What is the ruling on imported meats, especially given that a delegate was sent by the scholars and they found that Brazilian chicken is not slaughtered according to Islamic method?
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The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions:
This is the first session of the month of Safar, 1414 AH, and it is the weekly session we hold on Thursday of every week. And due to our delay today, we first ask for your forgiveness, and then ask for your permission to omit the introductory speech that precedes the questions, so that we may accommodate the questions of all those present—if Allah wills—so we begin first with the question on the right:
The questioner : Your Eminence, there has been a lot of talk about imported meats, and in the research report of the Council of Senior Scholars, one of those sent by the League mentioned that they found there that indeed it is not slaughtered in the Islamic way, especially this Brazilian chicken.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : And what is your opinion, Shaykh, about this local chicken?
The Shaykh : Yes, first: our opinion regarding imported meats is that if they come from the countries of the People of the Book, then as you know, Allah has made lawful for us the food of those who were given the Scripture, and He the Exalted said:[Al-Ma'idah 5:5].
Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Their food is their slaughter", and it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he ate from the sheep that a Jewish woman in Khaybar had gifted to him, and he ate from the food to which a Jew in Medina invited him, and it contained a thick sauce, meaning: old fat. And likewise, Abdullah ibn al-Mughaffal approved taking the sack that was thrown in Khaybar, and it was from the slaughter of the Jews.
So if the chicken comes from countries of the People of the Book, it is lawful; this is the original ruling, and it is not for us, nor is it required of us, to ask how they slaughtered it, or whether they invoked the name of Allah over it or not. And the evidence for this is what is established in *Sahih al-Bukhari*:.
And the research was conducted in the session of the Council of Senior Scholars, and they invited the agents of the Ministry of Commerce, and they said: We cannot permit anything to be imported unless we are assured that it is slaughtered in the Sharia-compliant manner, and we have agents there, but we do not say that all the factories or slaughterhouses of those people are all in the Islamic way, but what is imported to the Kingdom is handled with caution, that is what they told us, and based on that, it is lawful.
And likewise, the chicken that is slaughtered here, there is no doubt in its lawfulness, and what is mentioned about it being given blood or the like does not harm it:
First: because many of the scholars say that impurity is purified by transformation, and that if an animal eats impurity, the impurity is transformed into blood and then into lawful meat.
And second: the *jallalah* that the majority of the scholars have forbidden is that which eats mostly impurity, not that which eats impurity; it is that which eats mostly impurity or all of its food is impurity that is forbidden, until it is confined and fed pure food for three days, and then it becomes lawful. So it should not be that doubt is introduced to people regarding their food, because if you introduce doubt to them, they are between two things:
Either they eat while being anxious.
Or they become bold and say: it does not matter, whether it is lawful or forbidden, whatever we find in our markets we will eat. So introducing doubts to the Muslims regarding their food and clothing without a Sharia basis is a matter that should not be done. For this reason, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to those people who doubted the meat that came to them, who were recently converted from disbelief, he said:, as if he is saying: it is not your concern what others do; you perform what is required of you in the prescribed manner, and it is not your concern regarding others.
The questioner : And the cheeses, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : And the cheeses are pure and lawful, and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) conquered the lands of Persia and ate from their cheeses, and they were Persians whose slaughter is not lawful.
Yes, the one that has nothing in it.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions:
This is the first session of the month of Safar, 1414 AH, and it is the weekly session we hold on Thursday of every week. And due to our delay today, we first ask for your forgiveness, and then ask for your permission to omit the introductory speech that precedes the questions, so that we may accommodate the questions of all those present—if Allah wills—so we begin first with the question on the right:
The questioner : Your Eminence, there has been a lot of talk about imported meats, and in the research report of the Council of Senior Scholars, one of those sent by the League mentioned that they found there that indeed it is not slaughtered in the Islamic way, especially this Brazilian chicken.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : And what is your opinion, Shaykh, about this local chicken?
The Shaykh : Yes, first: our opinion regarding imported meats is that if they come from the countries of the People of the Book, then as you know, Allah has made lawful for us the food of those who were given the Scripture, and He the Exalted said:
This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, and the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you
الْيَوْمَ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتُ وَطَعَامُ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ حِلٌّ لَكُمْIbn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Their food is their slaughter", and it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he ate from the sheep that a Jewish woman in Khaybar had gifted to him, and he ate from the food to which a Jew in Medina invited him, and it contained a thick sauce, meaning: old fat. And likewise, Abdullah ibn al-Mughaffal approved taking the sack that was thrown in Khaybar, and it was from the slaughter of the Jews.
So if the chicken comes from countries of the People of the Book, it is lawful; this is the original ruling, and it is not for us, nor is it required of us, to ask how they slaughtered it, or whether they invoked the name of Allah over it or not. And the evidence for this is what is established in *Sahih al-Bukhari*:
That a group of people came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: A group of people bring us meat, and we do not know whether they invoked the name of Allah over it or not? And they were recently converted from disbelief, so he said: Invoke the name of Allah yourselves and eat it
أن قوما جاؤوا إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم وقالوا : إن قوما يأتوننا باللحم لا ندري أذكروا اسم الله عليه أم لا؟ وكانوا حديثي عهد بالكفر فقال: سموا أنتم وكلوهAnd the research was conducted in the session of the Council of Senior Scholars, and they invited the agents of the Ministry of Commerce, and they said: We cannot permit anything to be imported unless we are assured that it is slaughtered in the Sharia-compliant manner, and we have agents there, but we do not say that all the factories or slaughterhouses of those people are all in the Islamic way, but what is imported to the Kingdom is handled with caution, that is what they told us, and based on that, it is lawful.
And likewise, the chicken that is slaughtered here, there is no doubt in its lawfulness, and what is mentioned about it being given blood or the like does not harm it:
First: because many of the scholars say that impurity is purified by transformation, and that if an animal eats impurity, the impurity is transformed into blood and then into lawful meat.
And second: the *jallalah* that the majority of the scholars have forbidden is that which eats mostly impurity, not that which eats impurity; it is that which eats mostly impurity or all of its food is impurity that is forbidden, until it is confined and fed pure food for three days, and then it becomes lawful. So it should not be that doubt is introduced to people regarding their food, because if you introduce doubt to them, they are between two things:
Either they eat while being anxious.
Or they become bold and say: it does not matter, whether it is lawful or forbidden, whatever we find in our markets we will eat. So introducing doubts to the Muslims regarding their food and clothing without a Sharia basis is a matter that should not be done. For this reason, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to those people who doubted the meat that came to them, who were recently converted from disbelief, he said:
Mention the name of Allah and eat
سموا أنتم وكلواThe questioner : And the cheeses, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : And the cheeses are pure and lawful, and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) conquered the lands of Persia and ate from their cheeses, and they were Persians whose slaughter is not lawful.
Yes, the one that has nothing in it.