Killing animals...halal way

[ashley]

salaams.

i just converted to islam last week. have made a few changes--gave up my job that required me to use my looks, stopped eating haram foods including pork, etc. i also dress more modestly now.

yesterday i bought fresh meat from a halal market near my college for the first time. i used to shop regularly in chinese markets before that. when i first walked in, the halal market storeowner was surprised to see me--a tall, blonde girl--in the shop. But he greeted me soon after!

i think halal slaughter looks a little more cruel and brutal. for example, i chose a plump chicken at the store yesterday. the butcher simply slit its throat and left it hanging by its feet. it kept flapping its wings as it was bleeding. and its eyes were open! this went on for a couple of minutes. after which the butcher cleaned and cut up the bird.

i must say the meat quality is excellent with halal slaughter. my servant girl cooked the chicken yesterday, and it was soooo tender and tasty!

so i would prefer halal slaughter. if the animal is going to die anyway, shouldnt we pick a method that produces better meat?

[Yusuf]

Congratulations on your conversion.

You might want to change the "brother" bit on the gender option.

Btw-if you dont mind my asking- which country are you from? We dont have butcher shops like that here in UK, do we? :(

[Abu Hurayrah]

Assalamu Alaikum

Hello. The islamic way of slaughter might look more cruel however it not. Allah has ordered us to slaughter in that method. Any other method is misguidance whether we understand it or not. In fact, the Rasul sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam has ordered us to be kind to animals. In one hadith there is a story about a women who kept a cat in he cage and didt feed and didnt let it out of the cage to eat from the earth. So Allah threw her in the fire. Also the Rasul Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Salam ordered us not to slaughter animals infront of each other. Also there is a story about a prophet of the past in which an ant bit him. So he went and burnt the entire ant hole. So Allah said "one ant bit you and you destroy a whole nation?" or something to that effect. Also a story about a man with many sins saw a dog panting and thristy. So her took his shoe and took it down to the well and filled it with water and gave it to the dog. The Rasul said that he was entered into heaven because of the one deed. The islamic way of slaughtering is infact the most mercy full. We make sure the knife is very sharp and slit the throat quickly, so as to kill the animal instantanously. Some times we dont understand things, But Allah knows us better than we know our selves. Its like saying, why do we wash the body of the dead human if we are going to bury it and it wont matter anymore? These are the commands of Allah and his messenger, and once tawhid comes into our hearts then we will completely understand that really, only Allah knows everything.

The slaughtering of the chicken in the store freshly is how it is done in the mid east. You enter the store, which has like 50 chickens, he chooses one, then takes it to the back and slaughters it, and 5 minutes later you have a chicken.

Ma salam

[AFM]

Also a story about a man with many sins saw a dog panting and thristy. So her took his shoe and took it down to the well and filled it with water and gave it to the dog. The Rasul said that he was entered into heaven because of the one deed.

Erm, I thought it was a female prostitute who gave the dog a drink. Allah forgave all her sins as a result.

Anyways, congrats on your conversion.

[abu hurairah]

Subhanallah! i am so happy to hear of your reversion to islam Ashley may Allah give you the strength of Imaan and steadfastness. You see people that revert and struggle for their Imaan are the true people although many of us were born muslim (like me) no offense to my brothers and sisters, I respect you alot salaam :)

[G-had]

As-salam-alaikum, we are very glad that Allah has choosen to give you guidance and may he continue to do so. Ameen.

Sister, this article may be an eye-opener for you and other muslims who see islamic method of slaughtering animals as cruel or brutal.

