Eating meat slaughtered by Jews and Christians

AssalamualaikumWrWb

What is the ruling for the zabiha of Ahle-Kitaab (kosher, etc.) as well the safe route for consumption of such products? Please let me know in depth and with the hawalajat.

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما

As Muslims living in the west, it is imperative that we are aware of the foods that we consume. It is truly unfortunate how careless Muslims have become in regards to matters of halal and haram. In regards to the meat slaughtered by Christians and Jews, many will claim that it is permissible to consume such meat. Their basis of saying this is the Qur’anic Verse:

وطعام الذین اوتوا الكتاب حل لكم

“And the food of the people of the book is lawful for you.” (Al- Maidah:5)

It is important to note that the majority of scholars have understood the meaning of this verse to be restricted in its application. Hence, they unanimously agree that foods, such as swine meat, do not fall under the meaning of the verse even though it is technically considered food of the people of the book and consumed by many Christians. Thus, the ‘ulama have deduced, through many ahadith, that the food of “the people of the book” must fulfill the criteria of zabiha as well in order to be deemed halal. 

Keeping the above mentioned details in mind, it becomes evident that the current slaughtering methods prevalent amongst Christian and Jews today do not comply with Shari’ah and the resulting meat from such slaughtering will be impermissible to consume. In reference to kosher specifically, it has been established through numerous reliable sources that their prayer is only read on the first animal slaughtered in a session and not recited upon each animal, thus it would not fulfill the criteria of zabiha and would be impermissible to consume.

والله اعلم

Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala knows best.

Yousuf Ahmed

Approved by Mufti Husain Ahmad Madani