|
Private Questions and Answers No. 36879 (On eating and buying meat in Europe and North America) The following questions deal with the issues surrounding the consumption of meat in Europe and North America. Some Muslims here sell meat claiming that it has been slaughtered according to Islamic rites (eg., halal). Doubt, however, has entered our minds because some of the believers say that there are butchers who sell meat not slaughtered according to Islamic rites (eg., haram) while claiming that it is. Because of this, we would like to pose the following questions: Question 1: To what degree should one investigate (the permissibility of the meat) prior to purchasing it? Answer: It should be ascertained that the animal had been Islamically slaughtered. However, if you take meat from a Muslim with which he deals as a halaal meat and there is a possibility that this Muslim has ascertained - through valid means - that the meat is halaal, the meat is ruled to be halaal. Question 2: What if the seller behaves unislamically by the opinion of the believers according to precaution (ehtiyat)? Answer: Act according to your own confidence. Question 3: Shall we inform other Muslims in this case (that the meat is considered haram)? Answer: Telling them is not necessary unless they are ignorant about the rule. In such a case, guiding them is a must. Question 4: If we travel to another city where we don't know any of the believing Muslims, and a Muslim serves us a meal stating that it is halal, how should be act? Answer: Ruling of this issue is the same of that made clear in answer no. 1. Question 5: If we go to the home of a Muslim and he serves us a meat-containing meal, is it necessary to evaluate (the permissibility of the meat--eg., to ask him if his meat is halal)? Answer: If there is a probability that the Muslim person has ascertained slaughtering of meat according to Islamic law, there is no need for investigation and it is halaal. Question 6: If he is not sufficiently knowledgable in jurisprudence (fiqh) what should we do (eg., should we accept his claim)? Answer: The standard is what is within the previous issues. (Note: Answers translated by the leaders office under number 16348e)
|
