The halal industry is growing at an alarming rate in India and across the globe. With over 1.8 billion people around the world professing allegiance to Islam, the halal food market currently constitutes 16% of the global food industry. It is expected to grow to 20% of the global trade in food production in near future.
India, which is home to 180 million Muslims (14% of the population), is currently one of the largest exporters of halal meat to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries. According to Mufti Tahir of the Halal Council of India, Halal products enjoy overwhelming popularity among non-Muslims due to ‘health and hygiene’.
He has remarked, “Halal is synonymous with being healthy and hygienic…Even large sections of non-Muslims (within India) prefer halal meat for reasons of hygiene and health? In fact, the motto of the Halal Council of India is – Eat healthy, think better.”
Islam classifies dietary products as ‘halal (permissible)’ and ‘haram (prohibited)’ for Muslims based on the Quran and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (in Hadiths). As such, what counts as Halal in Islam does not apply to practitioners of other Faiths.
Despite this, Halal products enjoy a disproportionate share in the Indian food industry. This is particularly due to a lack of awareness among non-Muslims and the unavailability of alternate food options.
Nevertheless, the Halal meat industry often finds itself at loggerheads with modern industry practices, especially due to its rigid adherence to Islam and inability to adapt to more humane and technologically advanced procedures.
Halal, ‘impurity of blood’ and Quranic sanctions
According to scholars, Muslims are expected to adhere to Islamic dietary restrictions at all times. They must avoid the consumption of:
- pigs
- animals slaughtered without the name of Allah
- animals with long pointed teeth or tusks
- insects
- primates, reptiles (except spiny-tailed lizards) and amphibians
- donkeys, mules (horses are not forbidden) and Lycaonpictus (African wild dog)
- aquatic animals that are harmful to human health
- blood (from any animal)
The halal system of ‘animal slaughter’, also called Zahiba, lays special emphasis on the ‘bleeding’ of animals. This is particularly due to the Islamic belief that blood is ‘impure’.Blood drainage from slaughtered animals forms the key basis of halal slaughter. There are several Quranic verses, which reiterate that the consumption of blood must be avoided at all costs.
Chapter 2 (Al-Baqarah) Verse 173 of the Quran says:
“He has only forbidden you ˹to eat˺ carrion, blood, swine, and what is slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah. But if someone is compelled by necessity—neither driven by desire nor exceeding immediate need—they will not be sinful. Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
Chapter 5 (Al-Mai’dah) Verse 3 of the Quran says:
“Forbidden to you are carrion, blood, and swine; what is slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah; what is killed by strangling, beating, a fall, or by being gored to death; hat is partly eaten by a predator unless you slaughter it; and what is sacrificed on altars. You are also forbidden to draw lots for decisions. This is all evil. Today the disbelievers have given up all hope of ˹undermining˺ your faith. So do not fear them; fear Me! Today I have perfected your faith for you, completed My favour upon you, and chosen Islam as your way. But whoever is compelled by extreme hunger—not intending to sin—then surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.“
Chapter 6 (Al-An’am) Verse 145 of the Quran says:
Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I do not find in what has been revealed to me anything forbidden to eat except carrion, running blood, swine—which is impure—or a sinful offering in the name of any other than Allah. But if someone is compelled by necessity—neither driven by desire nor exceeding immediate need—then surely your Lord is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
Chapter 16 (Al-Mai’dah) Verse 115 of the Quran says:
“He has only forbidden you ˹to eat˺ carrion, blood, swine, and what is slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah. But if someone is compelled by necessity—neither driven by desire nor exceeding immediate need—then surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
According to radical Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, the Jhatka method causes damage to the spinal cord, resulting in ‘coagulation’ of blood in the heart. As per Naik, the blood stays in the body of the deceased animal instead of being drained out.
According to him, the Halal mode of slaughter facilitates the drainage of blood in a rapid manner. “Today’s science tells us that blood is a carrier of germs and bacteria. We (Muslims) are hygenic people. We don’t like to eat animals, laden with germs,” he remarked.
Naik, who allegedly holds a medical degree, claimed that Halal meat stays fresh for a longer time than jhatka meat.
The slaughter of animals in a ‘halal’ way
As per Islamic law (Sharia), the ‘halal’ slaughter of an animal requires the use of a sharp knife, which is free of nicks and scratches. Although there is no directive to use any special kind of knife unlike kosher, it is recommended that the blade of the knife be 2-4 times larger than the neck of the animal.
The animal must be fed well, provided with drinking water and soothed before turning it lifeless. Sahih Muslim, a collection of Hadiths, states in Book 21, Number 4810:
“Shaddid b. Aus said: Two are the things which I remember Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) having said: Verily Allah has enjoined goodness to everything; so when you kill, kill in a good way and when you slaughter, slaughter in a good way. So every one of you should sharpen his knife, and let the slaughtered animal die comfortably.”
However, the Islamic practice of feeding animals before their slaughter, under the pretext of ‘animal welfare’, is problematic. Such a method increases the volume and the quantity of bacteria in the gut of ruminant animals. Modern industry practices require feed withdrawal for up to 12 hours, prior to slaughter, to avert the risk of carcass contamination.
