HALAL ANIMALS SLAUGHTERING IN ISLAM

The method of slaughtering in Islam is based on guidelines found in the Al-Quran and the Sunnah according to the Islamic Law (Syariah).

1. Place of slaughtering
Place of the animal slaughtering is fully restricted to only Halal animals under the Islamic law (such as cow, cattle, sheep, lamb, goat, deer, rabbit, poultry) this is to ensure the Slaughtered Halal animal not being contaminated with blood and feces of Haram animals.

2. Animals to be slaughtered
a. All animals to be slaughtered must Halal for consumption under the Islamic law such as cow, cattle, sheep, lamb, goat, deer, rabbit, poultry.
b. All animals to be slaughtered must alive or still alive (hayat mustaqirrah) during the slaughtering of the animal.

3. Slaughterer
a. Slaughtering must be performed manually by a mature Muslim who fully understands the fundamentals and conditions relating to slaughtering according to the Islamic Law.
a. Not in ihram (ihram is one of rukun hajj)

4. Slaughtering lines, device and slaughtering facilities
a. Slaughtering lines, device and slaughtering facilities are exceptional for Halal slaughtering.
b. Knife is sharpen

Abu Ya` la Shaddad ibn Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

"إنَّ اللَّهَ كَتَبَ الْإِحْسَانَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، فَإِذَا قَتَلْتُمْ فَأَحْسِنُوا الْقِتْلَةَ، وَإِذَا ذَبَحْتُمْ فَأَحْسِنُوا الذِّبْحَةَ، وَلْيُحِدَّ أَحَدُكُمْ شَفْرَتَهُ، وَلْيُرِحْ ذَبِيحَتَهُ"

.رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمٌ

"Verily, Allah has enjoined excellence (ihsan) with regard to everything. So, when you kill, kill in a good way; when you slaughter, slaughter in a good way; so everyone of you should sharpen his knife, and let the slaughtered animal die comfortably.” Narrated by Muslim

c. Bone, tooth and nail are not allowed to be used as slaughtering device.

5. Procedure
a. Mechanically slaughtering of Halal animals is prohibited.
b. The purpose of slaughtering is solely for Allah.
c. The knife is placed under halqum (Adam’s apple) of slaugtering animal

d. At the time of slaughtering the name of Allah must be invoked by saying
Bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim ("In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate."). A knife must be penetrated the throat of the animal.

e. The trachea (halqum), food-tract (esophagus) and jugular vein and carotid veins should be cut. The slaughtering is preferably in one stroke. However, several strokes are allowed as long as the knife is not raise from the animal slaughtered.

f. The blood of the slaughtered animal must be drained as completely as possible. For avian such as poultry and duck, the animal must be ensured dead due to slaughtering before soaking. While, stunning is allowed to unconscious the animal for a while and the device must not penetrate and break the neck of the slaughtering animals. The stunning device is also not caused the brain injury and physically defects to the slaughtering animal.

be continued.....

PIG PROHIBITION

Halal is come from Arabic word for permissible. In Islamic usage, it refers to aspects of life that are religious acceptable or lawful. It is especially used to refer to meat that has been slaughtered and prepared in accordance with Islamic law. In Islam, animal can be categorized into two groups, Halal animals and non-halal/Haram (prohibition) animals. Halal animals can be divided into two groups. 1. Halal with proper slaughtered through Islam rites such as cow, goat, sheep, chicken, duck, rabbit and the others which have been allowed in Islam; On the other hand, if all animal mentioned which have not been slaughtered according to Islamic rites, they and their deravatives would still be considered as non-halal or Haram. 2. Halal without slaughtered such as fishes and crustacean. Whereas, pig and its inheritance or any other derived food, dog, rat, and the others which forbidden in Islam are non-halal or Haram animals.

1. The prohibition of pig in Islam is mention in Surah Al-Baqarah (The cow), Allah says:

إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةَ وَالدَّمَ وَلَحْمَ الْخِنزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ بِهِ لِغَيْرِ اللّهِ فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ غَيْرَ بَاغٍ وَلاَ عَادٍ فَلا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ إِنَّ اللّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
(Al-Baqarah 2:173)

“He has forbidden you only carrion, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that which has been immolated to (the name of) any other than Allah. But he who is driven by necessity, either craving not transgressing, it is no sin for him. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

2. In Surah Ma’idah (The Table Spread), Allah says:

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالْدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنْزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللّهِ بِهِ وَالْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَالْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَالْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَالنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَا أَكَلَ السَّبُعُ إِلاَّ مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى النُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُواْ بِالأَزْلاَمِ ذَلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ الْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِن دِينِكُمْ فَلاَ تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَاخْشَوْنِ الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الإِسْلاَمَ دِينًا فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ فِي مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لِّإِثْمٍ فَإِنَّ اللّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

