Yes some scholars “doubt” the Halal and Zabiha issue. But frankly speaking there is this following hadith which I am sharing for the purpose of learning only
On the authority of Al-Numan bin Basheer, who said : I heard the messenger of Allah say :
“That which is lawful is plain and that which is unlawful is plain and between the two of them are doubtful matters about which not many people know. Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor, but he who falls into doubtful matters falls into that which is unlawful, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein. Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly Allah’s sanctuary is His prohibitions. Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it be whole, all the body is whole and which, if it be diseased, all of it is diseased. Truly it is the heart.” [Bukhari/Muslim]
This tells us that when a matter becomes doubtful due to any reason, we should stay clear of it. There is very strict decree on only zabiha being allowed to muslims. But then again, it all depends on our level of religious belief. Some of us are stronger followers of religion, some still striving. Most importantly to each their own for we are all answerable for our own deeds
In my life, Halal is very important. Despite the fact that I live in a place where halal food is not commonly found, but that is my choice to live here hence the minimum I could do was to sacrifice my love for burgers and Italian food! Which I did. Alhumdullillah. When we go to any new place and if in doubt we ask the management to show us their halal certificate. If they dont have one but are claiming to be halal, I report them immediately to the regulating body.
it may not be an ideal thing to do but I cant see a business committing a major fraud against muslims. Most of the time, we go to the next big city that has halal options , when we want to dine out.
And doubtful should be left as its better to avoid. MashaAllah CB may Allah give you jaza for sacrificing. Insha’Allah Allah would provide you with the best food in jannah. And these all trials in our life whether in terms of food or any other aspect of life should not make us weak as remaining steadfast would ensue in the best rewards in hereafter. whatever we sacrifice just for sake of Allah out of His obedience to solely please Him it has no other reward except good from Allah. May Allah keep us all steadfast on deen and also on the limits prescribed by shariah Ameen.
Only Zabiha at home and outside. If in doubt, I prefer veggie or a salad dish.
It was a shocker for me when I got to know some of my turkish friend thought it was alright to eat non-halal slaughtered meat outside by reading bismillah upon it.
I use to eat veggie or salad sandwiches at places like Sunset (I think it is equal to a subway in US), but I stopped that one day, when I realized although they change their gloves for you, but they just touched the meat station and then went ahead to the salad one with the same glove for the person before me, yikes. Worst day of my life. I felt every sandwich I had consumed until then was going to come out.
So now I’m very picky about where I eat and what I eat, but if I go to a muslim restaurant and I ask them if their meat is halal-slaughtered and they say yes, I do not ask further questions like where they bought it and which fiqh the butcher follows etc etc.
I am a very very fussy meat eater and just generally very particular about my food. To answer the question, yes I only eat zibah meat at home and I eat meat only when I am home. The meat I eat at home is fresh, locally produced and organic from our local certified Halal butchers and has to be cooked by my mother - the only cooking method that’ll make me eat red meat. Apart from fish, everytime I confront a meat option outside, I like to think I am a vegetarian (which I almost am).
I totally don’t do takeways. More than happy to order leafy salads if I’m dining with bunch of people, it does kinda make a statement but I usually eat with people who basically live on salads for vanity purposes lol - but I’m definitely not as crazy as them. To think about it, I think all our friends basically enjoy eating out for desserts and hot drinks than gorging down proper meals in restaurants. In regards to going to people’s house and inquiring about the source of their meat, I believe the friends and family who invite us for dinner are quite strickt about zibah meat. If I’m invited to a non Muslim’s house, from my experience they are usually quite kind and thoughtful enough to buy the meat from halal butchers or just cook me a vegetarian or fish dish - depends on how well they know my eating habits.
I’ve never done any diet in my life, don’t care about them either. I don’t do any calorie count but I am so very particular about what I eat and where I eat and how I want my food to look and taste like. I almost like to take a purist approach when it comes to food and I quite proud to admit that my diet is an integral part of my lifestyle… and personality. lol
We once had very strickt Gujrati Hindu (Vegan?) neighbours who refused to eat anything from our house coz it was from the same kitchen, pots and pan in which meat was also cooked. They never compromised on their beliefs and habits nor we expected them to.
I’ve met people like that, but nobody who I’ve associated with recently with does that. It’s common (or at least used to be) among Arabs, though Arabs around here are now also looking for proper halal meat. I have asked an aalim about that. So the hadith does exist, but it’s used out of context to make anything you don’t know halal.
I agree with Jolie on this one. I don’t think I could ever buy or cook non Zabiha meat in my home, and I don’t think any of my non Muslim friends would ever expect me too. We are very fortunate that our Christian/Hindu friends think to accommodate us when we are invited to their homes, like my husband’s boss invites us over for a Christmas party every year and always makes sure he has salmon for us while everyone else is eating turkey or ham, or my Hindu friends that do eat meat make sure to buy only from the Zabiha butchers when we are invited over, but at the same token, I had a Sikh friend over once who did not eat the chicken biryani I made because he said he was not allowed to eat Halal/Zabiha. I respected his stance and he respected mine.
One of my closest friends from college days is Sikh and I want to invite him and his wife over for dinner. I’m planning on making either a fish curry or fish kebabs to make up for the fact that they cannot eat halal meat.
Khatti - Oh fish is a great idea!! didn’t think of that…Fish or prawn biryani could totally fly as a main course :k:
Having said that even If I had to make it for my non-muslim friends, I wouldn’t lose sleep over it. I am not too rigid about these things. People matter to me more than pots or pans
Only halal. Always. Can’t even imagine eating non-halal. We have been on holidays where the only thing we ate the entire time was fish and veggie dishes. not a sacrifice in my opinion to stick to only halal.
I’m a little confused, can someone clarify please? Can they not eat meat period, or they can’t eat halal meat only?
This hasn’t ever come up for me, but for a non-Muslim person, I would just serve them halal as well…it wouldn’t affect them as much as a Muslim eating non-halal, I think?
My parents only eat halal now but when I was younger it wasn’t something that was considered important.. My mum became religious when I was 12/13ish but honestly before that I didn’t even know what halal was.. There wasn’t a large Muslim community where I grew up.. I had never even seen a mosque..
In my home we don’t stick to halal only.. I’m not very practising and there aren’t local halal butchers here (not that that makes it ok, obviously we could stay away from meat if we wanted to)..
(And before anyone calls me an ‘evil kaffir’ or whatever else worry about yourself and your own sins and I’ll worry about mine)
