Is the Slaughter of Today’s Jews and Christians Halāl? A Thorough Islamic Analysis
Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Volume 1, Page 863
❖ Question:
Is the slaughtered meat of present-day Jews and Christians permissible (halāl)?
Can Muslims eat their meat?
✿ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
According to Islamic Sharīʿah, non-Muslims are divided into two categories:
➊ People of the Book (Ahl al-Kitāb)
➋ General disbelievers (non-Ahl al-Kitāb)
❖ Who are the People of the Book?
People of the Book are those who:
✿ Believe in the existence of God, prophethood, revelation, and divine inspiration.
✿ Acknowledge a Prophet and Book whose prophethood is affirmed by Islam.
According to this definition, only two nations qualify as Ahl al-Kitāb:
➊ The Jews — who believe in Mūsā (Moses) عليه السلام and accept the Tawrah (Torah) as a divine scripture.
➋ The Christians — who affirm the prophethood of ʿĪsā (Jesus) عليه السلام and regard the Injīl (Gospel) as divinely revealed.
Both these personalities have been acknowledged as Prophets in the Qur'an,
and therefore, their followers are classified as Ahl al-Kitāb,
even if some of them hold beliefs such as saying ʿĪsā is the son of God.
❖ Qur'anic Proof:
Allah Almighty says:
﴿الْيَوْمَ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتُ ۖ وَطَعَامُ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ حِلٌّ لَّكُمْ وَطَعَامُكُمْ حِلٌّ لَّهُمْ﴾
[Sūrah al-Mā’idah: 5]
Translation:
"This day, all good things have been made lawful for you. The food (slaughter) of those given the Book is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them.”
There is consensus among the scholars that “ṭaʿām” here refers to meat from slaughtered animals.
❖ Sayings of the Mufassirīn and Tābiʿīn:
Notable early scholars such as Ibn ʿAbbās, Abū Umāmah, Mujāhid, Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, ʿIkrimah, ʿAṭā’, Hasan al-Baṣrī, Makḥūl, Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, al-Suddī, and Muqātil ibn Ḥayyān interpreted the verse:
“طَعَامُ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ” to mean “their slaughtered meat.”
❖ Scholarly Consensus:
There is ijmāʿ (consensus) among scholars that:
✔ The meat slaughtered by Jews and Christians is permissible for Muslims,
✔ Provided they do not invoke any name besides Allah,
✔ And they consider it impermissible to sacrifice in the name of others.
Even though their beliefs about Allah contain falsehoods,
as long as they invoke the name of Allah during slaughter, it remains halāl.
❖ Commentary of Imām Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله:
Ibn Kathīr said:
“Ibn ʿAbbās, Abū Umāmah, Mujāhid, Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, ʿIkrimah, ʿAṭā’, Hasan, Makḥūl, Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, al-Suddī, and Muqātil ibn Ḥayyān — all said that this refers to their slaughtered meat. There is consensus among scholars that their slaughter is halāl for Muslims, because they prohibit slaughter for anyone besides Allah, and mention only Allah’s name when slaughtering, even if their belief about Allah contains falsehood.”
[Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr, Vol. 2, Pg. 22]
❖ Clarifying the Definition of Ahl al-Kitāb:
This verse specifically refers to those Jews and Christians whose forefathers were present during the time of the Prophet ﷺ.
✿ Those in Pakistan, who were previously of the low caste (chuhras) and outwardly became Christians during British rule — are not Ahl al-Kitāb.
✿ Similarly, a Muslim who later converts to Christianity is not Ahl al-Kitāb; rather, he is a murtadd (apostate) and liable to Islamic punishment.
Thus, only Jews and Christians with a traceable lineage from Ahl al-Kitāb are valid, and their slaughter is permissible.
Three Conditions for Their Slaughter to Be Halāl:
➊ Slaughter must follow the Islamic method —
i.e., the animal must be properly slaughtered in a lawful, prescribed manner.
➋ Allah’s name must be pronounced during slaughter —
If no name is taken, or if they invoke someone else (e.g., Jesus), then the meat is ḥarām.
Reference: Al-Fiqh ʿala al-Madhāhib al-Arbaʿah, Vol. 1, Pg. 726
➌ The slaughterer must be a genuine member of Ahl al-Kitāb —
i.e., a person who actually believes in God, revelation, and prophethood.
➤ Those who deny God, revelation, or religion, even if they call themselves Jews or Christians,
are not truly Ahl al-Kitāb, and their slaughter is not permissible for Muslims.
❖ Reality of Modern-Day “Ahl al-Kitāb” in Europe:
Today, most people in Europe who identify as Christians or Jews are:
✖ Atheists or Secularists,
✖ Rejecters of religion, revelation, and prophethood,
✖ Mockers of religious belief,
✖ And they generally do not mention the name of Allah while slaughtering.
Therefore, their meat does not fulfill Islamic requirements, and is not halāl. Summary:
The meat of Jews and Christians is only halāl if:
➊ The animal is slaughtered according to Islamic guidelines,
➋ Allah’s name is mentioned at the time of slaughter,
➌ The slaughterer is a genuine believer in God, revelation, and prophethood, as defined by Islam.
If a Christian or Jew explicitly states that he slaughtered according to Islamic principles and invoked Allah’s name,
and there is no reason to doubt his claim,
then his meat is permissible.
Otherwise, caution and abstention is safer and more appropriate.
This is what I understand. And Allah knows best what is correct.
هٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
