The following is NOT an expression of my opinion on the issue of zabihah, rather, this post is based on ISLAMIC FACT regarding the matter. Where applicable, Quranic verses, hadiths, and articles will be cited.
Asalaamu Alaikam wa ramatullahi wa barakatu
Bismillah hir rahman nir rahim
The subject of this post is of a very serious nature. I have chosen to write on zabihah, and I hope to, inshAllah, help people to understand just how serious zabihah is. This is a subject of great personal interest to me, and I am often troubled by the lack of understand and support a lot of Muslims have.
The Quran tells us, in Suratal Maida, ayah 3:
Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah. that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form); that which is sacrificed on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety. This day have those who reject faith given up all hope of your religion: yet fear them not but fear Me. This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But if any is forced by hunger, with no inclination to transgression, Allah is indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.
For the purists out there, who may want to argue that this is nothing more than a translation of the meaning, I give you the original Arabic:
حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالْدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنْزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللّهِ بِهِ وَالْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَالْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَالْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَالنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَا أَكَلَ السَّبُعُ إِلاَّ مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى النُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُواْ بِالأَزْلاَمِ ذَلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ الْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِن دِينِكُمْ فَلاَ تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَاخْشَوْنِ الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الإِسْلاَمَ دِينًا فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ فِي مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لِّإِثْمٍ فَإِنَّ اللّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
I always use this ayah in particular because I feel that there is a reason why the explanation of halal and haram food is included in the same verse where Allah tells us that He has chosen Islam for us. This verse is a very very important verse. This is literally the verse where Allah is telling us that we are Muslims, because He has chosen us to be Muslims. Islam was not created by just some person, living in the Arabian desert. Rather, it was created by the One Who has created all living things. Would any Muslim reject this? Not likely, because to do so, may place one's self outside the fold of Islam.
So, I pose this question to all: Why would you accept part of this ayah as being important and valid, yet reject the other part? To reject one ayah, is to reject the whole Quran. And one cannot accept part of an ayah. The ayah must be accepted completely.
This means that you have to believe not only that Allah has given Islam to mankind as a mercy, but that Allah has also commanded us to eat ONLY zabihah meat.
People will argue about the verse that says that the meat of the people who received the prior revelations is also halal for us. Okay, that's fine. As long as the animal was not slaughtered in a haram manner that is mentioned in the verse above that I have provided for reference. Common slaughter practices in North America (non-kosher and non-halal slaughter, that is), often involve some of those manners in which Allah has told us are forbidden for us. Large animals, such as cattle, are stunned either by electrified cattle prods, or hammers striking them between the eyes. Sometimes, this act alone can kill the animal (some slaughter houses actually use electrocution as a means of slaughter). Even if this does not kill them, and they are merely stunned, according to Islamic law, this meat would not be halal, because the animal was slaughtered while it was unconscious.
Studies have shown that standard slaughter practices are anything but humane. When electrodes are placed in the brains of animals being slaughtered, pain registries are off the scale in those animals that are slaughtered in standard slaughter houses. On the other hand, animals slaughtered according to zabihah practices, pain barely registered. In Islam, torture is not permissible, which is why zabihah slaughter is not only essential, but obligatory.
There is also the issue of the name of God being invoked at the time of slaughter. Take a trip to any standard slaughter house in the US, and you will very definitely NOT hear the name of God being mentioned (that is, not in the manner in which God's name should be mentioned). It is a weak argument to say that the animals are being slaughtered by "the people of the book" (Christians and Jews). When you look at how many practicing Christians and Jews there really are in this nation, you will be surprised at how disproportionately small the numbers are. Slaughter houses do not hire people based on how religious they are; all they care about is if a person is willing to do the grueling work of slaughtering animals all day long.
In the hustle and bustle that usually takes place when a "shipment" of animals arrive to the slaughterhouse, it is not uncommon for a few of them to get trampled to death, or to fall from high walks and die. Without a doubt, this meat would be haram for a Muslim to consume, and if this occurred at a zabihah slaughter house, the animal would have to be disposed of. In standard slaughter houses, however, these animals are collected and then butchered. Who knows what percentage of meat at your standard, local grocery store is from carrion (which is what this meat should be classified as).
The above was only a discussion on large animal slaughter. When we look at the slaughter of turkeys and chickens, it doesn't get any better.
Some sheikh or scholar a few years ago issued a fatwa that was a major misguidance to the Muslim community. He claimed that poultry did not need to be slaughtered in accordance to Islamic law. Many Muslims in the US were ecstatic to hear such "great" news. This meant that they could suddenly start eating at KFC (non-halal KFC, I mean, of course), and have McDonald's chicken nuggests in wholesale quantities. No one questioned this fatwa, or bothered to look into what zabihah really means (does it only apply to four legged animals, or all animals?). The news of this fatwa got around, and I mean it really got around.
The simple truth is that zabihah applies to ALL animals that are slaughtered for human consumption. If you will look back at the ayah that I quoted above, you will note that it doesn't list the kinds of animals that zabihah is required. It doesn't say anything like, "the above is not applicable for animals with less than four legs." That is because there is no distinction. Food is food, regardless of the number of legs that the animal had in life.