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Dr. Aisha El-Awady - Courtesy of IslamOnline.net


Islam’s stance on what is permissible to eat and what is not is clear. There are strict rules when it comes to meat regarding what is allowed and what is forbidden. In Surat Al-Maida (The Table) Allah says: "Forbidden to you [for food] are: Al-Maytatah (the dead animals -cattle-beasts not slaughtered), blood, the flesh of swine, and the meat of that which has been slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah, or has been slaughtered for idols, etc., or on which Allah’s Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering, and that which has been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by the goring of horns - and that which has been [partly] eaten by a wild animal - unless you are able to slaughter it [before its death] * and that which is sacrificed (slaughtered) on An*Nusub (stone altars). [Forbidden] also is to use arrows seeking luck or decision, [all] that is Fisqun (disobedience of Allah and sin). This day, those who disbelieved have given up all hope of your religion, so fear them not, but fear Me. This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But as for him who is forced by severe hunger, with no inclination to sin [such can eat these above-mentioned meats], then surely, Allah is Oft*Forgiving, Most Merciful."

The Islamic practice of slaughtering animals by means of a sharp cut to the front of the neck has frequently come under attack by some animal rights activists as being a form of animal cruelty, the claim being that it is a painful inhumane method of killing animals. In the West, it is required by law to stun the animals with a shot to the head before the slaughter, supposedly to render the animal unconscious and to prevent it from reviving before it is killed so as not to slow down the movement of the processing line. It is also used to prevent the animal from feeling pain before it dies.

German Research Studies Pain

It therefore may come as a surprise to those who have made such acclimations to learn of the results of a study carried out by Professor Wilhelm Schulze and his colleague Dr. Hazim at the School of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover University in Germany. The study: ‘Attempts to Objectify Pain and Consciousness in Conventional (captive bolt pistol stunning) and Ritual (halal, knife) Methods of Slaughtering Sheep and Calves’ concludes that Islamic slaughtering is the most humane method of slaughter and that captive bolt stunning, practiced in the West, causes severe pain to the animal.

In the study, several electrodes were surgically implanted at various points of the skull of all animals, touching the surface of the brain. The animals were allowed to recover for several weeks. Some animals were then slaughtered by making a swift, deep incision with a sharp knife on the neck cutting the jugular veins and the carotid arteries as well as the trachea and esophagus (Islamic method). Other animals were stunned using a Captive Bolt Pistol (CBP). During the experiment, an electroencephalograph (EEG) and an electrocardiogram (ECG) recorded the condition of the brain and the heart of all animals during the course of slaughter and stunning.


The results were as follows:

I – Islamic Method

1. The first three seconds from the time of Islamic slaughter as recorded on the EEG did not show any change from the graph before slaughter, thus indicating that the animal did not feel any pain during or immediately after the incision.

2. For the following 3 seconds, the EEG recorded a condition of deep sleep - unconsciousness. This is due to the large quantity of blood gushing out from the body.

3. After the above-mentioned 6 seconds, the EEG recorded zero level, showing no feeling of pain at all.

4. As the brain message (EEG) dropped to zero level, the heart was still pounding and the body convulsing vigorously (a reflex action of the spinal cord) driving a maximum amount of blood from the body thus resulting in hygienic meat for the consumer.


II - Western method by C.B.P. Stunning

1. The animals were apparently unconscious soon after stunning.

2. EEG showed severe pain immediately after stunning.

3. The hearts of animals stunned by C.B.P. stopped beating earlier as compared to those of the animals slaughtered according to the Islamic method resulting in the retention of more blood in the meat. This in turn is unhygienic for the consumer.


Western-Style Slaughtering and Mad Cow’s Disease

Not only is this method of stunning animals before the slaughter severely painful as shown by the previous experiment, but there is also a rising concern that this method may be a factor in the spread of mad cow’s disease from cattle to humans as it was discovered in recent research carried out at Texas A&M University and by Canada’s Food Inspection Agency, that a method called pneumatic stunning (which is the firing of a metal bolt into the cow's brain followed by a pulverizing burst of 150 pounds of air pressure) delivered a force so explosive that it scattered brain tissue throughout the animal. This news is disturbing since the brain tissue and spinal cord are the most infectious parts of an animal with mad cow disease, which causes fatal Swiss cheese like holes in the brain of the infected animal. It is more disturbing to find out that around 30 to 40 percent of American cattle are stunned by pneumatic guns.


