What is the original ruling regarding meat: is it lawful or forbidden?
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The questioner : Is the original ruling regarding meat lawful or forbidden?
The Shaykh : The original ruling regarding meat is prohibition, not regarding the animal. The original ruling regarding the animal is permissibility, and the original ruling regarding meat is prohibition until we know, or it becomes predominant in our minds, that it is permissible. Did you understand the difference?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : What is the difference?
That is to say, if we doubt whether this animal is lawful or forbidden, it is lawful, so we slaughter it and eat it. But if we doubt whether this meat was slaughtered lawfully or is carrion, the original ruling is prohibition until it becomes predominant in our minds that it is lawful. Included in this is that if this meat comes from one whose slaughter is lawful, it is lawful, and it is not upon us to ask how it was slaughtered, nor to ask whether Allah was named over it or not. This is not upon us, nor is it for us to do so, because asking about this falls under the category of delving too deeply into the religion. For this reason, when people came to seek a ruling from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), saying:Sahih al-Bukhari 2057, he did not say, "Ask them." He said, , and they were recent converts from disbelief, and recent conversion from disbelief may obscure the obligation of naming Allah at the time of slaughter.
In any case, if meat comes to you from one whose slaughter is lawful—and those whose slaughter is lawful are three categories of people: the Muslim, the Jew, and the Christian—do not ask. Did you understand?
For this reason, if a slaughtered animal comes to us now in our markets, do we ask who slaughtered it?
No, we do not ask. And do we ask whether the slaughterer prays or not?
We do not ask. And do we ask whether he named Allah over it or not?
We do not ask. And do we ask whether the blood was drained in a lawful manner or not?
We do not ask. Asking is considered delving too deeply. And if we said that asking is obligatory, we would then have to ask the remaining questions: we would ask whether the slaughtered animal was owned for the purpose of slaughter or not. If they said it was owned, we would say: By what means did he own it? Did he buy it, receive it as a gift, or steal it?
Then we would ask later how he first owned it, and then we would continue in a chain. But praise be to Allah! Allah made it broad and cut off the root of this questioning by saying, "Do not ask." The Jews used to send meat to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and he would eat it without asking. The Jews used to invite him to barley bread and a thick soup, and he would not ask about this soup how it was slaughtered. And the best of the sacrificial animals is the sacrifice of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
As for what some people circulate about the meat arriving in our markets, claiming that it was not slaughtered in a lawful manner, this is an error. This is a whisper of Satan, and it should not be promoted among people so that the believer continues to eat meat while doubting its lawfulness. Leave the people alone.
Then, the meat that comes to our countries, praise be to Allah, is inspected by committees at the slaughterhouses in other countries, where it is slaughtered according to the lawful method.
The Shaykh : The original ruling regarding meat is prohibition, not regarding the animal. The original ruling regarding the animal is permissibility, and the original ruling regarding meat is prohibition until we know, or it becomes predominant in our minds, that it is permissible. Did you understand the difference?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : What is the difference?
That is to say, if we doubt whether this animal is lawful or forbidden, it is lawful, so we slaughter it and eat it. But if we doubt whether this meat was slaughtered lawfully or is carrion, the original ruling is prohibition until it becomes predominant in our minds that it is lawful. Included in this is that if this meat comes from one whose slaughter is lawful, it is lawful, and it is not upon us to ask how it was slaughtered, nor to ask whether Allah was named over it or not. This is not upon us, nor is it for us to do so, because asking about this falls under the category of delving too deeply into the religion. For this reason, when people came to seek a ruling from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), saying:
Some people said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Meat is brought to us by some people and we are not sure whether the name of Allah has been mentioned on it or not (at the time of slaughtering the animals)." Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said (to them), "Mention the name of Allah and eat it."
إن قومًا يأتوننا باللحم لا ندري أذكروا اسم الله عليه أم لا، قال: سموا أنتم وكلواName it yourselves and eat it. Aisha, the narrator of the hadith (may Allah be pleased with her), said: They were recent converts from disbelief.
سموا أنتم وكلوا، قالت عائشة راوية الحديث رضي الله عنها: وكانوا حديثي عهد بكفرIn any case, if meat comes to you from one whose slaughter is lawful—and those whose slaughter is lawful are three categories of people: the Muslim, the Jew, and the Christian—do not ask. Did you understand?
For this reason, if a slaughtered animal comes to us now in our markets, do we ask who slaughtered it?
No, we do not ask. And do we ask whether the slaughterer prays or not?
We do not ask. And do we ask whether he named Allah over it or not?
We do not ask. And do we ask whether the blood was drained in a lawful manner or not?
We do not ask. Asking is considered delving too deeply. And if we said that asking is obligatory, we would then have to ask the remaining questions: we would ask whether the slaughtered animal was owned for the purpose of slaughter or not. If they said it was owned, we would say: By what means did he own it? Did he buy it, receive it as a gift, or steal it?
Then we would ask later how he first owned it, and then we would continue in a chain. But praise be to Allah! Allah made it broad and cut off the root of this questioning by saying, "Do not ask." The Jews used to send meat to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and he would eat it without asking. The Jews used to invite him to barley bread and a thick soup, and he would not ask about this soup how it was slaughtered. And the best of the sacrificial animals is the sacrifice of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
As for what some people circulate about the meat arriving in our markets, claiming that it was not slaughtered in a lawful manner, this is an error. This is a whisper of Satan, and it should not be promoted among people so that the believer continues to eat meat while doubting its lawfulness. Leave the people alone.
Then, the meat that comes to our countries, praise be to Allah, is inspected by committees at the slaughterhouses in other countries, where it is slaughtered according to the lawful method.