Can I eat the food of Jews and Christians?
Food of People of the Book
There is some confusion in people’s minds over whether it is permissible for Muslims to consume the food of the People of the Book (Jews and Christians). This is due to the two different ayahs in the Quran. One saying that the food of the People of the Book is permissible and the second which says do not eat food over which Allah’s name has not been pronounced.
The ayah that shows the food is permissible is:
ٱلْيَوْمَ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتُ ۖ وَطَعَامُ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ حِلٌّۭ لَّكُمْ وَطَعَامُكُمْ حِلٌّۭ لَّهُمْ ۖ وَٱلْمُحْصَنَـٰتُ مِنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ وَٱلْمُحْصَنَـٰتُ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ إِذَآ ءَاتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ مُحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ مُسَـٰفِحِينَ وَلَا مُتَّخِذِىٓ أَخْدَانٍۢ ۗ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِٱلْإِيمَـٰنِ فَقَدْ حَبِطَ عَمَلُهُۥ وَهُوَ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ مِنَ ٱلْخَـٰسِرِينَ ٥
This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, and the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them. And [lawful in marriage are] chaste women from among the believers and chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you, when you have given them their due compensation, desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse or taking [secret] lovers. And whoever denies the faith – his work has become worthless, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers. (5:5)
The ayah that shows food that has not had Allah’s name pronounced over it is impermissible is:
وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا مِمَّا لَمْ يُذْكَرِ اسْمُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَإِنَّهُ لَفِسْقٌ ۗ وَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ إِلَىٰ أَوْلِيَائِهِمْ لِيُجَادِلُوكُمْ ۖ وَإِنْ أَطَعْتُمُوهُمْ إِنَّكُمْ لَمُشْرِكُونَ
And do not eat from that over which the Name of God was not pronounced, for it is abomination. The devils inspire their followers to argue with you; but if you obey them, you would be polytheists. [6:21]
When we apply this, in order for the food of the People of the Book to be permissible, it would have to be clear that the food has been slaughtered according to their food laws. For instance, food which has been certified Kosher. In the case of the food of the Christians, this is hard to identify. There is no certification to show that the food is the food of Christians. It is doubtful whether the name of God was pronounced over it at the time of slaughter, or that it was a Christian who slaughtered it. In the UK which is considered a Christian country the majority of people in the last census stated they had no religion. Therefore, there is no way of knowing whether the butcher is Christian or not.
When the European Fatwa council considered whether the food of the People of the Book was permissible in 2013 they concluded that clarity about what is being consumed is necessary:
By virtue of the Qur’an consumption of the food of the people of the Book is permissible. Allah says: “On this day all things that are clean have been made lawful for you; and made lawful for you is the food of the people of the Book, as your food is made lawful for them.” {Trans. 05:05} The term “the people of the Book” refers to the Christians and the Jews. This rule remains intact even though certain articles of their faith e.g. the Trinity are not in harmony with the original monotheism as this and other issues are mentioned prior to this rule in the same chapter. Nevertheless, the food of the people of the Book is lawful for Muslims provided that its legitimacy is approved of by their rabbis and priests, that it is not meat of animals or birds that died prior to killing and that it is not pork since these categories are labelled as unlawful for Muslims in the Qur’an.
In this context the ECFR stresses its resolution No. 2 issued in the 3rd session recommending Muslims residing in the West to have their own abattoirs to have peace of mind and preserve their religious and cultural identity. The ECFR appeals to the West to recognize Muslims’ religious distinctiveness. Part of this recognition entails that Muslims, just like others e.g. Jews, should have the right of practicing the Islamic legitimacy of killing birds and animals. The ECFR also appeals to the Islamic countries to import Halal meat supervised by entrusted Islamic centres based in the West.
People of the Book – Jews (Kosher)
While the food of Jews is permissible to consume, halal options are still preferable. The halal alternative trumps the Kosher option when there are 2 equally viable options. So if you can buy halal sausages, why go for Kosher, but if you went to a gathering where only Kosher was served, you can eat from their meat.
The common and original scenario for the Muslim is to eat halal and marry a Muslim, it is the exception is to eat the food of the People of the Book or to marry from them.
In general we have been commanded to seek the halal, that is why the Halal takes precedence over kosher etc.
If there is no choice then eating kosher is fine. Remember that Jews consume alcohol so to still check and not all Jews observe no pork.
People of the Book – Christians
You can eat anything of theirs other than their meat, pork, alcohol. When it comes to the meat of Christians, a minority of scholars say that you can eat it, and accordingly some people follow this opinion and say ‘Bismillah’ and eat meat apart from pork.
However it is preferable not to eat meat slaughtered by Christians because one cannot be assured that their meat is slaughtered as the Christians used to slaughter it. Their methods are no longer the same as Jews or Muslims. Therefore not only is their meat is doubtful, but when one is buying from a supermarket or restaurant, how does one know it is a Christian establishment. McDonalds is non denominational. It is advisable therefore not to eat it.
An-Nu’man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
I heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) saying, ‘Both legal and illegal things are evident but in between them there are doubtful (suspicious) things and most of the people have no knowledge about them. So whoever saves himself from these suspicious things saves his religion and his honor. And whoever indulges in these suspicious things is like a shepherd who grazes (his animals) near the Hima (private pasture) of someone else and at any moment he is liable to get in it. (O people!) Beware! Every king has a Hima and the Hima of Allah on the earth is His illegal (forbidden) things. Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart. [Bukhari]
Do not eat the meat of the Christians even if you are in an awkward social situation. Decline politely. And avoid the situation arising in the first place, by letting your host know that you only eat halal or seafood.
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Shaykh Haytham Tamim
Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.
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