SeekersPath

The Path to Jannah | Islamic Q&A's

[Q-ID0743] Does meat become Haram to consume if it does not remain in the sight of a Muslim during the delivery process?

QUESTION:

If a Halāl [lawful] animal is slaughtered according to Islamic principles, then cleaned, frozen and finally sealed and packed. It is then stamped with Halāl certification, and thereby delivered to supermarkets via road, sea or air. Some respected Muftīs state that this isn’t permissible because it does not remain in the sight of Muslims during every stage from the stamping process to delivery. What is the Islamic ruling regarding this in your opinion? The basis of those respected Muftīs seems to be that the meat packaging could be opened up and be mixed with Harām [unlawful] meat.

Questioner: Mawlānā Muhammad Aqeel Jaami from Hong Kong

ANSWER:

بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
الجواب بعون الملک الوھاب اللھم ھدایۃ الحق والصواب

In the aforementioned case, whether the company receiving the meat does so via road, sea, or air, they are the employers of importing in Halāl meat, even if they are non-Muslims; it is permissible ordering meat via this way, and the company saying that this is the very meat which had been sent beforehand is them giving news regarding transactions, and a non-Muslim giving information regarding transactions is also acceptable.

‘Allāmah Burhān al-Dīn abū al-Hasan ‘Alī Ibn Abū Bakr al-Hanafī writes that,

“قال: ‘ومن أرسل أجيرا له مجوسيا أو خادما فاشترى لحما فقال اشتريته من يهودي أو نصراني أو مسلم وسعه أكله”؛ لأن قول الكافر مقبول في المعاملات؛ لأنه خبر صحيح لصدوره عن عقل ودين يعتقد فيه حرمة الكذب والحاجة ماسة إلى قبوله لكثرة وقوع المعاملات'”

“Imām Muhammad stated that, ‘If someone sent a Majūsī employee or servant of his to buy meat, he thereby buys the meat and says, “I bought some meat from a Christian, Jew or a Muslim.” It is thereby permissible for a Muslim to eat this meat, this is because a non-Muslim informing regarding transactions is considered, because this informing is correct. The one who has provided this information is someone who is sane, and follows such a religion which regards lying as unlawful. Due to the vast amount of these types of transactions, there is a need to accept the informing of such a person.’”

[al-Hidāyah, vol 7, pg 183]

‘Allāmah Nizhām al-Dīn, may Allāh Almighty shower infinite mercies upon him, writes that,

“مَنْ أَرْسَلَ رَسُولًا مَجُوسِيًّا أَوْ خَادِمًا فَاشْتَرَى لَحْمًا فَقَالَ: اشْتَرَيْتُهُ مِنْ يَهُودِيٍّ أَوْ نَصْرَانِيٍّ أَوْ مُسْلِمٍ وَسِعَهُ أَكْلُهُ، وَإِنْ كَانَ غَيْرَ ذَلِكَ لَمْ يَسَعْهُ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ مِنْهُ”

“Whoever sent his Magus[1] worker or servant to buy some meat, he thereby purchases some and mentions, ‘I bought so and so meat from a Christian, Jew or a Muslim,’ so it is permissible for a Muslim to eat this meat. If it was bought from a non-Muslim who is not among the People of the Book, then it is not permissible to eat it.”

He further writes,

“رَجُلٌ اشْتَرَى لَحْمًا فَلَمَّا قَبَضَهُ فَأَخْبَرَهُ مُسْلِمٌ ثِقَةٌ أَنَّهُ قَدْ خَالَطَهُ لَحْمُ الْخِنْزِيرِ لَمْ يَسَعْهُ أَنْ يَأْكُلَهُ، كَذَا فِي التَّتَارْخَانِيَّة”

“If someone bought some meat and acquired the meat, then a reliable Muslim mentioned that the shop keeper mixed some pig meat in it, so now it is no longer permissible to eat this meat. It is stated as so in Tatārkhāniyyah.”

