The debate of what constitutes halal (allowed) and haram (forbidden) meat goes on. Some Islamic ulama (scholars) claim it is fine to eat meat from your halal meat online neighborhood market, as long as it’s not pork and if before it is eaten the name of Allah is pronounced over it. Other scholars say that meat from the “People of the Book” is halal for Muslims to eat and nothing special needs to be said. Finally, there are scholars who qualify the difference between the terms halal and zabiha (a specific method of slaughter). They say that, according to the Qur’an and the Hadith, Muslims should only eat zabiha meat. They explain that a type of meat (poultry, beef, etc.) can be halal if it is taken from animals that we are allowed to eat, but that, unless these animals are killed in accordance with Shariah law, their meat is not zabiha and therefore not to be eaten. In other words, all zabiha meat is halal, but not all halal meat is zabiha.
In order to prove which of the above three viewpoints is correct, it must be determined which one is in agreement with the halal meat online UK Qur’an.
The belief that meat can come from local stores as long as “Bismillah” is said over it runs counter to the following Qur’anic ayyat: “He hath forbidden you only carrion, and blood, and swine flesh, and that over which has been invoked (the name of) any other than Allah. But he who is driven by necessity, neither craving nor transgressing, it is no sin for him. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful” (2:173).
Here Allah is telling us that no name other than His should be invoked over the meat we eat. This is obvious, and all Muslims agree. The question is: When must “Bismillah” be said — before eating or at the time of slaughter? For those who argue that it is meant to be said before eating, I ask: Why do we need a special ayaat to tell us this when Muslims must say “Bismillah” over all our food, not just meat? Furthermore, the following ahadith clarify that it is while slaughtering the animal that “Bismillah” must be pronounced and that there is a consequence for not doing so:
The Messenger (SAW) said to the Companion Sa’d: “O Sa’d! Purify your food and your supplication will be accepted. By the one in whose hand lies the life of Muhammad, verily a servant places a morsel of haram in his stomach (and as a result) forty days of worship will not be accepted from him” [Imam Tabrani].
Reading these verses of the Qur’an and the above ahadith it makes it clear that we are not allowed to eat just any brand of supermarket meat; this is not halal for us. Halal meat has to be killed in the Zabiha manner.