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How is mechanically slaughtered chicken halal?

Mechanically slaughtered chicken.jpgIn a western store I was surprised to see a pack of chicken labeled as halal. Not only was it labeled halal, it was actually certified to be halal. When I looked at the label on the back, the first thing it said was mechanically slaughtered.

This is not only the case in western countries but in the subcontinent as well. A machine slaughters chickens that are hung upside down while a tape recorder repeats Bismillah AllahuAkbar. Sometimes a person may be employed to repeat Bismillah AllahuAkbar. The thing common with both is that the recitation of Bismillah AllahuAkbar is not done simultaneously with the slaughter. Even if it was simultaneous, the chicken would still be haram. Chicken has to be slaughtered by hand.

There is a lot of ignorance concerning halal. I have seen a pack of fish nuggets labeled as halal. Since when was fish required to be slaughtered?

There is a true story of a Muslim who was served pork in an American restaurant. Upon inquiry the waiter replied, “Yes it is pork, but don’t worry Sir, it is halal!

Image: BBC

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Mohammad Yusha

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26 responses to “How is mechanically slaughtered chicken halal?”

  1. Hend Avatar
    Hend

    Mohamed
    Thank you, but I prefer to be your brother in humanity.

    Reply
  2. Mohamed Avatar
    Mohamed

    @Yusha: regarding your notion of slaughter having to be done by hand is not a requirement from the Qur’an and Sunnah. On the contrary there is evidence in the Sunnah of the prophet (saws) that tasmiyyah pronounced using a hunting dog is halal.

    Reply
  3. Mohamed Avatar
    Mohamed

    @Hend: your our sister in humanity, but do you really like slaughtering chicken in any case?

    @Yusha: there is a difference of opinion in the technicalities among scholars. The scholars who accept mechanical slaughter require the niyyah (intention) coupled with shared tasmiyah (saying “Bismillah”) if multiple slaughter are done in one go, without pause. For e.g. you can make one niyyah for all of the tarawih prayers or one niyyah for all the fasts of Ramadan. Did you know that scholars are unanimous on this – if the person forgets to say tasmiyah it is still halal because the intention was in place and the actual act of saying tasmiyah was missed in error.

    In Sharia the greater good of consensus is better than such differences. So, in favour of consensus, it would be best to get abattoirs to slaughter manually. If you are making efforts in that direction, you have every support.

    Reply
  4. Mohammad Yusha Avatar
    Mohammad Yusha

    @Mohamed: Mechanical slaughter is haram even if Bismillah AllahuAkbar is recited individually over each chicken, so the question of reciting it once to suffice over a number of chickens does not arise.

    Reply
  5. Hend Avatar
    Hend

    I am not aMuslim or one of the people of the kitaab (Jew or a Christian) 🙁

    Reply
  6. Mohamed Avatar
    Mohamed

    chiken = chicken 🙂

    Reply
  7. Mohamed Avatar
    Mohamed

    Br Muhmmad Kashif is right, chiken that are mechanically slaughtered in an abbatoir are halal if they are done according to islamic requirements:
    – If the machine slaughters a number of chiken in one go, then it is sufficient for the person operating the machine to say “Bismillah” just once at the start
    – The person operating the machine and pronouncing the name of Allah must be a Muslim or one of the people of the kitaab (Jew or a Christian)
    – The machine cuts the blood veins and the oesophagus in one go, allowing blood to pour forth from the brain and rest of the body (which effectively puts the bird’s brain to sleep and makes the process humane, with little pain)
    – The machine does not severe the spinal chord of the bird (which would stun the bird, cause pain and trauma)

    All the above are requirements of the Qur’an and sunnah, according to the Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (22/463)

    Yusha is right about the irony of the tape recorder playing “Bismillah”, the “halal fish” and “halal pork”. Indeed playing “Bismillah” on a tape recorder does not meet the requirement of intention backed by action (human pronouncement).

    Wallaho Aalam (… and Allah knows best)

    Reply
  8. Muhmmad Kashif Avatar
    Muhmmad Kashif

    True, ISNA certified chicken here are mechanically slaughtered one & they labelled as Halal.
    Thats why Halal Monitoring Authority (HMA) established.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H34K_Lbjbr4

    http://hma.jucanada.org/slaughter_criteria.aspx

    Fatwa of Mufti Ibrahim Desai(askimam.org) regarding mechanical slaughter:

    http://hma.jucanada.org/mechanical_slaughter.aspx/user_submission_system/mechanical_slaughter

    Reply
  9. FusA Avatar
    FusA

    Please see the link
    http://www.zabihahalal.com/halalvideo2.html

    Reply
  10. Mohamed Avatar
    Mohamed

    Mashallah! a very pertinent post for our current times. If the ummah does not take care for what is halal and what is not, Allah will not guide them away from what is not halal. Such information coming into public light is a sign of the mercy of Allah and the turning of the Ummah:

    … Allah does not change a people’s condition unless they change what is in their hearts… (Glorious Qur’an 13:11)

    Next step, we must take practical care to ensure what we consume is halal. JazakAllah khair for the excellent post!

    Reply
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