Muslims all around the world eat all kinds of meat, including cows, lamb, fish, other seafood and even chicken.
The only meat that Muslim people avoid is meat from pigs. Pig meat is forbidden in Islam.
The chicken, however, is halal, and Muslims all around the world eat chicken and incorporate it into their traditional meals typically. There are, however, some conditions in which chicken becomes non-halal as well.
In Islam, there is a particular way of slaughtering animals before chopping them up into pieces for use in various dishes.
The reason why chicken is often non-halal in restaurants is because of the way it is slaughtered. KFC, McDonald’s, and other restaurants in non-Muslim countries require a certified 100% halal label for consumption by Muslims.
Although Muslims eat chicken regularly, it becomes a hassle to find halal chicken in non-Muslim countries. The only condition that the chicken can be halal is if it is slaughtered in the right way according to the Islamic commandment.
Islamic law requires that animals that are intended for human consumption have to be slaughtered in a particular manner.
This means that the animal must be alive at the time of slaughter. No electric shot, bullet or any other means should be used before the slaughtering of the animal because using such means may lead to the animal’s death before it is slaughtered. The name of Allah must be invoked (mentioned) at the time of slaughtering by saying: “Bismillah Allahu Akbar”.
Islam prohibits the consumption of dead meat. And in conclusion, Muslims avoid eating all types of meat that is dead before it is slaughtered.
This does not just include chicken, but it also includes cows, goats and lamb. The animal needs to be alive before it is actually slaughtered.
This is why Muslims tend to buy their meat from Islamic slaughterhouses instead of regular grocery stores. In Islam, the animal must be slaughtered by the use of a sharp knife and the windpipe and the food tract must be cut off the animal.
The slaughtering must be done in one go, and the slaughtering process itself must be done by Muslims. The name of Allah is also mentioned while slaughtering the animal. It is also to be kept in mind that the slaughtering must be done manually and not by machine.
Of course, the chicken can be cut by machine after it has been slaughtered manually.
Other cases which lead to chicken being non-halal are if the slaughtering is done on the same production line that is used to slaughter pigs.
This leads to cross-contamination of the chicken meat. The instruments used while slaughtering pigs should not be used in halal slaughtering in this way.
Similarly, the storage of the halal meat should not be done in the same place as pork or other non-halal meat.
Neither should it be minced in the same equipment used to mince non-halal meat. Islam encourages that the meat consumed by its people is clean and the animals are handled with care.
In the case of chickens, as with all other animals, the animals should be killed in a comfortable way with minimum suffering, and the knife should be hidden from the animals while slaughtering.
In conclusion, chicken is not prohibited in Islam. It is just the process by which the chicken is slaughtered that can render it non-halal or halal.
Conclusion:
Not every restaurant serves halal chicken. If you a restaurant says it serves halal chicken, it’s safe to eat at that restaurant. But the restaurant that doesn’t mention if it serves halal chicken may serve machine slaughtered chicken which may or may not be halal. For 99% of the time machine slaughtered chicken are haram.
So if you’re looking for halal chicken to eat, I would recommend you to search on google for the restaurants that serve halal chicken in your area or ask a friend or relative if they know any restaurant that serves halal chicken.
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