Meat slaughtered by machine in Canada

27-9-1999 | IslamWeb

Question:

I live in Canada. Am I allowed to eat meat if slaughtered by machine, especially chickens? Thank you. Jazakum Allah Kher.

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. As a rule, it is Halal to eat each and every eatable animal that is slaughtered according to the Shari‘ah. The conditions of Islamic slaughtering are as follows: 1- It should be slaughtered by any sharp thing of iron, brass, stone, glass or any other object, except nail and bone. 2- Allah’s name should be uttered while slaughtering the animal. If these two conditions are observed, then the meat will be Halal. Prophet (Blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “If the blood is shed (Not by bone or nail) and Allah’s name is uttered over it, then you eat of it” [Bukhari] Now you observe the way of slaughtering. If it is proved that animals are killed by gun or electricity or by sinking or any other un Islamic way, then it will be considered as a dead animal. Therefore its meat is Haram (prohibited) in Islam, no matter whether killed by a Muslim or non-Muslim. If the slaughtering is on the Islamic way, i.e. slaughtering with a sharp object, and this action is carrying out by Muslims or by the people of the scripture, then it is Halal, and eating its meat is permissible. If they are polytheists or atheists, then its meant is Haram. Allah knows best.