Is it ethical to eat the animals just because it is ‘Halal’?
Unfortunately, many people think that the definition of ‘Halal’ is ‘Killing the animals like chickens, cows, goats by slitting their throats, letting them bleed to death while saying the names of God’. The mainstream Halal certifications in the food industry might create an image that ‘Halal’ is food-related and especially meat-related. However, if we look at the Qur’an we can see a different image.
To understand how Qur’an uses the word ‘Halal’ first we need to understand the word ‘Haram’. The meaning of ‘Haram’ is ‘religiously forbidden’, and ‘Halal’ is being defined as ‘not Haram’, so ‘Halal’ means logically the things which are ‘not religiously forbidden’ or ‘allowed’.
Now the question is ‘When something is not forbidden, does it means it is ethical, necessary, or correct to do under all circumstances?’ We will try to find an answer to this question by examining the Qur’an by first focusing on the term Halal and its relationship with food; and then, trying to see if there are other Our’anic requirements to consider while choosing to eat or not to eat something.
As we defined ‘Halal’ means ‘not religiously forbidden’. But what are the Halal things? In fact, Qur’an does not give us the whole list of Halals, but it gives the list of Harams, and those Harams are generally about the ethical values rather than the edible items. For example;
“Say: “Come let me recite what your Lord has made religiously forbidden (Haram) for you: that you should not set up anything with Him — and do good to your parents; and do not kill your children for fear of poverty, We provide for you and for them, and do not come near immorality, what is public of it and private; and do not take the life which God has made sacred, unjustifiably. That is what He enjoined you that you may comprehend.” 6:151
Say, “My Lord has religiously forbidden (made Haram) immoralities, what is public of them and private, and sin, unjustifiable aggression, setting up partners with God that were never authorized by Him, and saying about God what you do not know.” 7:33
It is possible to find many other similar ethical Harams such as driving out people from their homes (2:85), applying usury (2:275), etc. listed in Qur’an in various verses. Together with all those ethical Harams, the Qur’an mentions four edible Harams in 2:173 and it warns people not to invent new religious prohibitions by telling lies in the name of God, since saying about God without knowledge was already prohibited in 7:33.
“Only, He has made religiously forbidden (Haram) for you what is already dead(1), the blood(2), the meat of pig(3), and what was dedicated to other than God(4). Whoever finds himself forced out of need and without disobedience or animosity, there is no sin upon him. God is Forgiving, Compassionate.” 2:173
“Losers are those who have killed their born children foolishly, without knowledge, and they religiously forbade (made Haram) what God had provided for them by attributing lies to God. They had strayed and they were not guided.” 6:140
So, there are some items that God prohibited us to eat. And according to the Qur’an, people cannot make additional religious prohibitions in the name of God. Because Harams can only be determined by God. If something is not stated as Haram does it mean we should consume it without any limit? Absolutely not! Because, religious prohibitions are different than our normal, social prohibitions and Qur’an does not prevent us from making rules, laws, or contracts restricting certain things or behaviors to create a better society. In fact, the Qur’an orders Muslims to be loyal to their personal and social contracts in many verses (you can check 2:27, 2:177, 3:76, 8:56). Thus, as an example, smoking or eating processed meat cannot be declared as “religiously forbidden” but it can be prohibited by the rules for a healthier society since they cause cancer.
Moreover, the following verse signalizes that when consuming animal products that are not religiously forbidden (or Halal), we people should primarily rely on our contracts and abide by the restrictions such as hunting ban;
“O you who acknowledge, honor your contracts! The animals are not religiously forbidden (Halal) for you except that which is being recited to you with the condition of not hunting while you are under restriction..”5:1
As we can see, if something is not religiously forbidden, allowing it can still be dependent on certain conditions such as hunting restrictions. When it comes to the Halal foods we consume they also should not violate our personal/social contracts. But, what if consuming animal products will be prohibited in the future, partially or totally, due to the damage that hunting or animal farming gives to nature? In that kind of case, as Muslims, we should also understand the situation and act appropriately. Moreover, we do not even need to wait for such a restriction to be introduced when the environmental problems caused by animal products are obvious. We can choose to minimize or even eliminate our consumption of animal products.
