May Fresh Red and White Meat Sold in Arab Countries and in Traditional or Modern — Jurisprudential Answers — Miscellaneous Issues, Vol. 1

Ahmed al-Hasan Response:

With regard to chicken, its source and the validity of its slaughter must be investigated, because many slaughterhouses use automated blades and regard this as religious slaughter, whereas religious slaughter must be performed by the hand of a Muslim and not by a machine. Therefore, merely finding chicken or poultry in Muslim markets is not enough to establish that it is lawful; one must investigate until reassured that it was slaughtered correctly by hand rather than by machine. As for cattle and sheep, the statement of the seller may be relied upon if he is Muslim and his statement gives reassurance that the slaughter was valid. Thus, with red meats such as beef and mutton, their presence in Muslim markets may be relied upon with respect to lawfulness.