Question 336 - The Enlightening Answer Across the Ether, Vol 4

Ahmed al-Hasan Response:

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers upon Muhammad and his family, the Imams and the Mahdis, and grant them abundant peace. 1. The husband receives one quarter, the mother one sixth, and the remainder belongs to the children, with the male receiving the share of two females. The distribution is made by dividing the estate into 96 shares: the husband receives 24 shares, the mother 16 shares, each of the three sons 14 shares (14 + 14 + 14), and each daughter 7 shares (7 + 7). 2. Tuna and shrimp are lawful. 3. Regarding chicken, its source-the validity of its ritual slaughter-must be carefully investigated, because many slaughterhouses use an automated knife for ritual slaughter and consider it lawful ritual slaughter. Ritual slaughter must be carried out by the hand of a Muslim, not by a machine. Consequently, the presence of chicken and poultry meat in Muslim markets cannot be relied upon to establish its lawfulness unless investigation and inquiry produce reassurance that the ritual slaughter was valid and performed by hand rather than machine. Regarding cattle and sheep, the seller’s statement may suffice if he is Muslim and his statement produces reassurance that the ritual slaughter was valid. Thus, regarding red meat or the meat of cattle and sheep, its presence in Muslim markets may be relied upon for its lawfulness. May Allah reward you with goodness, magnify your reward, grant you success in the good of the Hereafter and this world, and keep the evil of both from you. Ahmed Alhasan