Stunning – Halal or Haram?
As far as stunning is concerned, the meat and chicken from animals who have been stunned prior to zibah are halaal as long as stunning isn’t the cause of death but the zibah (slaughtering/cutting through neck and arteries/veins etc) Is. Even as far as the zibah process is concerned, the faqeeh’s have stated many conditions of how the slaughter should take place, where the neck should be cut, which portion of the spine etc.. Etc. so even doing zibah with a knife requires specific training from a shariah perspective. Certainly according to the ahnaaf.
Without causing offence to anyone and i apologise in advance if i do.. i would humbly like to say the following:
My comment earlier is the shariah perspective on halaal or haraam in the stunning and zabiha processes. Certain conditions need to be met before an individual is eligible to pass comment on any aspect of shariah. Especially this issue of zibah. Mainly they need to be informed of the shar’i ahkaam and informed of the physical processes which take place in the slaughter houses. As I mentioned earlier, disregarding stunning, even slaughtering of an animal in the traditional way can still render an animal unfit to eat, if the correct conditions of the slaughter according to hanafi fiqh have not been met! So in answering the doubt on how do you know the animal you ate wasn’t stunned to death? I ask, how do you know the animal that has been slaughtered is permissible? Have you seen it being done? Are you aware of the conditions that need to be met even if you did observe, So that you could make an informed and correct decision on the status of halaal and haraam if that animal?
How many people have been to a slaughter house? How many people have seen the stunning process and scientifically analysed it in consideration of fiqh?
Simply put, how many people are qualified to make accusations or stand to defend such positions?
Allah says in the Qur’an.. Fass alu ahlazikr in kuntum laa ta’lamoon.. Go to the people of zikr.. Ie knowledge or people of the Quran etc, in matters you do not know.
Do you debate with the decision of your medical consultant who spent the last 25 years learning and practicing his area of medicine? Then why debate with the Scholars who have spent the last 25 years learning the sacred sciences and matters of shariah. Unless you of course are qualified to do so, then I humbly ask you to continue your discussions because you are entitled to. You are one of them!
On an individual level, if you have doubt on an issue, even though a masla may state something is permissible, your taqwa states to abstain. So abstaining from meat with a ? Over it is fine.. Then also abstain over the zabiha animals because as far as any lay person is concerned, there is a ? Mark over whether the conditions have been met. How far do you wish to take it? Hence we have the great scholars known as Muftis who actually observe these processes clinically and then give their verdict on what is halaal or haraam. We should look at following their rulings.. Even if Still not satisfied.. Abstain!
Like the ruling for salah.. Even if an imam is correct and proven to have no issues surrounding him but an individual has doubt in his heart surrounding the status of the imam, then his salah is not valid behind that imam. (Ahnaaf position). Likewise if your unsure, then fine, don’t eat the meat but in life live by a rule and die by the same rule.
My humble thoughts!
Answered By: Shaykh Abu Yusha Yasin – The Suyuti Institute