Of course, nobody can claim that consuming animal products is “religiously forbidden”. But, we should not forget that, we are not obliged to do Halal things just because they are not prohibited. We only have to follow the Harams, which means we have to avoid the religious prohibitions. However, based on the given definition, we do not have to do every Halal!
Till here the two opposite terms Halal and Haram was defined. But still, we did not clearly answer the question;
Is eating something (such as lamb, eggs, or rats) just because it is Halal ethical, or are there more things to consider?
So, now, we will look at the other Our’anic requirements to consider next to the Halal requirement and try to answer if we can justify continuing to eat the animals just because they are labeled as ‘Halal’ even though there are other options.
If we examining the Qur’an more carefully we see there are more requirements that we need to consider while making the right choice. Firstly, the Qur’an sets another criterion about the food we consume as important as the Halal criterion. This criterion is called “Tayyib” which means “decent/good/clean/aggregable/wholesome or fair”. Therefore, being only Halal alone is not enough as it is understood in the following verse;
“Eat from what God has provided for you, not forbidden (Halal) and decent (Tayyib); and be responsible towards God in whom you acknowledge.” 5:88
As you see, for edible products both Halal and Tayyib criteria need to be met. Okay, Harams were listed in the Qur’an, and Halals are the things remaining outside of that list. But how do we decide what is Tayyib? While what is Halal or Haram is the topic of religion, what is Tayyib is the topic of science. Basically, the food we eat should be healthy and uncontaminated. Additionally, it is stated in 5:4 as;
“They ask you what is not forbidden (Halal) to them, say, “All the decent things (Tayyibatu) have not been forbidden for you…” 5:4
So, according to Quran, all the “decent” foods are Halal. However, it is not stated that all Halal foods are always decent. This makes sense because eating an apple is Halal however an apple contaminated with a lot of pesticides or rotten might not be a decent option for you to eat. The same can be valid also for fish. Fish is Halal, however, we contaminated the oceans/seas with heavy metals and plastics. Thus eating fish is not healthy or Tayyib anymore.
Secondly, God asks us to remember His name while eating from His provision in 6:121. In my opinion, this can be considered as an ethical measure. Because, the names belonging to God, mentioned in the first sentence of the Qur’an and repeated by Muslims before eating, are “Rahman” and “Rahim” which means “Compassionate Giver of Life” and “Compassionate Protector of Life” respectively. Anyone who remembers and reflects on these names of God before eating something is naturally expected to make more sensitive choices.
“Do not eat from what God’s name has not been remembered…” 6:121
And as a third criterion, Qur’an prohibits wastefulness in 6:141. Therefore, excessive consumption of natural resources cannot be seen as appropriate in Islam. In animal farming, clean water resources and lands are being used excessively while eating animals is not even necessary for our survival in today’s condition.
“He is the One Who initiated gardens; both trellised and not trellised; palm trees, and plants, all with different tastes; and olives and pomegranates, similar and not similar. Eat from its fruit when it bears fruit and give its due on the day of harvest; and do not waste! He does not like the wasteful.” 6:141
On top of these three additional criteria, if you remember the ethical Harams that were mentioned in the begining you will notice that immoralities are religiously forbidden. So, as religious people, while choosing our food we should also look from the morality perspective, and morality is an evolving concept with the evolution of mankind. For example, back then, eating animal products might be justifiable when there was no secure food system. However, today, while it is possible to produce sufficient amounts of plants, to store them safely, and to reach them in winter conditions, consuming animal products seems unjustifiable. Especially when the harms of industrial production to the environment, to the animals, and to our health are considered.
In the end, Qur’an does not say all the Halals are always ethical, god, healthy, clean, or fair. So, it seems like among the Halal’s, we still have to make the right choices as beings with free will. Can’t we stop eating meat while we can see and comprehend the consequences of going too far? While we can see the damage we have done to nature and our health, and not to mention the suffering of all the animals? Do we have to do something just because it is Halal? Or can we can go vegan for the sake of eating Halal and Tayyib/decent/fair/clean and not being wasteful? Are we also responsible for the psychological damage that the workers in the “Halal” slaughterhouse experience? Can we live without taking the life which God has made precious, unjustifiably?
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