Paying for Non Dhabiha Meat

Question: If my wife wants to eat non dhabiha meat based on a certain fatwa that she follows, can I buy it for her?

Answer:

Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

Dear questioner,

Thank you for your important question.

It is not permissible to buy such meat because it is a misapplication of a fatwa.

Buying non dhabiha meat

It would be permissible to buy the meat you described in principle. This is because non-dhabiha meat does have a value (mal), and is not equivalent to buying carrion (mayta) which would be an invalid sale. This is particularly the case if the permissibility of eating it is debated.

However, I do not personally believe there is a real argument to say that all Western/American/European meat is halal. Accordingly, the purchase of the meat would be valid but forbidden.

Shaykh al Qaradawi’s Fatwa

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I am personally not aware of a fatwa from Shaykh Al Qardawi that says that one can unconditionally eat US/European meat. On his official website, there is a fatwa on eating meat imported to Muslim countries and he says,

(https://www.al-qaradawi.net/node/3899)

So I would ask your better half or anyone else who thinks that all US/UK/European meat is halal how it is exactly they know that the person who slaughtered the meat is a Christian or a Jew, given that so many people in the West are card-carrying atheists!

I am not criticizing Shaykh al Qaradawi’s fatwa here, rather I am criticizing the misuse of his fatwa, and the logic used by those who seem to think that the whole of the West is all of sudden the Christendom of yore, or that atheists in the West are somehow a negligible contingency.

Please see the following links for statistics of religion in USA, UK and Europe:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_Kingdom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Europe#Eurobarometer_survey_2019

While is it not the responsibility of the layman to delve into the depths of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), and reserve all the proofs for and against any given issue, we are all still responsible to Allah to worship him as best we can.

This means that we have to search for scholars who are known for their knowledge and expertise and are known to be people who fear Allah.

We are also responsible for making sure that what we hear from them is not merely hearsay, or “what everyone else does.” You can only do “what everyone does” when “everyone else” actually has knowledge.

Allah Most High cautions from following just anyone says, ‘And when it is said to them, ‘Follow what Allah has revealed,’ they say, ‘Rather, we will follow that which we found our fathers doing.’ Even though their fathers understood nothing, nor were they guided?’ (Qur’an, 2:170).

One also has to make sure that the source of one’s information and one’s understanding of it is correct. This obligation is not lifted just because one is a non-scholar.

Conclusion

If there was a genuine fatwa that the meat was halal, it would be perfectly fine to buy the meat. If however the fatwa, or the application of the fatwa, was clearly erroneous, then it would be valid to buy the meat, but you would be sinful because it would constitute assisting in sin. Given that the fatwa is being misapplied, it would not be permissible to buy such meat.

I pray this helps.

[Ustadh] Farid

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Farid Dingle has completed extensive years of study in the sciences of the Arabic language and the various Islamic Sciences. During his studies, he also earned a CIFE Certificate in Islamic Finance. Over the years he has developed a masterful ability to craft lessons that help non-Arabic speakers gain a deep understanding of the language. He currently teaches courses in the Arabic Language