Machine slaughtered chickens

AOA Respected Scholars,

Below is the Chicken slaughter processing as given by IFANCA for the purpose of zabiha halal chicken via machine slaughter. 

Pls advise if such chicken slaughter is acceptable for consumption by muslims:

In the machine slaughter process, the cut is made in the proper area, the minimum required passages are all cut, and the blood is drained. On this basis, IFANCA accepts machine slaughter of poultry under IFANCA supervision. In IFANCA supervised machine slaughter, Muslim slaughter men must be present, reciting the name of Allah (Tasmiyyah) continuously on the birds passing by the knife, and slaughtering any birds missed by the knife. (It is not uncommon that some birds will be missed by the mechanical process.) The entire process is under the control of Muslims and further processing does not take place until the bird is lifeless.

This method may not appeal to everyone and that is okay. Anyone who does not feel comfortable with this method of Zabiha halal slaughter is free to avoid it. However, no one should accuse it of being unacceptable Islamically as it meets the minimum requirements for Zabiha and it has been deemed acceptable by respected Islamic scholars (e.g., Shaikh Muzammil Siddiqui, Shaikh Iqbal Nadvi, and many others) and Islamic Councils (e.g., Islamic Fiqh Council, Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM), Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), and many others).​​

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما

To understand the details regarding the Shari’ah ruling for machine slaughtered chicken, one must first comprehend the basic conditions of slaughtering according to Shari’ah.

Allah, the exalted, states in the Qur’an:

ولا تاكلوا مما لم يذكر اسم الله عليه

“Do not eat from that (animal) upon which the name of Allah has not been taken (at the time of sacrificing)” (al-An’aam:121)

We understand from the aforementioned verse that the name of Allah must be recited upon each  animal at the time of slaughtering. The Muslim slaughterer must then cut at least three of the four veins in the animal’s neck. Furthermore, it is necessary that the one who is slaughtering takes the name of Allah, it will not suffice if someone else does. Machine slaughtered chicken are considered halal if these requirements are met. Many scholars hold all of these conditions to be necessary in order for the chicken to be classified as zabiha. Consequently, if these conditions are not fulfilled, the chicken may not be consumed. In the scenario mentioned in the inquiry, it does not seem that these particular conditions are met. In specific, the issue of reciting the name of Allah upon each animal is a major issue of contention, as normally either the name of Allah is recited only once in the beginning of the slaughter session for all the animals or it is recited by a third party who isn’t actually performing the slaughter themselves.

Nonetheless, we respect other scholarly opinions regarding machine slaughtered chicken, although we feel the view of impermissibility is the more correct view for the reasons outlined above.

والله اعلم

Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala knows best.

Ahad Yousuf Ahmad

Approved by Mufti Husain Ahmad Madani