What is Halal to eat ?

  • Halal is that which is permissible and lawful in Islam.
  • Haram is what is impermissible, unlawful or prohibited in Islam.
The basic dietary laws for Muslims are:
  • - ONLY that which is tayyib (pure) is Halal (al-A’raaf:157)
  • - That which is khabeeth (impure) is Haram (al-A’raaf:157)
  • - That which is tayyib is Halal, and that which is Halal is tayyib (al-Baqarah:168)
Some Basic Principles of Eating Halal:
  • The general ruling in all things is that it is permissible (allowed), unless proven otherwise.
  • The principle ruling in meat is that it is impermissible (haram), unless proven otherwise.

What is Zabiha?

Zabiha are the rules of slaughtering an animal to make it Halal for consumption. The Conditions of Zabiha:
  • 1. At least THREE out of the FOUR main veins of the throat MUST be cut.
  • 2. Mentioning the name of Allah at the time of each slaughter
    • a. “Eat not (of meats) on which Allah's name has not been pronounced, and surely it is a sin...” (al-An’aam : 121)
    • b. Any animal upon which Bismillah is not mentioned intentionally at the time of slaughter, is considered maitah (carrion, or dead meat). Maitah is just as haram as pork.
  • 3. The butcher must be a Muslim or Believing Ahlul Kitab
    • a. If one does not know who slaughtered the animal, further researched MUST be done before eating
Note: If ANY ONE of the above conditions is not fulfilled, the meat will be HARAM for consumption.

Difference between Halal and Zabiha

  • - Those animals declared as “Halāl”, if they have been slaughtered according to “Zabīha” rules, only then is consuming their meat is “Halāl”.
  • - If they have not been slaughtered as per the rules of Zabiha, that meat cannot be called “Halāl”. It would be considered as “maitah (Carrion)” which is equally haram as pork.
  • - There is no difference of Zabiha & Halal in the Quran, Sunnah or any other Fiqh text.
  • - There is NO DIFFERENCE between HALAL and ZABIHA HALAL. Zabiha is required to consider meat Halal.