Q 1. There is a lot of confusion these days regarding the Islamic concept of “Jallalah” and animal feed. Some individuals as well as animal rights organizations are campaigning that since most of the animal feed contains extracts from other animals, the rule of Jallalah applies here and hence Muslims cannot consume any meat in the North American Continent.
My questions are as follows:
Muslims not to eat of their meat or use their leather?
- What is the definition of “Jallalah”? Are there differences among the Ulama’ regarding its definition?
- Since the animal extracts that are used in the feed undergo a long process in which they are changed from their original state, does the rule of “Jallalah” apply here?
- Does mishandling or ill treatment of animals before slaughter restrict
A 1. “Jallalah” are the animals (camel, cow, sheep, chicken etc.) that live near the dunghills or filth dumps. Most of their food is “jullah” i.e. excrements, filth, dead animals and like. Such animals smell bad. Their meat, milk and even the sweat stink. There are a number of Ahadith of the Prophet in which it is reported that the Prophet -peace be upon him- forbade eating the meat, drinking the milk or even riding the Jallalah animals. It is forbidden to offer such animals in sacrifice during Hajj and during the Eidul Adha.
It is reported in the Sunan of Abu Da’ud that the Prophet -peace be upon him- forbade the meat and milk of the Jallalah animals. (See Hadith no. 3291)
It is also mentioned that if the Jallalah animal is quarantined and was fed clean normal diet for three (and according to some forty) days then its meat can be eaten.
The jurists have differed on how strong is this prohibition. According to Imam Shafi’I it is Haram to eat the meat of such animals. But according to Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik and Ahmad ibn Hanbal the prohibition is mild and it is Makruh (undesirable not forbidden). Some jurists call it “makruh tanzihi” not “tahrimi”.
It is also important to keep in mind that all animals eat some dirt and filth. It is for this reason the jurist emphasize that Jallalah is the animal that lives on filth or most of its food is filth. But if an animal eats something filthy sometimes, its meat is not forbidden. It seems to me an exaggeration to apply the rule of Jallalah on the animal feed that is used in America and some other western countries. In order to increase the protean in the animal feed here sometimes they use blood, intestines, pig’s meat etc., but all this goes through some processing and is in a very small amount. Most of the feed consists of grains, whey and similar things.
It is forbidden in Islam to mistreat the animal before slaughter. Although Allah has allowed us to eat the meat of animals, but we should not torture them, neither physically nor mentally, before slaughter. There are many rules of humane way of animal slaughter. The Prophet -peace be upon him- emphasized that the animals should not be killed for sport. They should not be kept hungry, thirsty or suffocated. When an animal is slaughtered it should be away from the sight of other animals. The knife should be sharp and the name Allah should be mentioned before the slaughter. It is also not allowed to cut some part of the body of a living animal in order to eat. Violation of some of these rules makes the meat forbidden. However, if a person just mistreated an animal before slaughtering while he followed other rules, then the person has committed the sin, but the meat of the animal is permissible.
Q 2. We wish to start holding Salat-ul-Jumu’ah in school from September. Is it permissible to have both the Khutbah and the Salaah before the time of Zawaal so that we can complete everything within the lunch break? (Muhammad, United Kingdom)
A 2. According to the majority of Muslim jurists, the time of Jumu’ah prayer is after the Zawal (i.e. after the middle of the day when the sun begins to decline). This is the way the Prophet -peace be upon him- prayed most of the time. But there are some reports that indicate that the Prophet-peace be upon him- also prayed Jumu’ah a little before Zawal. In the time of Abu Bakr, and ‘Umar -may Allah be pleased with them- Jumu’ah prayer was sometimes held before the Zawal. Thus according to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal -may Allah be pleased with him- it is permissible (ja’iz) to pray Jumu’ah before Zawal. However, even the scholars of his School say that it is better to pray Jumu’ah after the Zawal to avoid any controversy and to do it at the time when the Prophet very often performed his Jumu’ah prayers. (See al-Mughni of Ibn Qudamah, vol. 3, pp. 240-241) In some cities in US, Canada and Europe, during the summer, due to the use of Daylight Saving Time, the Zawal comes almost at 1:30 or 2:00 p.m. and thus it becomes difficult for many people to pray Jumu’ah prayer in their lunch break. In this situation, it is suggested by some scholars that people can have Adhan and Friday Khutbah before Zawal and prayer immediately after the Zawal.
Q 3. Do Muslims have to be beyond any nationality? Like, if a person is of Indian origin, should that person just consider Muslim as his or her nationality, not Indian?
A 3. Islam is not a nationality. Islam is a faith and it brings people together on the basis of their faith. Muslims are one Ummah regardless of their colors, races, ethnic background, languages or nationalities. The differences of race, color etc. are only to know each other. As Allah says in the Qur’an, “… We have made you groups and tribes in order that you may know each other… (al-Hujurat 49:13). Islamic faith is beyond any nationality. Muslims should be united into one Ummah and should support each other. Islam is not against races, or languages or nations, but Islam is against racism, language prejudice or nationalism. There is nothing wrong in loving your people, your country, your language, but it is wrong to hate people or despise them or have prejudices against them on the basis of their colors, languages, races or country of origin.