Miscellaneous / General
By
Justice Maulana Muhammad Taqi Usmani
Suspicious Concerning Whether Meat Is Halal


Q. "We in north America buy our food stuff, including meat, from a Muslim's store. He tells us that the meat is duly slaught- ered by a Muslim according to Shariah, but we do not know whether he is correct in his statement or not. Some people become suspicious about his statement or not. Some people become suspicious about his statement on the ground that they themselves have not seen the animal being slaughtered and the possibility cannot be ruled out that the seller is claim- ing the meat to be halal only to attract the customers who strictly follow Shariah.

What should be a Muslim's attitude in this case?"
                                                                                            (Yusuf Ghani, New York)

A. If a Muslim informs you about a particular meat that it is slaughtered by a Muslim in complete conformity with the Islamic injunctions, and there is no apparent reason to disbelieve him, you trust his statement and take the meat as halal. On should not indulge in baseless suspicions about a Muslim's statement. We have been directed to presume a Muslim's stat- ement as true unless the contrary is proved.

However, it one suspects his statement on reasonable grounds, for example, he has himself seen him purchasing the meat from a non-Muslim dealer who deals in haram meat, or he has found him too careless in these matters to be relied upon, then he should not rely on his statement except after enquiry, and the meat of his store should not be purchased or used unless one is fully satisfied that it is halal.