Surah 'Isra 17 Ayah 32

وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا الزِّنَا إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَسَاءَ سَبِيلًا

And come not near unto adultery. Lo! it is an abomination and an evil way.

Assalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.

In the above verse, it is important to reflect that Allah subhana wa T'ala (SWT) is commanding us not just to avoid adultery, but avoid even approaching adultery. Why? Because to approach something that is haraam, in of itself may lead to man loosening his control and perception of what is allowed and what is forbidden, and it becomes harder to control your nafs.

Umar RA related that Rasulullah SAW said: “Whenever a man is alone with a woman (non-mahram) the Shaytan makes a third” (Tirmidhi). So by even approaching adultery, we're already in trouble - we now have Shaytan, our avowed enemy, as a companion.

Now by bringing this topic up, it's obvious for many of us that there is a black and white distinction in terms of committing adultery of what is allowed and what is not. However, what concerns us for this conversation today, is avoiding what is doubtful.

For some Muslims in the west, is this idea that meat sold in regular supermarkets is halaal. They feel it is okay to eat this meat because we live in the country of the Ahlul Kitab, or people of the book. I never understood this mentality or justification. I don't want to generalize, and may Allah forgive me if my perception is not correct, but this viewpoint seems to come mainly from my Arab brothers and sisters, and less from Muslims who are from the Indo-Pak, Malaysian, etc. Allahu 'Alim, this is an observation of my own, it could be correct or incorrect. This is just from my experience. Once again,
this viewpoint of eating supermarket meat being okay, may or may not be the majority amongst all Muslims, I'm not sure. But its prevalence, at least where I live, is alarming to me. I personally feel it shouldn't even be a topic of discussion but here we are.

We are all insaan and we all commit sins, whether knowingly or unknowingly, and we ask Allah SWT to protect us and forgive us for these errors we commit. But I take issue when I not only hear Muslims argue about eating meat that is haraam, but also arguing with Muslims who are eating halaal zabiha meat, as if we are fools! Sometimes it's
even questionable to buy your meat from the halaal market, because the brother you are buying "halaal" meat from is eating whatever he wants from wherever he wants. How am I to feel comfortable that he is going the full length to ensure we are eating halaal zabiha meat? A different topic for a different day.

The issue I have is the justification used that "Well we are eating meat from the People of the Book, so what's the problem?" Well, I'll explain my problem with it. Yes, we are allowed to eat the meat from the people of the Book. The Jews are the only people of the book who have a set strict standards and guidelines for eating food, especially meat. But the last time I checked, the meat you find in the supermarket isn't Kosher unless otherwise specified, so which people of the book are we referring? Ah, yes the Christians. Well, first of all, the only Christians I know who even think of slaughtering their meat according to their rules and regulations is the Orthodox Christians. Even then, how do we know they aren't saying in the Name of Jesus (AudhuBillah) before slaughtering the meat?

And, when you go to a mass produced beef facility where the slaughter the meat, how do you know which religion the person is who is slaughtering your meat, anyways? He could be atheist, or Hindu, or Agnostic. This leaves open too many variables. Not to mention the treatment of the animals. (Again a different topic for a different day.) Would you eat meat knowing that it was sacrificed in the name of Jesus? Or Buddha? Or the "Almighty" Dollar?

The Response? Well, according to the hadith that is used to justify eating supermarket meat, our mother Aishah (RA) questioned the Prophet SAW about some meat that some new Muslims had presented, and he (SAW) instructed her to just say Bismillah, and eat it.

This hadith has been misapplied to this non-zabiha meat issue according to many scholars, and this is not the correct interpretation.

We are supposed to say Bismillah on everything we eat, or drink. So saying Bismillah over haraam doesn't make it halaal my brothers and sisters. And the key point is, they were eating the meat of Muslims.  They didn't go to the kuffar, sit down and eat their meat. They were eating the meat of Muslims, who were more than likely instructed in their religion. Allah knows best.

We are commanded in the Al-Qur'an:

 He hath forbidden you only carrion, and blood, and swine flesh, and that which hath been immolated to (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. (Surah Al-Baqarah Ayah 173)

And there are also hadith which support this:

Narrated 'Adi bin Hatim:

I asked the Prophet (about the hunting dogs) and he replied, "If you let loose (with Allah's name) your tamed dog after a game and it hunts it, you may eat it, but if the dog eats of (that game) then do not eat it because the dog has hunted it for itself." I further said, "Sometimes I send my dog for hunting and find another dog with it. He said, "Do not eat the game for you have mentioned Allah's name only on sending your dog and not the other dog." Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 4, Number 175:

We can see above, that Allah has warned us to not eat any meat slaughtered with other than the name of Allah. And the hadith above supports this as well. If you send out a hunting dog, you must send it out with Allah's name, and if you find another dog there along side the killed game, the prophet Muhammad SAW forbade that meat to be eaten? Why? It was DOUBTFUL as to which dog had killed it, the one sent out in the name of Allah to slaughter the animal, or the one that was not.