[Fatāwā ‘Ālamgīrī, vol 5, pg 308-309]

Imām Ahmad Ridā Qādirī, may Allāh sanctify his soul, writes that if the meat has remained in the sight of Muslims from the time of slaughtering all the way up until it is bought, having not left the sight of Muslims, and one is sufficiently content that this is in fact the slaughtering performed by a Muslim, then the buying and eating of it will be permissible.

[Fatāwā Ridawiyyah, vol 20, pg 282]

The context of the ruling by A’lāhadrat for this is in regards to the buying of meat by someone who is not among the People of the Book. In this case, all of the aforementioned conditions of A’lāhadrat are a must. However, if some meat was bought from a Muslim, yet it was acquired via non-Muslim workers in between, so there are clear & explicit case examples in the books of Fiqh that a person saying that I bought so and so meat from a Muslim or someone from among the People of the Book suffices for the meat to be Halāl and permissible. This is because this is related to transactions, and the informing of a non-Muslim in transactions is also taken into consideration, even if he is not among the People of the Book.

‘Allāmah Nizhām al-Dīn, may Allāh Almighty shower him plentifully with mercy, writes that,

“وَلَا يُقْبَلُ قَوْلُ الْكَافِرِ فِي الدِّيَانَاتِ إلَّا إذَا كَانَ قَبُولُ قَوْلِ الْكَافِرِ فِي الْمُعَامَلَاتِ يَتَضَمَّنُ قَوْلَهُ فِي الدِّيَانَاتِ، فَحِينَئِذٍ تَدْخُلُ الدِّيَانَاتُ فِي ضِمْنِ الْمُعَامَلَاتِ فَيُقْبَلُ قَوْلُهُ فِيهَا ضَرُورَةً هَكَذَا فِي التَّبْيِينِ”

“The sayings of non-Muslim are not accepted in religious matters, other than when religious matters being accepted are [indirectly] included in having accepted the saying of a non-Muslim in transactions. Thus, in such case, religious matters are regarded as being included[2] in transactional matters, so the saying of a non-Muslim will be accepted one the basis of need, just as it is stated in Tabyīn al-Haqā’iq.”

[Fatāwā ‘Ālamgīrī, vol 5, pg 308][3]

Sadr al-Sharī’ah, ‘Allāmah Amjad ‘Alī A’zhamī, may Allāh Almighty shower infinite mercies upon him, writes that religious affairs refers to those matters which are related to a person and God, for example, being lawful, unlawful, impurity, purity.

[Bahār-e-Sharī’at, vol 3, pg 400]

In my opinion, when Halāl animals which have been slaughtered via Halāl methods have been kept preserved from a health & safety perspective and then stamped, and then an organisation has issued a Halāl certificate for it, then it finally having been dispatched via road, sea or air, and it has also not remained in the sight of Muslims during this period, it can still be used, provided that there are no witnesses who can prove otherwise. Nowadays, the business & trade of medicine, food items, and other consumables is worldwide with Muslim countries included, and these are relied upon – the ingredients and expiry dates on medicines and consumable items are also relied upon. It is not physically possible that each & every product remains in the sight of a Muslim when sending them via road, sea or air from one country or city to another. The religion (of Islām) has kept the measure of transactions based on ease and to avoid problems, this is also customary and routine.

