Can Muslims Eat Processed Meat?

Praise be to Allah.

Different Types of Processed Meat in Islam

“Processed meat” may refer to two things:

• The first category is meat that is processed and grown from stem cells of animals in laboratories, to produce meat that is fit for consumption. Up till now, this has not appeared in the marketplace, as it is still under development, so we should not be hasty in issuing a ruling concerning it.
• The second category is that which is dried or the meat is preserved in certain ways, such as sausages and mortadella, and the like. The ruling on this type of food is the same as the ruling on its source, which is the animal from which the processed meat was taken.

So if the animal was one which it is permissible to eat, there is nothing wrong with eating it, or buying and selling it, because Allah, may He be Exalted, Says (interpretation of the meaning): {This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, and the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you.} [Al-Ma’idah 5:5]

It is also essential to pay attention to the way in which the food is manufactured and stored: it should be healthy, and cause no harm to the one who eats it, whether that harm is because of ingredients that are added to the meat during manufacturing, or because of the way in which it is manufactured and preserved.

Can Muslims Eat Processed Meat?

If the meat is prohibited, such as pork, or it is permissible, such as beef, but the animal was not slaughtered by a Muslim or one of the People of the Book (that is, a Jew or Christian), or it was not slaughtered in the manner prescribed in Islam – whether it was killed by stunning, drowning or any other way – then it is prohibited meat, regardless of whether it is processed or is sold in its normal form, because in that case it is Maytah (“dead meat”), and Maytah is not permissible for a Muslim. Allah, may He be Exalted, Says (interpretation of the meaning):

{Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah , and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience. This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin – then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.} [Al-Ma’idah 5:3]

And Allah knows best.