Q. Salaams, just some thoughts people:
I think what is important and missing from the document is that DUU should say, that ‘by the Hanafiyyah standards we follow’ we do not agree with the certification process of other Muslim halal certifying bodies.
One could get the impression that the position espoused in the bulletin is the ONLY position – and nothing else is acceptable.
Questions that may arise are – Is a light stunning allowed or not? What is the permissible process for a plant to produce 10,000 chickens or more a day? Are there different views in the Islamic world about halal process? Which one is correct? Which one do I follow? Is there sufficient and authentic evidence for the varying views? Does the halal process vary with chickens, buffaloes and camels – and maybe is stunning allowed for bigger animals?
I am only throwing out some thinkable questions.
The IIIT (which is mentioned in the bulletin) has, associated with them, a large no of recognized scholars of repute with PhD’s in various Islamic sciences and countless scholarly published works.
Their poultry farm provides meat for hundreds of thousands of people in the US and Canada. From the bulletin, it could give the impression that all these people are not consuming halal meat.
Just some thoughts – that is all. I am not saying to reject or accept anything from IIIT. I am only encouraging persons to read, think, study Islam, engage in intellectual discussion and hence make decisions based on knowledge.
Muslim Brother.
A. REPLY:
Assalaamu Alaikum,
We received the email which you sent and noted your statements.
You started at the beginning by saying ‘just some thoughts’. We wish to say that these so-called thoughts are enough to create doubts in the minds of people, which may ultimately lead them to consume doubtful meat. If this occurs, then you will be accountable to Allah for whatever sin is involved.
You further said that the statement, ‘by the Hanifiyyah standards we follow we do not agree with certification process’. Why do you make such a wrong statement? Can you prove from your evidence that this is what should have been written? Why do you think that it is only a Hanifiyyah position?
As scholars, our responsibility is to guide the Muslims to that which is correct. People may get whatever impression they wish, we are not bothered about that. Our concern is to provide guidelines that are correct, for we are only accountable to Allah.
All the questions you have asked have already been investigated by the DUHC. Alhamdulillah, we are qualified to make the statements that we published. You have not done any research nor investigation, and instead of trying to get these answers, you send and email to so many people, creating doubts in their minds and putting forth few questions, which can be understood as if the Darul Uloom Halal Committee (DUHC) has never done an investigation into stunning and mechanical slaughtering.
There is no doubt that IIIT has scholars with them, and they have a lot of published works. However, what you don’t know is that countless Halal Certifying bodies’ through the world have not accepted their certification and their standard. Thousands of Muslims living on America and Canada do not consume the chickens certified as Halal by them. This is on account of the fact that the guidelines endorsed in the Shariah have not been implemented.
You have posed questions about the stunning, what about the mechanical slaughtering which they have allowed? Do you think it is okay in Islam for a person to simply say Bismillah on a switch and after putting it on, (it) runs on its own for the entire day, thus, producing 10,000 chicken or more per day. One Bismillah was said on a switch, for thousands of birds. How do you like this? Probably this might be halal for you, but not for us. As you hinted, this may be the way of producing 10,000 chickens a day, but it is definitely not the Islamic way.
So, while you encourage people to study and make their decisions based on their knowledge, you must also know that Islam has already been made a complete and perfect way of life. The Prophet (SA) has already shown us the manner of Islamic slaughter, and thousands of other processing plants throughout the world are following them. When greed for money gets in the heart of a man, then many ‘short-cut’ ways are invented to increase production to make more money. At this time, no one becomes concerned about the importance and significance of Halal in Islam, and with this wave of ‘fast foods’ surging across the globe, some Muslims have become very negligent and heedless towards the concept of ‘true’ halaal in Islam. This state of negligence has reached to such a deplorable state that some Muslims consume meat from any fast food outlet, and make it halal by saying Bismillah over the meat.
May Allah save us from ignorance and arrogance. May He guide us to that which is correct and protect us from following that which is wrong.
And Allah knows best.
Darul Ifta
Darul Uloom T&T