The main condition is that a Muslim is the one slaughtering, the name of Allāh is mentioned at the time of slaughtering, a minimum of three veins are cut, and all of this process remains under the sight of a Muslim until it is stamped. Likewise, the slaughterhouse where Jews slaughter animals in the name of Allāh according to their religion, also known as kosher, is also permissible, because this is explicitly mentioned in the Majestic Qur’ān, and the council for Islamic rulings under the supervision of Jāmi’ah Ashrafiyyah Mubārakpūr have also deemed this permissible.[4]

[Majlis-e-Shar’ī ke Faysalay, vol 1, pg 347]

It is better for slaughterhouse for a Muslim businessman from a country (for instance, Hong Kong) who orders from another country (for instance, Australia) that the scholars from there get together, look at the system from the slaughtering all the way till the stamping procedure and are satisfied, or one attains religious guidance & help from the pious scholars from there regarding this. There are a large amount of Christians who have become atheists, which is why our well known strictly adhering scholars do not regard their slaughtering as permissible. However, despite their invalid beliefs, if those who are firm on the changed version of Christianity slaughter according to the necessary conditions in the name of Allāh, then their slaughter will also be in the same ruling as that of the Jews.

Note

This legal verdict of ours is not regarding the meat of animals slaughtered by machines, which is also similar to [death by] electrocuting.

5th February, 2018

Verified & attested by:

  • Hadrat ‘Allāmah Muftī Ibrahim Qadirī, head of Dār al-Iftā Jāmi’ah Ghawthiyyah Ridawiyyah
  • Hadrat ‘Allāmah Muftī Muhammad Ilyas, head of Dār al-Iftā Jāmi’ah Nadrah al-‘Ulūm
  • Hadrat ‘Allāmah Muftī Muhammad Rafiq Hassni, head of Dār al-Iftā Jāmi’ah Islāmiyyah Madīnah al-‘Ulūm
  • Hadrat ‘Allāmah Muftī Muhammad Ab Bakr Shadhili, teacher of Takhassus & Iftā, Dār al-‘Ulūm Na’īmiyyah
  • Hadrat ‘Allāmah Muftī Muhammad Waseem Akhtar al-Madanī, teacher of Takhassus & Iftā, Dār al-‘Ulūm Na’īmiyyah
  • Hadrat ‘Allāmah Muftī Muhammad Ismail Noorani, the Muftī of Dār al-Iftā Jāmi’ah Anwār al-Qur’ān
  • Hadrat ‘Allāmah Muftī Muhammad Ali Saeedi, teacher of Hadīth, Dār al-‘Ulūm Na’īmiyyah
  • Hadrat ‘Allāmah Abdus Sattar Saeedi, head of educational matters, Jāmi’ah Nizhāmiyyah Ridawiyyah
  • Hadrat ‘Allāmah Muftī Muhammad Jaan Naeemi, Dār al-‘Ulūm Mujaddadiyyah Na’īmiyyah
  • Hadrat ‘Allāmah Muftī Khalid Kamal, teacher of Takhassus & Iftā, Dār al-‘Ulūm Na’īmiyyah

واللہ تعالی اعلم ورسولہ اعلم صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم

Answered by Mufti Azam Pakistan, Muftī Muneeb ur Rahman

(Dār al-Iftā, Dār al-‘Ulūm Na’īmiyyah)

Translated by Haider Ali

[1] Zoroastrian

[2] Someone saying something Halāl is explicit, however here we are not gaining benefit from this in an explicit manner. Rather, we are explicitly saying that so and so meat was bought from a Muslim or non-Muslim, and this implicitly proves that it is Halāl – that one may call an added benefit.

[3] [Fatāwā Ridawiyyah, vol 20, pg 290]

[4] [Fatāwā ‘Ālamgīrī, vol 5, pg 285]

[Bahār-e-Sharī’at, vol 3, part 15, pg 313]

Read the original answer in Urdu here – [Q-ID0743] Does meat become Haram to consume if it does not remain in the sight of a Muslim during the delivery process?

Also see:

[Q-ID0425] Can Muslims eat Kosher/meat slaughtered by Jews?

[Q-ID0368] Is pre-stunned chicken and meat Halal or Haram?

[Q-ID0259] Buying ‘halal’ meat without investigating where and from whom it has come

[Q-ID0382] Are Mcdonald’s fries Halal? Can I eat them if I have doubts?

Share this with your family & friends: