Slaughtering for Anyone Other Than Allah and the Islamic Ruling Regarding It
Question:
What is the ruling on slaughtering as a means of drawing closer to anyone other than Allah? Is it permissible to eat such slaughtered meat?
Answer:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
Slaughtering for anyone other than Allah is major shirk (polytheism), because slaughtering itself is an act of worship, the clear ruling of which is given in the Holy Quran.
Evidence from the Holy Quran
In the noble verse of Surah Al-Kawthar, Allah Almighty says:
﴿فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانحَر﴾
“Therefore, pray to your Lord and sacrifice (only to Him).”
Similarly, in Surah Al-An’am, it is stated:
﴿قُل إِنَّ صَلاتى وَنُسُكى وَمَحياىَ وَمَماتى لِلَّهِ رَبِّ العـلَمينَ﴾
“Say, ‘Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. He has no partner. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims.'”
Why is slaughtering for anyone other than Allah considered major shirk?
﴿لا شَريكَ لَهُ وَبِذلِكَ أُمِرتُ وَأَنا۠ أَوَّلُ المُسلِمينَ﴾
- ◈ ◈ Since slaughtering is an act of worship, when it is done for anyone other than Allah, it is considered associating partners with Allah.
- ◈ A person who slaughters for any angel, prophet, messenger, caliph, saint, or scholar, exits the fold of Islam.
- ◈ Such an act places a person in open shirk with Allah, due to which the person leaves the circle of Islam.
It is obligatory upon a person that:
- ◈ He fears Allah.
- ◈ He protects himself from every kind of shirk.
Allah Almighty has said:
﴿إِنَّهُ مَن يُشرِك بِاللَّهِ فَقَد حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيهِ الجَنَّةَ وَمَأوىهُ النّارُ وَما لِلظّـلِمينَ مِن أَنصارٍ﴾
“Indeed, whoever associates others with Allah – Allah has forbidden Paradise for him, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.”
Ruling on eating meat slaughtered for other than Allah
- ◈ Such meat is haram because the name of other than Allah was taken over it.
- ◈ Every animal over which the name of anyone other than Allah is invoked or slaughtered in the name of any shrine or idol is haram.
Allah Almighty has said:
﴿حُرِّمَت عَلَيكُمُ المَيتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحمُ الخِنزيرِ وَما أُهِلَّ لِغَيرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ وَالمُنخَنِقَةُ وَالمَوقوذَةُ وَالمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَالنَّطيحَةُ وَما أَكَلَ السَّبُعُ إِلّا ما ذَكَّيتُم وَما ذُبِحَ عَلَى النُّصُبِ﴾
“The dead animal, and flowing blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any name other than Allah’s has been invoked, and that which has been strangled, or beaten to death, or fallen from a height, or gored to death by horns, and that which wild beasts have eaten—except what you have slaughtered—and that which is sacrificed on stone altars, are all forbidden.”
Conclusion:
- ◈ Any slaughter done for other than Allah is completely forbidden.
- ◈ Under no circumstances is it permissible to eat such meat.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