Also, it must be mentioned the health benefits of eating meat which has been properly drained of blood (vis-á-vis in Zabiha Slaughtered meat), far outweigh the disease causing nature of meat that has retained most of the blood. And may other wisdoms that Allah alone knows - We should say "We hear and we obey."

I am not a scholar, nor a mufti, nor a man of knowledge. I'm just a simple Muslim, trying to live this deen the best I can. My intention is not to hurt anyone, whether they choose to eat meat that is not slaughtered or not according to Islamic standards.

Even though I definitely disagree, I won't condemn. I make du'a – for myself that Allah guides me correctly, and for my brothers and sisters, Ameen Thumma Ameen. I hope I've at least made someone think twice and reconsider that eating the meat that is not slaughtered correctly, is at best DOUBTFUL, and more than likely according to many scholars HARAAM. When we eat haraam, and consume haraam, how can weexpect Allah to accept our du'as? It's a very serious thing. If we sin and repent and strive not to repeat it, that's one thing. But I see this as a standard that is practiced heavily, supported by more scholars than I would like here in the U.S., and I see it being pushed upon those Muslims who do not accept this viewpoint via peer pressure and illogical justifications.

To see where this type of thinking leads you, I will leave a story with you all. One brother was trying to argue that he will eat any meat, unless he is certain that it's pork. Instead of avoiding doubtful, he eats everything until certainty of being haraam. The topic turned for the worse onto dietary supplements, a field which I worked for eight years. In most dietary supplement capsules, they use pork gelatin as the standard.

When he couldn't argue his certainty about the gelatin used in capsules as being from beef and not pork (because I had more knowledge of the dietary supplement industry than he) the conversation took a strange turn. The conversation, which I was doing my best to end abruptly so as to not invite argument, finally ended with him saying:  "Well such and such scholar told me that in al-Qur'an we are told that the Flesh of Swine is prohibited for us, not the bones. Therefore pork gelatin capsules are okay."

La Hawla wa Quwatta illah Billah. What is this? I make du'a for him that he corrects this viewpoint. I feel even more sad if what he said really did come from the mouth of a scholar.

Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah:

I heard Allah's Apostle, in the year of the Conquest of Mecca, saying, "Allah and His Apostle made illegal the trade of alcohol, dead animals, pigs and idols." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What about the fat of dead animals, for it was used for greasing the boats and the hides; and people use it for lights?" He said, "No, it is
illegal." Allah's Apostle further said, "May Allah curse the Jews, for Allah made the fat (of animals) illegal for them, yet they melted the fat and sold it and ate its price." Sahih Bukhari Volume 3, Book 34, Number 438.

Let us take a lesson from the people of the book, and not get involved in doubtful things and start twisting the commandments of Allah SWT to fit our own nafs and desires. I ask Allah to protect me and my family from this, and my brothers and sisters in Islam as well.

One last note: We may disagree, but we don't condemn. No one has the right to say who is and who is going to hell or heaven. That is for Allah to decide, and we don't' know our state at the time of death. My intent is air some of these points in a public forum, in order that I may also learn and receive Mercy from Allah.

We all commit errors every day, and we can only stop doing so with the help of Allah; we hate the mans actions, but not the man. I hate many of the things I do, yet I try and struggle to correct myself and be a better person, so please make du'a for me, even if you disagree :).

That being said, no comments will be approved bashing either viewpoint and inciting hatred amongst Muslim Brothers and Sisters. If you would like to comment, make it brief, concise, and respectful. This is becoming of a Muslim and Muhmin. Incoherent posts, that are not thoughtful, respectful, and to the point may not be approved, and I reserve the right to correct your grammar and spelling. Not to say mine is excellent, but if I find the grammar and punctuation severely off, I will adjust it to make it more readable.

Furthermore, I ask and implore Allah SWT to forgive me for any and all mistakes; anything I said right was from Allah and His Mercy, and all the mistakes were mine.
WaSalaam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.

Posted via email from Simple's posterous