Islamic Regulations for the Slaughter

As one can see from the previous studies, Islamic slaughtering of animals is a blessing to both the animal and to humans alike. In order for the slaughtering to be lawful, several measures must be taken by the one performing the deed. This is to ensure the highest benefit to both the animal and the consumer.

In this regard, the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) said: "God calls for mercy in everything, so be merciful when you kill and when you slaughter: sharpen your blade to relieve its pain".

The object used to slaughter the animal should be sharp and used swiftly. The swift cutting of vessels of the neck disconnects the flow of blood to the nerves in the brain responsible for pain. Thus the animal does not feel pain. The movements and withering that happen to the animal after the cut is made are not due to pain, but due to the contraction and relaxation of the muscles deficient in blood. The prophet (peace be upon him) also taught Muslims neither to sharpen the blade of the knife in front of the animal nor to slaughter an animal in front of others of its own kind.

The cut should involve the windpipe (trachea), gullet (esophagus), and the two jugular veins without cutting the spinal cord. This method results in the rapid gush of blood draining most of it from the animal’s body. If the spinal cord is cut, the nerve fibers to the heart might be damaged leading to cardiac arrest thus resulting in stagnation of blood in the blood vessels. The blood must be drained completely before the head is removed. This purifies the meat by removing most of the blood that acts as a medium for microorganisms; meat also remains fresh longer as compared to other methods of slaughtering.

Therefore accusations of animal cruelty should very rightly be focused on those who do not use the Islamic way of slaughtering but prefer to use those methods which cause pain and agony to the animal and could also very well cause harm to those consuming the meat.

Sources:

************* slaughtering and hunting of animals Islamic laws.1997

Corcoran, Leila Cattle stun gun may heighten mad cow risk Reuters news service.25/7/1997

ECU Slaughter of ruminants-use of pneumatic stunning with air inject The European Commission 17/02/1998

McAlister, Judith bib@tiho-hannover.de School of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover University.12/07/02

Naik, Zakir Islamic way of slaughtering looks cruel Islamicvoice.com.09/1999

Aisha El-Awady has a bachelor’s degree in medicine from Cairo University and is currently working as instructor of Parasitology in the Faculty of Medicine. She may be contacted at aawady@islam-online.net.

Submitted by Shaykh Nazim Mangera

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Allah Hafiz

[ashley]

salaams.

thank you for your comments. they help clarify many questions i had. by the way, i live in soho, ny. the halal market i visit is near my college in downtown ny.

i agree that halal slaughter is quite compassionate once you know the facts. the animals in question should feel real fortunate to be slaughtered by halal methods, and they are lucky to be eaten by muslims. allah and his people are truly merciful.

animals get treated quite badly in asian markets and in western farms. for example, i remember buying fresh rabbit meat in chinatown last month (before i converted to islam). the butcher just sliced off the live rabbit's legs before having it cut up brutally! i felt pretty guilty having it cooked and then eating it. or in farms where cattle and goats are beaten to death...halal slaughter is so much nicer for the animals...they must be really lucky to be killed by a muslim.

Ashley

[niqabee]

Assalam alaikum warah ma tu Allahi wabara ka tu hu',

This article is very informative even to our own muslims.

JazakAllah khair

Niqabee

[Pr1nce]

:salam: Ashley

:mash:! Congratulations on you embracing Islam and realising the truth! :D I am soooo happy for you! If you need anything, then please let me know and also let us know how things are going because I know how difficult it can be for someone who has just reverted.

May Allah bless you

Take Care!

Ma Salama

Your Brother

Prince :)

[suhayl]

Salaams

Firstly congratulations on your conversion or reversion (which ever you choose to use) - All in all welcome...

Secondly for more information on halal slaughter you might want to visit www.halalmc.co.uk

[mospike]

Salaams Sista

I have to say Conratulations on becoming a Muslim, it's the best thing that could ever happen to a Human Being.
May you grow from strength to strength

Eating halaal is extreamely important in the life of a muslim. And you arelucky to have "easy access" to it.

[Pr1nce]

Looks like sister Ashley has disappeared...