Halal slaughter must be performed by only a sane, adult Muslim, who is familiar with Islamic rituals. “Animals slaughtered by a Non-Muslim will not be Halal. The name of Allah must be invoked (mentioned) at the time of slaughtering by saying: Bismillah Allahu Akbar,” says the Department of Halal Certification in the European Union.
Quran makes it clear in Chapter 6 (Al An’am) Verse 18: So eat only of what is slaughtered in Allah’s Name if you truly believe in His revelations.
Modern techniques for slaughter
Given that it is difficult for a slaughter-man to chant the Islamic phrase each time while processing 4000-12000 birds in a single line, the Standing Committee for Scientific Research and Issuing Fatwas has issued a diktat saying that it is sufficient to pronounce the Islamic phrase only once while operating a mechanical slaughter machine.
Halal slaughter involves workers over machines, which significantly increases the price of meat. Hand slaughter without stunning animals is unable to keep up with the standard operating procedures of the meat industry.
Even the use of an automatic horizontal rotatory knife for cutting the neck of poultry is considered haram, given that the halal way of slaughter relies heavily on blood loss and animal welfare. Both these aspects might be compromised if an improper cut is made by an automatic slaughter machine.
For hand slaughter, it is crucial that the animal is properly restrained. It should not be agitated or in a state of panic as it may interfere with the accuracy of the incision. As per the halal procedure, the animal must be rested on its left flank to maximise blood loss. It must also be facing the direction of Mecca (Qiblah).
Different animals are restrained in different manners. For instance, a sheep is slaughtered in a horizontal position while ruminants are restrained either in by hoisting the animal in a upright position or by the hind leg. Interestingly, most Halal slaughterhouses prefer a position of lateral recumbency (90° angle, lying on their sides).
“The disadvantages of the upright restraint method during the halal slaughter (without stunning) of cattle are the possibility of blood aspiration into the lungs, poor bleeding (clamping of the blood vessels of the neck against the head restraint) and delayed loss of consciousness,” noted Abdullah, F., Borilova in his research paper.
The bleeding is the highest in ruminants slaughtered in the lateral position and lowest when placed in the upright position. Lambs that are hung vertically bleed more than the ones kept upright in a V-restrainer.
For Halal slaughter, the incision must be made on the neck and below the gullet. The trachea, oesophagus, jugular veins and carotid arteries of the animal must be cut in one continuous movement without any interruption or delay.
“The incision must be performed at the ventral aspect of the neck near the lower jaw and must not reach the spine. This means that the head should not be completely separated from the body during slaughter, which can delay loss of consciousness due to blood continuing to flow to the brain through the vertebral arteries,” stated Abdullah, F., Borilova.
Pre-slaughter stunning of animals and inconsistency with halal
While halal mandates that the animal should be fully conscious at the time of slaughter, stunning raises concerns about the state of consciousness. The process of ‘stunning’ is described as a voluntary process that results in the loss of sensibility, and consciousness (including instantaneous death) of an animal without causing distress, suffering, anxiety and pain.
Stunning of animals pre-slaughter is mandatory in Europe. Although the relatively painless slaughter process finds no mention in Quran and hadiths, the general consensus among the Muslim community is that irreversible stunning is not permissible.
According to researchers Abdullah, F., and Borilova, there are several disadvantages to slaughtering cattle without stunning, especially from the point of animal welfare. The animal experiences stress and pain on being restrained and develops false aneurysms and delayed loss of consciousness.
“Animals that are not mechanically restrained after the cut are likely to endure a slower bleeding process and, thereby, prolonged unnecessary suffering. Animals of bovine, ovine and caprine species are the most common species slaughtered under this procedure. Therefore, ruminants slaughtered without stunning should be individually and mechanically restrained,” he stated.
In the halal poultry industry, stunning is considered ‘unacceptable.’ He stated, “Although the voltage of electrical stunning and the size of the birds have been standardised, some birds die due to the stunning process prior to slaughter or a delay in the time of the slaughter process, leading to poor blood drainage.”
“The ability of poultry to withstand the same voltage current and remain alive after electrical stunning differs even within a particular weight parameter, ” emphasised Abdullah, F., Borilova. Even in cases of nonpenetrative percussive reversible stunning, it has been observed that a large number of cattle develop subarachnoid haemorrhage.
For stunning to be acceptable to Muslims, it must adhere to the standards governing halal. This includes reversible stunning that does not kill the animal or inflict permanent injury. The stunning must be performed by a Muslim man while repeating Islamic phrases. Most importantly, the stunning equipment should not be used on pigs.
Nevertheless, the ‘humane process’ has other challenges in the form of resource shortage, absence of proper stunning tools/equipment and technical training. Currently, pre-slaughter stunning is acceptable in Muslim majority Malaysia (which follows Shāfʿī school of thought) but not in Pakistan (which follows the Hanafi school of thought).
Given that the laws of Islam were promulgated 1400 years ago, it is evident that some modern techniques and norms are not aligned with Islamic rules. Devout Muslims, who believe that Sharia is valid for all times and places, refuse to adapt to the modern technological advancements in the meat industry.
References: Abdullah, F., Borilova, G., & Steinhauserova, I. (2019). Halal Criteria Versus Conventional Slaughter Technology. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 9(8), 530. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9080530
