The tsunami issue of mechanical slaughtering

According to shariah, for an animal like bull, goat or chicken to be halaal, a muslim has to slaughter the animal with Bismillah. Need to slit the throat of the animal or chicken with a minimum of 3 from these 4: 2 Jugular veins, oesophagus (food pipe) and the trachea(the wind pipe).(Hidayah) Very recommended that the animal`s throat be directed towards the qiblah, although the zabah would be counted in any direction.

The world wide industrialisation of the meat industry has manifestly called muslims to review the concept of slaughtering. Because hundreds of thousand chicken and other animals are suspended to be slaughtered, then the issue of having each of them slaughtered by a muslim is a great cost of labour. This means that they should easily need more than 20 people employed to their industry. To be more cost efficient, they called the muslims to accept their mechanical slaughtering. That is an automatic blade turns swiftly by the throat of the animal to slit open the throat. A cd player with Bismillah tune the operation.

Muslim scholars around the world sit to ponder upon the issue in the past decades. Since zabah is an issue of ihtiyat and precaution, ulamas of India, Pakistan, South and Central Africa rejected the commercial request of the abattoirs. Other countries like South and North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe have mostly adopted the concept of mechanical slaughtering due to the economic and financial pressure of the abattoirs. (Although some brave abattoirs still strive to that tsunami in those environment and insist on hand slaughtering.) Know that these countries produce massively tons of raw and processed meat daily and they are the cheap suppliers of the world market. The tsunami alert of non halaal meat have been lauched worldwide. And this tsunami have spread even to the sacred Harams. Whereby Brazilian and European meat are used mostly by many restaurants and hotels.

Click here to have some safe restaurants of haraam: http://islam-qna.org/Halal&Haram.asp?LN=EN

Although the mechanical slaughterers have their support of a plastic commercial fatwa, but still by accepting mechanical slaughtering, we are accepting a robot instead of a living kind. Then beware that if today you are accepting a robot slaughtering for you, then tomorrow your grand child may be opting for a robot wife satisfying him, since a good pair would become may be commercially difficult those days! And this is definitely haraam. Allah Ta`ala says in the holy Qur-aan: ‘’ But whoever seeks beyond that(human wife and slaves), then those are the transgressors.’’(23:7) The Qur-aan made all sexual gadgets and sexual robots haraam. Besides, the fuqaha mentioned that if ever a parrot recite an ayah of sajdah, then no sajdah would be applied for us. Likewise fuquha derived that a playing cd does not apply sajdah whenever it is not live and is on playback mode. Hence zikr formulation cannot be accepted as such from a machine.

And know that if you accept today a machine to slaughter, then may be your grand child will choose a robot as imaam in salaah! Don`t ask me fatwa if battery goes dead or the imaam had a short circuit during Taraweeh!

Please let`s reason that all this machine slaughtering is non Islamic at all. It is not on the sunnah that the beloved prophet SAW left us. It is only a pressure from those farmers that avoid to employ muslims as slaughterers so as to maximise their profits. Should we put pressure to eat only hand slaugheted meat, then know that you would be creating job for thousands of muslims around the country. And millions of muslims will be employed around the globe.

The Qur-aan insist that zikr should be made before slaughtering: ‘’And do not eat of that upon which the name of Allah has not been mentioned, for indeed, it is grave disobedience.’’(6:121) Hence mechanical slaughtering does not conform to the Quranic text and hence is an innovation of the commercialists to meet their cost of production.

Knowing the different environment in the muslim world Alhamdulillah, I once asked a Bangladesh restaurant keeper in Madinah whether he would eat that Brazilian meat in Bangladesh? He replied :’’No! Never!’’. Then why are you eating it in Madinah Munawarah? He replied: ’’Because everyone is eating it!’’

The tsunami has reached the four corners of the world and our only recourse is to avoid those mechanical chicken and have recourse to du`as. Let`s embark on the lifeboat of consuming fish or be vegetarian on planes, airports briefly all environment except countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Reunion and South Africa. Unless you are not sure that it is hand slaughtered by a muslim, then do not eat. May Allah Ta`ala reward those Halaal organisation like SANHA, HMC, JAKIM, GIMDES, HRC and the few halaal organisations that stick to muslim hand slaughtering(with Bismillah). THESE ARE APPROVED HALAAL ORGANISATION. Those halaal organisation that accept mechanical slaughtering, then they ARE NOT APPROVED halaal organisation. Their logos or certificates should not deceive us.

Hence only those halaal organisations that reject mechanical slaughtering that will become the poles that our lifeboat may be attached in the tsunami issue of mechanical slaughtering. Sad that many farms in Australia and New Zealand have been plunged in the tsunami.

Those travelling from their respective environment be it for going for Hajj, Umrah or mere travelling should be aware that most restaurants use mechanically slaughtered meat or chicken, because they are simply the cheapest meat on the international market. I am not generalising, but you should carefully enquire on the source of meat. And be cautious and protect your ibaadahs and protect the strength of your du`as, because the ummah needs it most nowadays. On planes, transits and travelling, be veg and protect yourself against high doubts. Because it is reported in muslim shareef that the person consuming haraam, his du`as is almost rejected. And is it not one of the reason why the strength of our du`as has been weaken and now we are suffering from the kuffaar`s assault? Ponder over it over your next meals you will be having.