Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamu Alaikum. Could you please give a list of haraam foods with reference of the Holy Quran and Hadith? Also, please clarify if it is permissible or not to eat meat of chicken (or other halaal animals) if it was not sacrificed with the name of Allah. Does it become haram if they are not sacrificed with the neither with the name of Allah nor with the name of some other god/goddess? What happens when you are unsure if the animal was sacrificed with the name of Allah or not (Consider the beef meat that are sold in superstores of a non-muslim country)? Please let me know if such foods are halaal or haram with reference.

Jajhakallah khair.

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Answer:

List of haram halaal food

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question-1: Could you please give a list of haraam foods with reference of the Holy Quran and Hadith?

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verses 3-4:

3 Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah, that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form); that which is sacrificed on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety. This day have those who reject faith given up all hope of your religion: yet fear them not but fear Me. This day have I perfected your religion for you completed my favor upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But if any forced by hunger with no inclination to transgression Allah is indeed Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.

4 They ask thee what is lawful to them (as food): say: Lawful unto you are (all) things good and pure: and what ye have taught your trained hunting animals (to catch) in the manner directed to you by Allah; eat what they catch for you but pronounce the name of Allah over it: and fear Allah; for Allah is swift in taking account.

5 This day are (all) things good and pure made lawful unto you. The food of the People of the Book is lawful unto you, and yours is lawful unto them.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraaf verse 157:

157 Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet (Mohamed (saws)) whom they find mentioned in their own (Scriptures); in the law and the Gospel; for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil: he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure); he releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him honor him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him, it is they who will prosper."

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 83 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (saws): ‘O Messenger of Allah (saws), we travel on the sea and take a small quantity of water with us. If we use this for ablution, we would suffer from thirst. Can we perform ablution with sea water?’ The Messenger of Allah (saws) replied: ‘Its water is pure and (even) what dies in it is lawful food.’

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.435B Narrated by Az Zuhri

The Prophet (saws) prohibited the eating of beasts having fangs.

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 4089 Narrated by Al-Irbad ibn Sariyyah

On the day of Khaybar Allah's Messenger (saws) forbade every carnivorous beast which had a fang, every bird which had a claw, and the flesh of domestic asses.’

Thus, in light of the above Aayahs of the Holy Quran and the various authentic narrations of the Messenger of Allah (saws), here is the list of the haraam foods:

1. The flesh of any animal that dies of itself or is not duely slaughtered (including fall, strangling, gored to death, etc.)
2. The flesh of swine
3. The food on which any name other than Allah Subhanah’s has been invoked
4. The flesh of the lawful animal that is slaughtered by any other than the believers, Jews or Christians.
5. The Messenger of Allah (saws) forbade the believers to eat the meat of any animal which hunts with its fangs. (eg. Lions, tigers, cheetahs, etc.)
6. The Messenger of Allah (saws) forbade the believers to eat the meat of any bird which hunts with its claws. (eagles, crows, etc.)
7. All the impure animals and insects. (rats, cockroaches, pests, etc.)
8. The Messenger of Allah (saws) also forbade the believers to eat domestic donkeys.

If the food does not fall in the list of the haraam, it will be considered halaal and permissible for the believers as food.

It is practically impossible to name each and every halaal food, as the list is endless. But we will try to compile a list only as an indication. The following are absolutely halaal for the believers.

1. All vegetation is halaal food.
2. All animals and birds that are not listed in the haraam list, are halaal as food for the believers provided they fulfill the requirements of slaughter.
3. All sea-food is halaal, whether it be fish, crabs, lobsters, prawns, etc.

Your Question-2: Also, please clarify if it is permissible or not to eat meat of chicken (or other halaal animals) if it was not sacrificed with the name of Allah. Does it become haram if they are not sacrificed with the neither with the name of Allah nor with the name of some other god/goddess?

1.      The animal itself should be halaal in Shariah. (Even if a muslim (Allah forbid) were to slaughter swine, it will not make it halaal!!).

2.      The one who slaughters the animal must either be a Muslim, or a Jew or a Christian. If any other person slaughters the animal, it will not be considered halaal.

3.      The animal has to be slaughtered and the blood should be oozed out naturally. It does not matter if the animal is slaughtered by hand or by a machine, from the front of the neck or from the back. What is important is that the veins must be cut to allow the blood to be oozed out of the body.

4.      The animal should have been alive at the time of slaughter. It is a routine in most slaughterhouses in the West, that they electrocute or sting the animal with an electric shock, and then slaughter the animal. That is fine, as long as one is satisfied that the electric shock did not kill the animal before its slaughter!

5.      The condition that Allah’s name has to be pronounced is not a condition for the People of the Book, as long as nobody else’s’ name is pronounced. If anybody else’s name other than Allah’s is pronounced at the time of slaughter, it does not matter who slaughters the animal, that meat is haraam.

Provided the above listed five conditions are not violated, the food would be considered lawful for the believers. If a muslim were to slaughter a lawful animal, it would be assumed that he declared the name of Allah Subhanah at the time of slaughter; and if one amongst the People of the Book (Jews or Christians) were to slaughter a lawful animal, provided they did not pronounce the name of any other than Allah’s, that food too would be considered lawful for the believers.

Your Question-3: What happens when you are unsure if the animal was sacrificed with the name of Allah or not (Consider the beef meat that are sold in superstores of a non-muslim country)?

It is the duty of the believer who sincerely fears Allah and the Last Day to ensure that the food he consumes is lawful and ‘halaal’ in Shariah. If one is ‘unsure’, then it would be best and closest to piety to leave alone the doubtful and eat only of what one is absolutely sure is ‘halaal’ and lawful food, like the vegetable kingdom or food of the sea, etc.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.49 Narrated by An Numan bin Bashir

I heard Allah's Messenger (saws) saying, 'Both legal (halaal) and illegal (haraam) things are clearly evident, but in between them there are doubtful (suspicious) things and most of the people have no knowledge about them. So whoever saves himself from these suspicious things saves his religion and his honor. And whoever indulges in these suspicious things is like a shepherd who grazes (his animals) near the Hima (private pasture) of someone else, and at any moment he is liable to get in it. (O people!) Beware! Every king has a ‘Hima’ and the ‘Hima’ of Allah on the earth is His illegal (forbidden) things.’

Your Question-4: (Consider the beef meat that are sold in superstores of a non-muslim country)?

Provided the five conditions listed in the answer to Q-2 above are not violated, the meat would be considered halaal and lawful for the believers to consume.

If even a part of one of the five listed conditions (in the answer to Q-2) are violated or feared violated, one should fear Allah and abstain from consuming that food; but instead strive to consume only of the foods which are undoubtedly halaal and lawful in Shariah.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan