the hadith, and its context is not what the questioner mentioned. Because if you mention the name of Allah over the slaughter of a disbeliever before eating it, that it becomes lawful, this is a false statement, with no basis.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good. What Shaykh Salim mentioned when you were generous about your friends, should he follow them or differ with them?
The Shaykh:
As long as he is certain that it was slaughtered in a manner other than the Shari'ah method, he should leave it. And if he doubts it, he should leave it out of precaution. And if he eats, there is no blame on him. And how should he deal with his friends?
The presenter:
Shari'ah, or that the slaughter is from a non-Book disbeliever and non-Muslim, from the polytheists, then it is forbidden for him. But as long as they are in Islamic lands or in lands of the People of the Book, and this meat was presented to them, and it is more likely that it was slaughtered by a Muslim or a People of the Book, then
The Shaykh:
then it is eaten from it, except if he knows that it was slaughtered in a manner other than the Shari'ah method. Should he continue or must he cut off, and what is better? May Allah reward you with good and reward you.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل تؤكل ذبيحة الكافر وما حكم الطعام المطهي بلحم تلك الذبيحة؟ الشيخ صالح بن فوزان الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.