The Quran and the Prophet’s Sunnah, or his traditions as recorded in the hadith, are the major sources for halal precepts, but other sources have been added over time as Islamic law has developed. In fact, Islamic judges and religious scholars (ulama) step in to resolve disputes in three different ways when the primary source is unable to do so [6, 7]. These methods include I reasoning by analogy (qiyas), (ii) independent critical reasoning (ijtihád), and (iii) agreement among commentators on a contentious legal issue (ijmá).
By the end of the 11th century, Muslim scholars were concentrating on creating thorough methodology to explain and comprehend every element of the halal zertifikat, or shari’ah, which is made up of the totality of the rules, commands, beliefs, and deeds that the Prophet gave to mankind. Within Muslim law (fiqh), these approaches later came to be known as “school of Islamic thinking” (mazahb or madhab) [8]. Early Muslim law saw significant cultural diversity, but four Sunni Islamic jurists—Abu Hanifa al-No’man bin Thabit, Abu ‘Abd-Allah Malik bin Anas, Mohammad ibn Idris al-Shafi’i, and Ahmad bin Hanbal—emerged. Four legal schools were founded, each named after their chief interpreter and distributed differently geographically: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali [9, 10]. The majority of Hanafi school adherents are concentrated in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Muslim region of China, and the former Soviet Union states. Maliki school adherents are mainly found in North Africa, northern Nigeria, and the Arabian Gulf States. Shafi’i school adherents are found in Palestine, Lebanon, part of Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Other schools of law, such Ismaaili, Jaafari, and Zaaidi, have been created in the Shia branch of Islam, but they are much less well-represented than the Sunni schools [11].
The halal commandments define acceptable conduct in a variety of spheres of daily life, including as social justice, public relations, employment, religious worship, interpersonal problems, and business dealings (Quran verses 2:188, 2:282-283, 3:130, 4:29, 6:152, 83:1–14). Situations that fall in the gray area between halal and haram are known as “mashbooh” (doubtful or questionable actions or deeds) and “makrooh” (disapproved, disliked or hated)
The meat of domesticated animals with split hooves, such as goats, camels, buffaloes, sheep, and cattle, is acceptable in terms of the approved and forbidden animals. Chicken, ducks, turkeys, pigeons, and sparrows are all permitted under the category of birds. Contrarily, it is forbidden to eat the meat of pigs, boars, and carnivorous creatures such as eagles, ospreys, and falcons because it is “forbidden to eat all fanged beasts of prey and all the birds having talons” (Sahih Muslim, 821-875 AD) [15]. Fish with scales is permissible to all halal zertifikat. Fish without scales, like catfish, are not acceptable to some societies [16]. Depending on the theological school, there are notable variances when it comes eating seafood like mollusks and crabs [14]. All land-and-water animals, including crocodiles, seals, and frogs, are prohibited.
Regarding the slaughter, the Islamic shari’ah, also known as dhabiah or zabiha, which means “slaughtered animal,” specifies the particular requirements for the recommended form of ritual slaughtering (explained in detail later in this article). Meat must come from the approved animal species and be slaughtered by a Muslim while praising Allah in the process of doing so in order to be considered halal (Quran, 6: 118). To ensure the shortest possible death for the animal, the neck must be sliced with a sharp knife to allow for the speedy and complete draining of blood.
According to Islamic law, there are three different ways to kill an animal (fiqh). Al-Zabh, which is reserved for domestic animals such cows, lambs, chickens, geese, and ducks, is the first. The second is al-Nahr, which involves cutting the throat between the beginning of the neck and the chest in long-necked animals like camels and horses. The third is al-Aqr, which is when an arrow or other sharp object is used to stab an animal that is out of control in the wild or that has fallen into a well [17].
The trachea (helium), the esophagus (Mari), and both the carotid arteries and jugular veins (wadajain), or at least one of the jugulars, must be cut during slaughter, according to the Hanafi school of thought. The Maliki School holds that while cutting the esophagus is not necessary, severing the trachea, carotid arteries, and jugular veins are all necessary.