The term 'halal meat' has no Quranic support and is more a term exploited for commercial profit

 The concept of 'halal meat' is often misunderstood by Muslims, with many not knowing the Quranic definition. The Quran states that God is displeased with those who prohibit anything not specifically prohibited by Him, and that following His law means no other law should be followed. The prohibited foods and meat are detailed in several verses, including carrion, blood, the flesh of the pig and animals sacrificed on altars.

 

The term 'halal meat' has no Quranic support and is more a term exploited for commercial profit. The labelling of certain meat as 'halal' implies that all other meat is not halal, which is misleading. According to the 'halal meat' concept, an animal's meat is halal only if it is slaughtered according to the Islamic way by a Muslim butcher who utters the Basmalah before slaughtering the animal. However, none of these requirements are mentioned in the Quran. The Quranic rule applies to all foods and requires uttering God's name before eating any food, not just before slaughtering an animal.

 

Traditional scholars claim that slaughtering is the only Islamic method of killing animals for consumption because it removes all blood from the dead animal. However, this claim is false as much of the blood remains trapped in the flesh regardless of the method of killing. God made it clear that the prohibition against blood in 5:3 refers to "running blood," not trapped remains of blood which are impossible to flush out completely. Fish are not slaughtered but still contain traces of blood when bought; similarly to cattle meat, they can be put under running water to remove as much blood as possible.

 

The Quran allows Muslims to eat food from people of other religions provided they utter God's name on it before eating it; this includes animals killed by trained birds or dogs and fish which are not slaughtered but still contain traces of blood when bought. Scholars have substituted God's condition for making food lawful (uttering His name before eating) with their own un-Quranic condition requiring uttering His name before slaughtering an animal; this restriction has led many Muslims to believe that only 'halal meat' is permissible for consumption when in fact they should be uttering God's name on all food before eating it according to 6:118.