(Al-Ma’idah 5:3)

“Forbidden for you are carrion, and blood, and flesh of swine, and that which has been slaughtered while proclaiming the name of any other than Allah, and one killed by strangling, and one killed with blunt weapons, and one which died by falling, and that which was gored by the horns of some animal, and one eaten by a wild beast, except those whom you slaughter; and (also forbidden is) that which is slaughtered at the altar (of idols) and that which is distributed by the throwing of arrows (as an omen); this is an act of sin; this day, the disbelievers are in despair concerning your religion, so do not fear them and fear Me; this day have I perfected your religion for you * and completed My favour upon you, and have chosen Islam as your religion; so whoever is forced by intense hunger and thirst and does not incline towards sin, then indeed Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
(* Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him – is the Last Prophet.)

3. The pig prohibition also is also mentioned in Surah Al An’am (The Cattle), Allah says:

قُل لاَّ أَجِدُ فِي مَا أُوْحِيَ إِلَيَّ مُحَرَّمًا عَلَى طَاعِمٍ يَطْعَمُهُ إِلاَّ أَن يَكُونَ مَيْتَةً أَوْ دَمًا مَّسْفُوحًا أَوْ لَحْمَ خِنزِيرٍ فَإِنَّهُ رِجْسٌ أَوْ فِسْقًا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللّهِ بِهِ فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ غَيْرَ بَاغٍ وَلاَ عَادٍ فَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

(Al An’am 6: 145)

“Say [O Prophet], in all that has been revealed unto me, I do not find anything forbidden to eat, if one wants to eat thereof, unless it be carrion, or blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine-for that verily is foul- other abomination which was immolated to the name of other than Allah. But who is compelled (thereto), neither craving nor transgressing, (for him) lo! Your Lord is Forgiving, Most Merciful."

4. In Surah An Nahl (The Bee), Allah says:

إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةَ وَالْدَّمَ وَلَحْمَ الْخَنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللّهِ بِهِ فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ غَيْرَ بَاغٍ وَلاَ عَادٍ فَإِنَّ اللّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

(An Nahl 16:115)

“ He has forbidden you only carrion and blood and the flesh of swine and that which has been immolated in the name of any other than Allah; but he who is driven thereto, neither craving nor transgressing, lo! Then Allah is forgiving, Most Merciful.”

Nowadays, Muslims are exposed to various manufactured food, cosmetic and pharmaceuticals due to advancement of science and technology. The food additive such as gelatin, emulsifier and lard are pertinent in food and comestic industry. The other issue that should be highlighted is the processed meat such as sausage and canned foods which cannot be differentiated and identified by naked eyes. The meat is thought to be unrepresentative of the advertised products; therefore a dispute between the consumer and the seller may arise. However, the determination of halal is not standing alone with scientific-based but it also must be strengthened by authority body and enforcement. Such techniques used permit the detection of accidental or deliberate adulteration. The notion of halal is also extended to the use of organic fertilizer in agriculture. Organic fertilizer which originated from non-halal source such as pig manure is avoidance to be utilized as fertilizer for plant growth.

Sahilah A. M. (Ph.D)

DR. SAHILAH ABD. MUTALIB

Senior Lecturer,
School of Chemical Sciences and Food Technology,
Faculty Science and Technology,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor,
MALAYSIA.
E-mail : sahilah@ukm.my

Research Fellow,
Institute of West Asian Studies (IKRAB) ,
43600 UKM BANGI, Selangor,
MALAYSIA.

Field(s) of specialization:
· Molecular Biology (Halal authencation using molecular techniques)
· Food Microbiology (Molecular Microbiology)
· Agricultural Microbiology (Effective microbes and Biocontrol)

August 2000- Mei 2006
Research Officer,
Strategic Resources Research Centre,
Malaysian Agricultural research and Development Institute (MARDI),
MALAYSIA

Jun 2006-Oct 2007
Lecturer,
Institute Biological Sciences,
Faculty of Science,
University of Malaya,
50600 Kuala Lumpur,
MALAYSIA.

Nov 2007-till now
Senior Lecturer, University Kebangsaan Malaysia,
MALAYSIA.

Current Research Areas/Topics:

Identification of crustacean and fishes and its processed products by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment lenght polymorhism (PCR-RFLP) fingerprinting.
UKM-ST-06-FRGS 0010-2008