Is Sushi Halal?

The debate around various fast-food places and whether they are halal or not has been quite questionable because many non-Muslim countries are populated heavily by Muslim people, which of course, love fast food just like non-Muslims do.

Since Muslims have specific requirements when shopping and eating, food being halal is one of them.

The massive Muslim communities worldwide that live in non-Muslim countries such as the US, UK or Canada have quite an issue regarding eating halal food.

What is Halal?

Food that is permissible for eating in the Muslim community is called Halal. What they are not permissible is called haram. Haram food includes anything with pigs’ meat or alcohol in it.

How Do You Make it Halal?

Muslims face a problem when consuming meat that another Muslim does not slaughter because the way of slaughtering animals such as chickens, goats, cows, et cetera is differently done by Muslims than other religions.

For example, Muslims kill their animals by reciting something, including “Bismillah”, which makes the process holy. They use a sharp knife to cut the animal’s throat.

This is the Islamic way of slaughtering their animals because it is believed that the blood is drained from the animal’s body correctly.

Do Muslims Only Consume Halal Meat?

Muslims consume only that meat that other fellow Muslims slaughter. And even that is only permissible meat which excludes any meat but pigs’ meat.

There is also an issue regarding contamination which makes even halal things Haram. Various fast-food chains, such as McDonald’s or Domino’s, claim their chain is halal.

But when it comes to cross-contamination and dealing with things such as pork or pepperoni, the same surface is being used to prepare halal and Haram simultaneously.

This is what makes even halal food Haram. Since halal means permissible, halal food is food that adheres to Islamic law defined in the Quran.

Halal Certification

Food that is halal or permissible is known to be that way when it is certified by true halal monitoring services.

The halal certifications are approved by two major nonprofit agencies in the US called halal monitoring services or HMS in Chicago and Illinois, as well as the halal food standards alliance of America HFSAA in Oakland, California.

Generally, the certification for halal products is given by the Muslim majority countries and various halal certification groups.

Are Toppings Halal?

Topping such as pepperoni and ham become non-halal, and even other forms of meat such as chicken and beef become non-halal too when they have been slaughtered in a non-Islamic way or crossed contaminated with non-halal toppings such as pepperoni or various types of meat.

How Can a Fast Food Chain be Halal?

The only way a fast-food chain can be halal is if the makers of the foods in the entire restaurant are handling meat that is slaughtered in the correct and Islamic-certified manner.

Also, there should be no haram meat or toppings in that fast food restaurant. It is also extremely important to have fellow Muslims as the producers of the meat used in the various dishes on the menu and the supply in general.

Other than that, there should be no risk of cross-contamination because pork being handled on the same surface and storage compartment will make even halal food haram.

Is Sushi Halal?

Since this question is so general, one must look at various facts and figures when acknowledging whether sushi is Haram or Halal.

As we know, there are various varieties of vegetarian sushi which contain no sources of meat at all; these can be halal if they are treated in the right way without being cross-contaminated with haram items.

It also depends on the place where you get the sushi from. Also, sometimes sushi rice contains rice wine which can make it Haram. Other than that, a common query comes as to whether raw fish is halal or not since most sushi contains it.

Is Seafood halal?

In Islam, all seafood is halal, so Muslims can eat sushi which contains raw fish. Therefore, the main precaution is the alcohol called Mirin which is used for cooking the rice and making it sticky for the sushi.

It is also pretty obvious that sushi found at an Islamic store or Muslim state is halal. Still, if you are purchasing sushi from a non-Muslim country, then you need to know what is used in the sushi, the ingredients, the place where it’s being cooked and the cross-contamination factors.