We all know that food is our basic necessity. The survival of any living entity is impossible without food. It is our everyday experience that we are able to move if we have stuffed our stomach with sufficient meal. Don’t know about others, but I am literally a food-freak. The mere conversation about scrumptious dishes makes my mouth watery. As a solo world roamer I have tasted a lot of appealing cuisines. However, as a Muslim, I am very much conscious about choice and selection of food items. Therefore, I overwhelmingly enjoy the Halal holidays at Muslim friendly destinations. Being at Halal visiting spots you need not to worry about anything you eat. But things are opposite in the non-Muslim world.

            One of my friends Wardah resides in China talked about the challenges, she and her husband are bound to face while living there. There are very less or no Halal culinary food items in the country which may cater to their needs. Every time she has to cook herself. “It’s obvious Wardah!, You have to cook because China is not a Muslim country”

            However, I realized that your food is an issue that must Not be taken for granted. Wherever in the world we are, we have to be pretty much careful about the food we choose keeping in mind the Islamic prescriptions about halal and haram items. Being a meat-lover I get worried while rambling in U.S or UK restaurants. Moreover, you have to buy meat from the specially labelled Halal meat shops there and these are few and far between.

Animals are an inseparable part of our society

I notice that the masses specially the non-Muslim ones, are busy stuffing meaty dishes. But on the contrary I get nervous and usually satisfy myself on Ice-creams or desserts. Being Muslims we all know about the animals that are halal in Islam. But have we ever thought how they are used within the different cuisines? Are they really slaughtered or killed? Sometimes even roaming in Muslim friendly countries, the same question roams into my mind. It is undoubtedly true that Islam is the name of gentleness compassion kindness etc etc. You become short of words while praising Islamic ideals. But the compassion in Islam is for everything that breathes. Only humans don’t breathe. The other living entities also include plants and animals that have their own lives. The animal related issues remind me about the remarkable saying of Caliph Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that “during my rein, if even a dog dies across the river I am answerable for this”

Religious Slaughter in Islam

Islam being a complete code of life has guided us to follow Allah’s rules and regulations. Although we love animals, like we pet dogs, caress the cats and do milking. So similarly while sacrificing them for our food we must be vigilant of the way of doing this critical task. Everyone involved in meat business should understand the right way of slaughtering them. I always perform slaughtering ritual on Eid Ul Azha with father at our home. Because we don’t rely on commercial slaughterhouses. Yesterday I studied that the Islamic humane manner of slaughtering is called zabihah (or Dhabiha). That was something new term for me indeed.

Requisites/ Requirements for Islamic Slaughter

Islam strictly opposes the inhumane slaughter of animals and orders us to have a kind and merciful treatment of them before and after slaughter. It is better to raise or keep them in a natural environment rather than the artificial/ commercial medium. The requisites of Islamic slaughter which we must inevitably follow are

• The animal must be healthy and physically sound. The dead animal’s meat is strictly forbidden in Islam.
• A cognizant/ sensible person preferably Muslim must perform it who must have an exact knowledge of Islamic slaughtering.
• A very sharp knife must be used for the painless and rapid cutting in a single swipe.
• The slaughter should be proceeded before other animals.
• The animal must not see your knife.
• Don’t sever the spinal cord or head of the animal through your knife.

Halal Methods an inevitable matter of Muslim Concern.

I mostly witness the Muslims thinking more about the halal food than the halal methods of producing them. Well in our engrossed/ busy life schedule have made us live on the surface, so we don’t focus beyond the surface of things. We work, travel and eat. Though we go for Halal foods, but we must also have a sound knowledge of method of food production. Which means to confirm whatever we eat is through halal production or not.

Non-Muslim Methods of Animal killing

A few days ago I read about the non-Muslim methods of animal killing. These methods are mostly acceptable for the non-Muslim sections. But for me as a Muslim was controversial indeed. Those objectionable methods involve “Sticking” or “Stunning” the animal. In both of these gruesome tasks the animals are hung upside down and drowned into the electrifying water. This means to kill them through electric shock in water. This animal stunning literally stunned me. So I thanked Allah (SWT) for being a Muslim who does not dare even harming/paining the animals

Muslim-friendly Countries are the most feasible/suitable for traveling or living

For truly God-fearing and softhearted Muslims, I would recommend them that they must prefer Muslim-friendly destinations for their Halal Holidays. Even for a permanent stay/ immigration they must choose halal countries with Halal accommodation because the unfavorable lifestyle is really disturbing for the Muslims