SPOTLIGHT HALAL food info for Muslims: carrion

Showing posts with label carrion. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

HARAM: Animals

Categories of haram Animals

Listed below, the basic Islamic principles of permissibility and impermissibility, within the Hanafi School of Thought, with regards to animal consumption. Muslim scholars[1] have classified prohibited (haram) land and air animals into six categories. These are:

Animals specifically stated in the Quran and Sunnah as haram, such as domestic donkeys and pigs.
Animals restricted by certain characteristics and criteria, like fanged beasts of prey (predators) and birds with talons.
Scavengers that feed on carrion (dead animals), like vultures, crow, insects.
Whatever is pernicious and causes harm, injury, ruin, like rats, snakes, scorpions, raccoon, and the kite hawk.
Whatever is born as a result of copulation between two animal species, one of which is lawful to be eaten and the other which is prohibited, like the mule.
Whatever the Shari'ah has ordered us to kill, like the five pernicious animals, and what Allah has forbidden us from killing, like the frog, the hoopoe (a crested bird) and the shrike (a bird with a hooked, jagged bill).

All other animals and birds are considered lawful, according to the rule stating that anything is deemed halal (lawful)[2, 3] until proved otherwise.

Things to Keep in Mind

Each of the four Sunni (Shafa'i, Maliki, Hanbali & Hanafi) and the Shi'a (Jafari) Schools of Thought developed principles of permissibility with regards to which animals are lawful (halal) and which are unlawful (haram) for consumption. That being said, the basis for their jurisprudence (fiqh) is the common source of guidance for all Muslims—the Quran & Sunnah. While the principles above are representative of the whole, variations may exist.

There are separate rules with regards to slaughtering and hunting halal animals. Failure to comply with these rules may render the meat of a halal animal haram.

The jallalah of halal animals (cows, chicken, camels, etc.) are temporarily excluded from the lawful foods until they can be cleansed.

A list haram animals

ANIMAL	HALAL	COMMENTS
Boar	No
Cephalopods octopus, squid, cuttlefish	Yes*	Sunni: Hanafi fiqh split on its legality. Halal in all other sunni Schools of Thought. Shi'a: Not halal in Jafari.
Crustaceans crab, lobster, crawfish	Yes*	Sunni: Hanafi fiqh split on its legality. Halal in all other sunni Schools of Thought. Shi'a: Not halal in Jafari.
Donkey	No
Frog	No
Horse	Yes*	While permitted, eating horse meat is hated (makrouh).
Insects carmine, shellac, cheese mites	No*	The Arabian locust is the only insect that is allowed by both halal and kosher dietary laws.
Pig swine, boar	No
Predators, Air hawk, owl, falcon	No
Predators, Land bear, dog, alligator, snake	No
Scavengers, Carrion Eaters buzzards, raccoon, worms	No*	Scavenging sea creatures are permitted.
Shellfish mussels, clams, oysters	Yes*	Sunni: Hanafi fiqh split on its legality. Halal in all other sunni Schools of Thought. Shi'a: Not halal in Jafari.
Snails	No
Zebra	Yes*	A wild donkey, zebra meat is permissible.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Quran & Hadith: Carrion, Dead (الميتة)

CARRION in the Quran

حرمت عليكم الميتة والدم ولحم الخنزير ومااهل لغير الله به والمنخنقة والموقوذة والمتردية والنطيحة ومااكل السبع الا ماذكيتم وماذبح على النصب وان تستقسموا بالازلام ذلك فسق اليوم يئس الذين كفروا من دينكم فلا تخشوهم واخشون اليوم اكملت لكم دينكم واتممت عليكم نعمتي ورضيت لكم الاسلام دينا فمن اضطر في مخمصة غير متجانف لاثم فان الله غفور رحيم

"Forbidden to you (for food) are: carrion, 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 favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But if any is forced by hunger, with no inclination to transgression, Allah is indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. "
— Quran, Surat Al-Ma'idah 5:3

Hadith referencing CARRION

Narrated by Muhammad bin Idris Ash-Shafi`i :
Ibn `Umar said that the Messenger of Allah said, “We were allowed two dead animals and two (kinds of) blood. As for the two dead animals, they are fish and locust. As for the two bloods, they are liver and spleen.”
[Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, Ibn Majah, Ad-Daraqutni and Al-Bayhaqi also recorded this hadith]

Islamic Schools of Thought

In his tafsir Imam Ibn Katheer says:
Allah informs His servants that He forbids consuming the mentioned types of foods, such as maytah (carrion), which is the animal that dies before being properly slaughtered or hunted. Allah forbids this type of food due to the harm it causes, because of the blood that becomes clogged in the veins of the dead animal. Therefore, the maytah is harmful, religiously and physically, and this is why Allah has prohibited it. The only exception to this ruling is fish, for fish is allowed, even when dead, by slaughtering or otherwise.”

Sheikh Ibn Baz said:
“If a person is forced by necessity to (eat dead meat), it is permissible for him to do so." according to the Words of Allah*, Most High."
* [Reference: Surat al-Ma'ida 5:3]

AMNA Note: As agreed upon by all the 4 methahab, "severe hunger" is defined as facing death through starvation. In which case, it is permissible for a person to eat only as much (of the haram substance) as he or she needs to sustain themselves to stay alive. It does not refer to simply feeling hungry.

Animals Which Eat Carrion
"Among [the creatures] it is forbidden to be eaten are those which feed on carrion (dead meat), like vultures and crows, owing to the evil food they feed on [so] it is prohibited to eat insects, as they are injurious."
— Al Fawzan, Dr. Salih (Professor of Islamic Jurisprudence. Member, The Permanent Committee on Fatwa and Research). "A Summary of Islamic Jurisprudence, Vol. 2," Section XI: Food, Chapter 1, p. 654.

HARAM: Carrion, Dead (الميتة)

CARRION - the carcass of a dead animal. Carrion begins to decay the moment of the animal's death, and it will increasingly attract insects and breed bacteria. Islamically the concept of, carrion — or more specifically al-maita (الميتة) — extends to animals which have been killed by means other than exsanguination during slaughter or the hunt.

Islamic Prohibition against CARRION:
The Quran forbids the consumption of dead animals or "carrion" (الميتة) — of animals which have been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a fall, or which have been gored to death.

Islamic law commands that all halal animals meant for food, with the exception of locusts, fish and sea creatures, be slaughtered by cutting the jugular vein in the animal's neck to allow death by exsanguination. This is known as zabihah. Game animals which have been killed in the hunt, by bleeding out, are likewise permissible.

[ CARRION in Quran & Hadith ]

AMNA's Criteria for CARRION:
The table below describes our criteria for judging a FOOD as CARRION. Helpful icons make it easy to judge foods at a glance.

ICON	CLASS	AMNA JUDGING CRITERIA	SOME EXAMPLES...
	CARRION	Foods which it is known that the animal has died by means other than exsanguination, excepting fish and sea creatures.	balut (Filippino), trứng vịt lộn (Vietnamese)

Related Topics:
What does Quran and hadith say about CARRION (dead meat)?
What is Islamic slaughter, zabihah (ذبيحة).
How does AMNA identify and label foods containing other HARAM substances like PORK, or BLOOD?
Why do we use "?" on some icons? What does it mean?
What if a food contains TWO haram substances?