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Is it sufficient to mention the name of Allaah over any meat?

29-01-2000

Question 6509

If I buy meat that i know has not been killed islamically, is it ok to mention Allahs name and eat it. I read a hadith in sahih Al Bukhari where certain people were unsure whether the meat they had was halal and the prophet (saw) told them to mention Allahs name. Is that the correct understanding of the hadith?

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

If it is not known how the meat was slaughtered, but it is thought that it was most likely slaughtered in the Islamic manner, because it comes from a country where most of the people are Muslims or People of the Book, then it is sufficient to mention the name of Allaah when eating. But if it is known that it was slaughtered in a manner that is not Islamic, then it is not permissible to eat it, because it comes under the ruling of maytah (dead meat), and Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Eat not (O believers) of that (meat) on which Allaah’s Name has not been pronounced (at the time of the slaughtering of the animal)” [al-An’aam 6:121]

Slaughtering according to sharee’ah
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