Surah Al-An'aam (6) — Ayah 118

(Ayah 118) {فَكُلُوْا مِمَّا ذُكِرَ اسْمُ اللّٰهِ عَلَيْهِ ……:} That is, eat the lawful animal over which, at the time of slaughter or hunting, the name of Allah, i.e. { ’’ بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ وَاللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ ‘‘}, is mentioned; if you believe in His verses, that is, eating only such slaughtered meat is a requirement of faith.

118. 1. That is, the animal upon which, at the time of hunting or slaughtering, the name of Allah is mentioned. Eat it, provided that it is among those animals whose consumption is lawful. This means that the animal upon which the name of Allah is not mentioned is not lawful and pure, except in such a case where there is doubt as to whether the person who slaughtered it mentioned the name of Allah or not. In this case, the ruling is that you should mention the name of Allah and eat it. It is mentioned in the hadith that Hazrat Aisha asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that some people bring meat to us (referring to Bedouins who were new Muslims and not fully acquainted with Islamic teachings and training), and we do not know whether they mentioned the name of Allah or not. He ﷺ said, "Mention the name of Allah and eat it." However, in the case of doubt, this concession is given. This does not mean that the meat of every kind of animal becomes lawful just by reciting Bismillah. At most, this proves that the meat available in the markets and shops of Muslims is lawful. Yes, if someone has doubt or confusion, he should recite Bismillah at the time of eating.

118. (O believers!) If you believe in Allah’s revelations, then eat without hesitation of that [122] over which Allah’s name has been mentioned.

[122]
Conditions for Eating Halal Animals:

For eating any halal animal, the Shariah has imposed two conditions. One is that it should be slaughtered and its blood should be drained out; the second is that at the time of slaughtering, the name of Allah should be mentioned. The Jewish scholars taught the polytheists of Makkah this mischief: ask the Muslims that what Allah has killed, you declare haram, but what you kill yourselves, you consider halal.

After Accepting Faith, Following Revelation is Necessary Whether One Understands the Command or Not:

In this context, Allah Almighty said to the Muslims that when you have fundamentally accepted the Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the truth of the Noble Quran on the basis of sound arguments, then now it is inevitable to accept the validity of the branches and details as well. If the acceptance of every principle and branch is dependent on our own rational analogies, then what need remains for revelation and prophethood? In other words, every person is independent to the extent of accepting or not accepting faith; whether he believes or not. But once he has believed, then he must proceed under the authority of revelation, whether or not he understands the reason or wisdom behind the Shariah commands. However, the scholars have clarified that Allah has only declared those things haram whose consumption is harmful to a person's physical or spiritual health. The benefit of slaughtering is that the blood, which Allah has declared haram, is drained from the animal's body and the animal becomes pure. If this blood remains in the body, it is harmful to physical health, and the command to mention Allah's name is for blessing in food and for spiritual training. «والله اعلم بالصواب»

The Polytheists' Objection to Slaughter and Eating Carrion:

The custom of the disbelievers was that they would eat dead animals but would not eat those slaughtered by their own hands. Regarding the dead animal, they believed that since Allah had killed it, its consumption was permissible, and they considered slaughtering by themselves to be tantamount to shedding the animal's blood, even if Allah's name was mentioned over it. On this basis, the Jews incited them against the Muslims, although the Jews were aware of the real truth. But enmity towards Islam made both of them allies. Refuting this propaganda of the Jews, Allah Almighty, warning the Muslims against their misleading plot, said that the animal over which Allah's name is mentioned, that is, which is slaughtered in the halal manner, you should have no hesitation in eating it, and you should not be affected by their propaganda in any way, because the things that are truly haram, their rulings have already been explained to you.