If a Muslim buys or receives meat from a non-Muslim...

If a Muslim buys or receives meat from a non-Muslim, or from a Muslim who got it from a non-Muslim and did not inquire about its slaughtering according to Islamic laws, such meat is haram for him. But if the Muslim does not know that the animal was not slaughtered according to Islamic laws, it would not be considered najis , although it is still haram .

Some experts say that by letting out the blood by way of slaughtering, the meat of the animal becomes healthier for the consumer than an animal that was not slaughtered. And so you should not be surprised to see some non-Muslims buying the meat that had been slaughtered according to Islamic laws from halal meat stores. In order for fish to become permissible for a Muslim, it must have the following conditions: a. The fish must have scales on it. [That is, it should not be a skin fish.] b.

The Muslim should be certain or satisfied that the fish has come out of the water alive or that it died while it was already in the fishing net. It is not necessary for the fisherman to be a Muslim or to utter the name of Allah for the fish to become halal. So, if a non-Muslim catches a fish and brings it alive from the water or it dies after getting caught in his fishing net or fishing line, and it has scales on it, it is permissible to eat.

A Muslim can ascertain the first condition by examining the fish if it is being displayed or by observing its name [which can tell you whether it is a skin fish or a scale fish] as long as you can trust the authenticity of the label. A list of scale fish has been appended at the end of this book.

The second condition is fulfilled in almost all the countries, as they say, because the universal method in fishing ensures that the fish comes out of the water alive or they die after they are caught in the fishing net. Based on this, it is permissible to eat the fish that one gets from a non-Muslim just as one gets from a Muslim, irrespective of whether it is canned or uncanned.

(See the question-answer section below.) It is permissible to eat shrimps, if they are brought out of the water alive. It is forbidden to eat frogs, lobsters, turtles, every amphibious animal, snails, and crayfish. (See the question-answer section below.) The law concerning eggs of fish follows the fish itself: the eggs of a halal fish are permissible to eat and those of a haram one are forbidden.