is kosher meat halal

Question:

Is kosher meat halal?

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

No, kosher meat will not be considered halal, unless one can ascertain that the name of Allah Ta’ala was taken on that specific animal before it was slaughtered. The detail of this is as follows:

There are three basic conditions for the slaughter to be valid according to the Shariah: 1) To make the blood flow by cutting the vessels. 2) To recite the name of Allah before slaughtering the animal. 3) The slaughterer should either be a Muslim or from the people of the book in the true sense of the term.

In kosher meat, generally, the first and third conditions are fulfilled. However, the second condition -- i.e. reciting the name of Allah before slaughtering the animal -- is not fulfilled in most cases. This is because when the Jews intend to slaughter a batch of animals (i.e. more than one animal), they take the name of Allah Ta'ala only on the first animal. They do not take the name of Allah on the remaining animals from the same batch. Hence, according to the Shariah, only the first animal will be halal; the other animals will not be halal. This is because according to the Shariah, the name of Allah Ta'ala must be taken before slaughtering each animal.

Also, there is an established principle in the Shariah that if there is doubt regarding the meat of an animal whether it is lawful or unlawful, it will be considered unlawful, unless one can ascertain that it is infact lawful.

Hence, kosher meat will be considered unlawful (haram) unless one can ascertain that the name of Allah Ta'ala was taken before that particular animal was slaughtered.

(Legal rulings on slaughtered animals: pg 159-174)

And Allah knows best.

Mufti Faizal Riza
18/8/2012
Darul Ifta Australia
www.fatwa.org.au

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