Recent Press on Halal ; Question:
Salaam.
With all the recent press about halal meat (which is ridiculous by the way) it made me think though if 90% of UK halal slaugher houses stun the meat before slaughter how do we differentiate between suppliers that slaughter in the traditional manner. We're told that stunned meat isn't halal because of the pain & stress caused to the animals. If the labelling isn't clear & we're also not clear if it's supplied by HFA or HMC where do we buy our meat from or eat from?
Answer:
Assalamo Alaikum,
There are two aspects to your query.
The first is whether stunning animal prior to slaughter is halal or not.
The second is how do you know what you are buying.
Regarding the first point. The issue of stunning the animal causing pain to the animal and this making it haram is wrong. The scholars who argue that stunning is not permissibility do not adopt this stance because of the pain. They do this because there is a danger that the animal can die from the stun and this be haram. The pain is a different issue but it not a halal or haram issue. The stun is quite low and this there is little chance of the animal dying from it. But some scholars prefer to be cautious and this don’t allow stunning. There are many scholars who have allowed stunning, they would prefer no stunning but in the circumstance we live in they have allowed it.
So I would like to add that just because it’s not HMC that doesn’t mean that it’s not halal.
Your second query about buying your meat. Well you have two places. The first is your butcher and you can ask him where he gets his meat from and whether it’s stunned or not. The second place where you would shop is the take away. Even here you can ask them whether the meat it HMC or stunned etc. so you have your choice.
And Allah knows best
Assalamo Alaikum
Answered by: Ustadh Rahil Mumtaz
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