Decapitation is not permissible in Islam. The jugular vein is to be cut, but the head cannot be severed. There is a physiological reason for this. Blood is prohibited in Islam, and zabihah slaughter helps to ensure that blood exits the animal's body at the time of slaughter. When an animal is decapitated, this cannot occur (veins can be cauterized, and therefore, blood cannot flow through them). Decapitation also does not always kill the animal instantly. A phenomenon known (in humans) as "dead man walking" can occur. Emergency medical personnel have all either heard stories, or actually seen it happen, where the body of an individual, when traumatically killed by decapitation, continues to receive impulses from the nervous system, and will actually "walk" around. Similarly, in poultry, a chicken can run around for as much as 5 minutes after having it's head chopped off. This simply does not happen when the jugular vein is cut.
A quick Internet search on zabihah slaughter versus standard slaughter practices, came back with an article posted on the American Humane Society's website, discussing common poultry slaughter practices in America.
Imagine being hung upside down, shocked into paralysis, having your throat cut, then drowned in hot water...while you’re conscious. That’s the stuff of nightmares, and it’s the tragic reality for billions of birds each year. These animals have virtually no protection from the worst slaughter abuses.
Nearly all animals killed for food in the U.S. are chickens and turkeys—more than nine billion each year. They're shackled upside down, paralyzed by electrified water and dragged over mechanical throat-cutting blades ... all while conscious. Millions of birds each year miss the blades and drown in tanks of scalding water.
This occurs because the U.S. Department of Agriculture exempts birds from its enforcement of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, which requires that farm animals be insensible to pain before they’re shackled and killed. The HSUS is working with retailers to help move companies that slaughter birds toward a less cruel system.
When presented with such information, why would someone want to eat non-zabihah chicken at places like KFC, Popeye's, Church's, Chick-Fil-A (the non-halal establishments. Of course, I doubt that we will ever see a halal Chick-Fil-A, since the owners are staunch Christians. Do not take this to mean, however, that their chicken is halal. They are buying their meat from the same suppliers as everyone else.)? Nothing in the way that chicken and turkey are being slaughtered in this manner even comes close to meeting the requirements to be considered zabihah, or even halal (meaning, if you were to actually find true, practicing People of the Book {Christians and Jews} who were slaughtering in accordance with the Old Testament).
Again, I would like to stress the importance of the haram nature of torture. Muslims are not permitted to torture or cause harm to any living thing. One could argue that they were not the ones who directly tortured these animals (to death, in this case), however, they are indirectly associated with the torture of the animal, in as much that they supported the practice by purchasing the meat of the tortured animal.
Legitimate scholars of Islam (not those self-proclaimed scholars, or people who have studied under self-proclaimed scholars) from all four schools of Sunni thought, as well as the schools of Shia thought, are in agreement regarding what constitutes as halal and haram meat. The ayah in the Quran is quiet clear in describing what is prohibited, and there is no other way of looking at it (not legitimately, anyway). This is a case where which particular madhab you follow does not matter. Zabihah is halal, and anything else is not.
I would like to point out here that the scholar who issued the fatwa regarding chicken was perhaps a follower of the Wahabbi movement. Wahabbis, as of late, have been quite guilty of advising Muslims that it's perfectly acceptable to eat non-zabihah meat, citing that there are multiple ayahs in the Quran stating that Allah does not want to put a hardship on us. They argue that zabihah meat can be difficult to obtain, and therefore, one is excused if he or she decides to go to the local grocery store to buy their meat instead. I have heard reports from Saudi students, saying that their sheikh told them that zabihah meat did not "exist" in America or Great Britain, and to just buy whatever meat (non-pork) that they could find. Clearly, they do not know what they are talking about.
Alhamdulilah, zabihah is available just about everywhere now. If you live in a city like Chicago, or New York, there are entire shopping areas that are filled with zabihah markets. Zabihah markets are also scattered throughout these cities, as we as their suburbs. Just about any sizable town with a good Muslim population, will have at least one zabihah market, or there will be one within driving distance. Stores such as Costco are now carrying zabihah lamb (all lamb that is exported from New Zealand is now certified zabihah). Zabihah meat can be purchased online and shipped all across the USA from companies such as Midamar and Green Zabiha.
People will argue that the cost of zabihah is substantially greater than non-zabihah. I have personally found that to simply not be the case. If you go to your local grocery store, and look at the cost for premium ground beef, the price will be very close to that of zabihah ground meat (it has been my experience that in most cases, ground meat in a zabihah market is very good quality). Given the fact that most zabihah markets do not add water to the meat to make it weigh more, you are actually saving money buy purchasing zabihah (grocery stores add water and blood to their meat, so they can sell you less meat for more money. This is a well known tactic!).
As for chicken, try to get your local grocery store to cut up the chicken how you want it. Want to make biryani tonight, but the grocery store only has chicken cut in large, cumbersome pieces, more fitting for frying than biryani? Tough. What you see is what you get. On the other hand, your local zabihah market will gladly cut your chicken how you want it, and they'll skin it, too. If you have to pay a couple extra dollars, I say that it's worth it. I, for one, do not like having to dismantle a chicken!
To summarize, zabihah is neither difficult to find, nor is it something that should be shrugged off or ignored. Muslims need to recognize the need for zabihah, and should start supporting zabihah. If more Muslims understood how important zabihah was, and started supporting zabihah, we would find an increase in availability and a decrease in price. To ignore a commandment as direct as zabihah is just inexcusable, and sinful. Muslims need to educate themselves on this matter, and stop listening to those who would lead them astray.
When someone tells you something that is directly opposite from the Quran, question it! The Quran (which is the word of Allah!) tells us to eat zabihah. Some fatwa (which is the word of some man!) tells us it that's okay to abandon it? Which word should you follow?
May Allah guide us all, and accept our good deeds and forgive our bad deeds. Ameen.
wasalaamz,
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