Question
Aslamu Alikum i would like to find out the ruling or views on stunning of chicken before slaughtering . In my country it’s certified as halaal and accepted by some of the scholars and dislike by other scholars Jazakallah await your response
Answer
In order for meat to be lawful for consumption it must be slaughtered in a particular way. One of the conditions for permissibility is that the animal must be alive at the time of slaughter. If it dies before slaughter then it will be unlawful for consumption. The issue of stunning chickens is a heavily debated topic. The main contention is whether or not the chicken dies between stunning and slaughter. Each halal certifying body has their own criteria. Some will permit stunning provided certain conditions are met such as the voltage being kept at a low rate to ensure the chicken doesn’t die, whilst other certifying bodies will not permit stunning of any sort. Either way the fundamental point is whether or not the chicken dies before slaughter.
In addition to this, stunning is understood to cause the animal additional unnecessary pain and can also reduce the amount of blood flowing out of the animal. For these two reasons some scholars will deem stunned chicken as disliked even if it did not die before slaughter. This maybe the reason why some scholars in your country consider stunned chicken disliked.
As we are not fully aware of the industry practice in Guyana or the criteria adopted by the halal certifying bodies, it is difficult for us to indicate our preference. However, when it comes to eating Halal one should always exercise reasonable caution and abstain from doubtful food.
The above information is provided as a general guideline of the opinions and rules in relation to stunned chicken as requested.
You may find the following article helpful in building your understanding of stunning:
https://halalhmc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Chickens-and-Stunning.pdf
Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow
Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel