Ayam Katuk..!

Sebut pasal ayam ni, teringat lak nasi ayam sedap.. isk..!

Aku dulu langsung tak makan "ayam katuk" - ayam yang tidak disembelih cara Islam. Masa kat Michigan sekali tu termakan chicken salad kat tempat kerja (kuli di dining hall), dan ada sekali dijamu Pizza Hut's chicken wings semasa melawat rumah sapa ntah (student Melayu gak la tapi tak kenal sangat). Biasanya kami beli ayam halal dari kedai Arab tak berapa jauh dari Ann Arbor. Kadang-kadang kirim pukal kat someone yang rajin pegi beli kat Dearborn (dekat Detroit), bandar yang paling banyak peratus Arab/Muslims di US. Beli ayam bulat, jenuh gak bertukang kat dapur, terutama kalau ayam masih frozen. Nasib baik ada lesung batu.

I was strict. Walaupun ada ustaz kata boleh makan ayam di Amerika, aku kata terpulang lah siapa nak yakin. Aku taknak percaya. Aku sentiasa cuba elak ayam/lembu katuk. Jadi kalau pegi restoran biasa, makan sayur dan ikan sahajalah.

Kemudian terdengar Ustaz Asri dalam salah satu kasetnya menjawab persoalan ini. Dalam Quran dah kata kita boleh makan makanan Ahli Kitab. Tapi ada yang kata Yahudi dan Nasrani (Kristian) sekarang bukan ikut kitab yang original. Ustaz kata masa ayat tu turun, kitab mereka memang dah tak ori. Kita di Malaysia senang la cakap, tapi lain bagi yang duduk di negara bukan majoriti Islam. Isk, Ustaz memang garang sikit, tapi best dengar argument dia.

Abis cemana dengan restoran Cina (supposedly diorang bukan Kristian), yang jadi favorite kita sebab ada "Asian food"? Bila argue dengan Rashad, katanya even in Chinese restaurants, they don't slaughter their own ayam. They buy chicken meat di supermarket, yang datang dari chicken farms yang almost all are owned and operated by orang putih.

Yang penting dan kena berhati-hati pasal makanan ni ialah takde babi dan takde wine.

Dan jangan lupa.. "When you eat you say Bismillah.. " :)

Wallahu'alam. Mesti ada orang yang ketawakan aku.. "Tu la, orang cakap dulu tak percaya.." But that's the point, kan? To be convinced and have peace of mind :)

Eating Meat in the USA

Allah permits us to consume animals slaughtered by Jews and Christians. There is only one condition, that is, the animal must be properly slaughtered. So we cannot consume the meat of any animal that is not allowed in the first place (such as pork) or one that has not been slaughtered by slitting its jugular vein.

Eating Non-Halal Meat

"The question of meat slaughtered by the People of the Book has been a controversial issue among Muslim scholars. The vast majority of scholars from all of the four schools consider it permissible for us. They base this on the clear statement of the Qur'an: "Today, I have permitted for you all good things, and the food of the People of the Book is permissible for you, and your food is permissible for them." (Al-Ma’idah: 5)

According to Ibn `Abbas, the food of the People of the Book mentioned in the above verse refers to the meat slaughtered by them.

Based on this, the majority of scholars belonging to the four schools of thought consider it permissible for Muslims to eat animals slaughtered by the Christians and Jews so long as these animals are considered lawful for us to eat.

If you fall in this category of those who live among the People of the Book, then you may eat their meat, especially if you cannot find meat slaughtered by Muslims.

Mentioning Allah's Name

Al-Bukhari narrated the following Hadith on the authority of `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her: "Some people who had recently embraced Islam said to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, 'People bring us meat and we do not know whether they have mentioned the Name of Allah when slaughtering it or not. Shall we eat of it or not?' The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied, 'Mention the Name of Allah (over it) and eat.’"


Teringat lak dulu-dulu masa argue dengan customer bila buat requirement study.. "this is a chicken-and-egg problem!" ;)