['Aalim Network QR] Follow-up on Halal Meat

["Akil M. Karim" <amk@io.org>]

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|       In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the All-Merciful       |\
|  Greeting of Allah be upon Muhammad and the pure members of his House |\
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Salamun `Alaykum

The following follow-up question to an earlier answer was kindly answered
by Maulana Rizvi. 

NOTE: For your convenience, I have included the initial question and answer.


Fee Amaanillah,

Akil Karim
Acting Moderator for ABDG-A

---------- Forwarded message ----------
 
Salaamun alaykum,

	The following question on 'halal' meat was kindly answered by 
Moulana Syed Muhammad Rizvi.  
 
Wasalaam,
 
Mustafa Rawji
Acting Moderator, ABDG-A

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INITIAL QUESTION:

Salam Alaikum

	It is now very apparent, and confirmed by some of the Alims of
the Sunnis, that they consider the food and particularly the meat of
Christians and Jews as Halal. Some meat stores, restaurants, airlines
consider this is as genuine Halal meat. 

	According to our Marja, what is the distinction betwen Zabeeha
which is the meat that is slaughtered according to the Islamic rules, and
merely Halal, which may be the meat from the "people of the book." 

	If a Muslim offers meat that he/she deems 'halal', can we
question it in light of the above. 

ANSWER:

Firstly, the terms "zabeeha and halal": According to Shi`a maraji`,
zabeeha and halal are one and the same thing. That is, the meat of an
animal slaughtered by a non-Muslim is not halal. So in our terminology,
zabeeha and halal is the same thing. (Even the Sunnis use the two terms
as interchangeable.)
 
Secondly, when the definition of halal and zabeeha meat was one and the
same for all Muslims, you were told to accept the words of your Muslim
brother when he says that the meat is halal. 
 
Now, however, the Muslims are divided on the definition of zabeeha and
halal meat. The Shi`as and many Sunnis on the one hand emphasize on the
manual slaughtering of the animal by a Muslim slaughterer; and many other
"liberated" Sunnis considered the animal slaughtered by a Jew/Christian
as halal. 

In this era of relativity (which also creates confusion and choas), if
you know that your Muslim brother is using the term "halal" and/or
"zabeeha" in a meaning different from yours --- then you cannot assume
that the meat is halal and o.k. 
 
Yours in Islam,
 
Sayyid M. Rizvi

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FOLLOW-UP QUESTION:

What is your understanding of the ayat, meaning:.. the food of ahlul 
kitab is halal for you.."

I am referring " ahlul kitab food" like meat, as the related topic we 
are discussing now. Would you coment on that?


ANSWER:

The ayat to which you have referred is ayat no. 5 in chapter 5; it says:

        "The FOOD of the people who have been given the Book is
         lawful for you and your food is lawful for them."

The Arabic word translated above as "food" is "ta`aam". Although this
word is used for "food" in general, but in this verse it means only
"grains" because of the following reasons: 

(1) In the usage of the people of Hijaz (i.e., Mecca and Medina), it was
particularly used for "wheat". See the famous Arabic dictionaries like
Lisanu 'l-`Arab and Ibn Athir's an-Nihayah. 

(2) Whenever the word "ta`aam" has been used as a noun and without any
genitive construction (izafat) in the Qur'an, it usually means only
"wheat". See the commentaries of most Muslim scholars on verses 2:184,
5:95 and 76:8. 

(3) The Imams of Ahlu 'l-Bayt (a.s.) have also said that the word
"ta`aam" in this verse means "wheat and other grains". 

For further details see, `Allamah at-Tabataba'i, al-Mizan, vol. 5 (Arabic
edition) p. 217, 227-231 wherein the late `Allamah has refuted the
interpretation given by a prominent Sunni scholar of Egypt on the
permissibility of eating the meat slaughtered by the Jews and the
Christians (Ahlu 'l-Kitab). In the English translation edition of
al-Mizan, this verse will be covered in volume 9 which is next in line
for printing. 

Yours in Islam,

Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi