Short answer: Halal means "permitted". Muslims eat halal because the Quran tells believers to eat what is lawful and good (2:168) and names what is forbidden: pork, blood, animals that died by themselves, animals offered to anything other than Allah, and intoxicants. Most food is halal by default: fruit, vegetables, grains, bread, eggs and dairy. The big question is meat. Halal meat comes from a permitted animal slaughtered with the name of Allah, by a quick cut to the throat with a sharp knife, so the blood drains out.
That is why Muslims ask about the meat in restaurants and look for a halal logo in shops: chicken or beef from an ordinary supermarket is usually not slaughtered this way.
What the Quran says
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ كُلُوا۟ مِمَّا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ حَلَٰلًۭا طَيِّبًۭا وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا۟ خُطُوَٰتِ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّۭ مُّبِينٌ ﴿١٦٨﴾
Yaaa ayyuhan naasu kuloo mimmaa fil ardi halaalan taiyibanw wa laa tattabi'oo khutu waatish Shaitaan; innahoo lakum 'aduwwum mubeen
O mankind, eat from whatever is on earth [that is] lawful and good and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy.
Quran 2:168 · Sahih International · Read Surah Al-Baqarah
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُلُوا۟ مِن طَيِّبَٰتِ مَا رَزَقْنَٰكُمْ وَٱشْكُرُوا۟ لِلَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ ﴿١٧٢﴾
Yaaa ayyuhal lazeena aamanoo kuloo min taiyibaati maa razaqnaakum washkuroo lillaahi in kuntum iyyaahu ta'budoon
O you who have believed, eat from the good things which We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah if it is [indeed] Him that you worship.
Quran 2:172 · Sahih International · Read Surah Al-Baqarah
The Quran lists the forbidden meats in 5:3, and says "do not eat of that upon which the name of Allah has not been mentioned" (6:121). It also allows "the food of those who were given the Scripture" (5:5), the meat slaughtered by Jews and Christians, which scholars discuss under the ruling below.
What the Prophet ﷺ taught
أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ طَيِّبٌ لاَ يَقْبَلُ إِلاَّ طَيِّبًا
O people, Allah is Good and accepts only what is good.
Sahih Muslim 1015 · narrated by Abu Hurayrah · sahih
In the same hadith he described a traveller raising his hands in dua while his food, drink and clothing were haram, and asked how such a dua could be answered. He also taught kindness in the slaughter itself:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَتَبَ الإِحْسَانَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ فَإِذَا قَتَلْتُمْ فَأَحْسِنُوا الْقِتْلَةَ وَإِذَا ذَبَحْتُمْ فَأَحْسِنُوا الذَّبْحَ وَلْيُحِدَّ أَحَدُكُمْ شَفْرَتَهُ فَلْيُرِحْ ذَبِيحَتَهُ
Allah has prescribed excellence in everything. So when you slaughter, slaughter well: let each of you sharpen his blade and spare the animal suffering.
Sahih Muslim 1955 · narrated by Shaddad ibn Aws · sahih
The wisdom scholars mention
- Remembering whose life it is. Saying Allah's name over the animal admits that a life is taken only with His permission.
- Mercy to animals. A sharp blade, a quick cut, and not sharpening the knife in front of the animal.
- Accepted duas. The hadith links pure, lawful food to a dua that is answered.
- Gratitude. Allah ties eating the good things to thanking Him (2:172).
Wisdom, not the reason. These are benefits scholars have reflected on. Muslims follow this because Allah and His Messenger ﷺ commanded it, and would follow it even if none of these benefits were known.
The ruling, Hanafi first
The slaughterer must be a Muslim, a Jew or a Christian, and must say Allah's name at the moment of slaughter. If it is left out on purpose, the meat is haram; if forgotten, it is halal. At least three of the four vessels in the throat (windpipe, food pipe and the two jugular veins) must be cut. Of sea creatures, only fish are halal; scholars of the school differ on prawns and shrimp. Many Hanafi scholars do not accept machine-slaughtered poultry, and stunning that kills the animal before the cut makes it haram.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Saying Allah's name is a sunnah, so meat slaughtered properly by a Muslim, Jew or Christian is halal even if it was left out. All sea creatures are halal.
- Maliki, Hanbali
- Saying Allah's name is required when remembered, as in the Hanafi school. Almost all sea creatures are halal in both schools.
Halal and haram, explained
The general rules: what is lawful by default, what the Quran forbids, and what to do about doubtful things.
Read halal and haramMore "why do Muslims" questions
- Why do Muslims not eat pork?
- Why do Muslims wear the hijab?
- Why do Muslims wash their feet?
- Why do Muslims pray five times a day?
- Why do Muslims go to Makkah?
- Why do Muslims have beards?
- Why do Muslims say peace be upon him?
- Why do Muslims shave a baby's head?
- Why do Muslims face Makkah when praying?
- Why do Muslims not drink alcohol?
- Why do Muslims get circumcised?
- Why do Muslims fast in Ramadan?
FAQ
Is kosher meat halal?
Scholars differ. Quran 5:5 allows the food of Jews and Christians, and kosher slaughter is a cut to the throat with a sharp knife. But in the Hanafi school Allah's name must be said over each animal, which kosher slaughter does not always include, so many Hanafi scholars do not accept kosher meat as halal.
What is the difference between halal and zabiha?
Halal means permitted. Zabiha (dhabihah) means slaughtered by hand in the Islamic way. In the US, "zabiha halal" is often used to mean hand-slaughtered meat, as opposed to machine-slaughtered or merely "halal certified" meat.
Can Muslims eat vegetarian food at any restaurant?
Usually yes, if nothing in it is haram, such as wine in the sauce, lard, or pork gelatin, and it was not cooked in pork fat.
Is seafood halal?
Fish is halal in all schools. In the Hanafi school, other sea creatures are not, and scholars differ on shrimp. The other three schools allow almost all seafood.
Do Muslims say a dua before eating?
Yes, "Bismillah" (in the name of Allah) before eating, and praise of Allah after. See the dua before eating.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Sources
- Quran 2:168, 2:172, 5:3, 5:5 and 6:121, translation by Sahih International.
- Sahih Muslim 1015, from Abu Hurayrah.
- Sahih Muslim 1955, from Shaddad ibn Aws.
- Al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah, Kitab al-Dhaba'ih, for the Hanafi conditions of slaughter and the ruling on sea creatures.
- Al-Nawawi, al-Majmu; Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni; and al-Dardir, al-Sharh al-Kabir, for the other schools.
Quran: Arabic from the Tanzil Uthmani text, English translation by Sahih International. Hadith gradings are those of the hadith scholars named. AmalKit cites the scholars; it does not issue fatwas.