The Islamic Shariah(Law) has clearly indicated as to what meats are permissible(Halal) and impermissible(Haraam) for consumption by a Muslim which can be divided as follows:
1-Haraam Meats:
pork and pork products.(Muslims also avoid foods which may be Halal but may have come in contact with swine at any stage of cooking)
blood and blood products.
animals slaughtered in the name of anyone but Allah(e.g any food given in the name of a Deity at a temple)
carrion
donkeys
frogs
all insects except for locust.
carnivorous animals, birds of prey, animals (land and sky) without external ears(e.g snakes,moles etc)
Seafood - not all Muslims agree on what seafood is haraam and what is halal. Sunnis consider all fish to be halal, Shias consider only shrimp and scaled fish to be halal. Some consider only scaled fish to be halal, meaning that all other fish (uni, eel, shellfish, etc) to be haraam.
You may have a Muslim friend or colleague who consumes any of the forbidden meats. This is a personal choice of theirs, maybe due to their weakness in belief or lack of knowledge on this Islamic legislation and we pray that Allah (God) guides us all onto the path of the righteous.
2-Halal Meats**
- Sheep, goats, cows, buffaloes, camels, deer, chickens, turkeys, goose, ducks, ostriches, quails, pigeons, partridges, Seafood and other animals which we know are hunted but are not carnivorous or birds of prey are Halal.
It is important to mention that the Halal meat has to come from an animal which has not been fed or been in with anything unclean(e.g swine related) and the animals are slaughtered in conformity with the practices of the Sharia (the Islamic Laws) which are enlisted further below.
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Read on:
** Method dictated by Islamic law for Slaughter of Halal Animals:
-Slaughtering prerequisites:
* Done by a sane, mentally competent adult Muslim.
* Extremely sharp knife.
* Knife is never to be sharpened in front of the animal.
* Animals are to never be killed in front of each other.
* The animal's eyes and ears should be checked to see if the animal is healthy.
* If healthy, the animal is then given water to drink.
* The animal is positioned to face the qibla (Macca).
* The person then says, "Bismillah, Allahu akbar" which means, "In the name of God, God is great." This indicates that God has rights over all things, that they are taking the animal's life by God's permission, and thanking God for this food, even before eating it.
-Slaughter:
The large arteries in the neck, the trachea and the esophagus are cut in one large swipe of an unserrated, very sharp knife. All the blood has to be drained from the animal once it has been slaughtered before further dissection.
