More Regarding the Food of the Ahl-e-Kitaab ... My dear brother, I have great respect for you. However, I disagree with you on the referred issue. The two of the four prohibitions cited in your answer regarding the Food of the Ahl-e-kitaab has additional information in parenthesis, which I believe are not mentioned in the Qur'an. Flesh of dead animals (This also includes animals which have not been properly slaughtered) Animals slaughtered in the name of other deities besides the one God (This also includes animals which have been slaughtered without taking God's name on them). What is the source of the information in parenthesis? I know very little about my religion. But I know this, Allah wants to make things easy for us, and Allah does not put burden on us, which we are unable to carry. I disagree with you in the light of the true spirit of Islam, and the present circumstances of the Muslims all over the world. When I read the four prohibitions in the Qur'an and the surrounding verses, it seems to me that the emphasis is on making more things lawful for us. Your writing on this issue, I believe, is inconsistent with that spirit. Again, where did you get the information in the parenthesis? Our Prophet (may Allah's peace be upon him), allowed Muslims to eat the meat of the Ahl-e-Kitaab . You do cite this saying of the Prophet (may Allah's peace be upon him) in one of your answers on this issue. You disregarded that allowance for the present times. I believe that is not correct. Yes, there was a "doubt" that the meat might not have been slaughtered the way Muslims did. Therefore, logically speaking, the Prophet (may Allah's peace be upon him) did allow for Muslims to eat this meat, which was not slaughtered in the Muslim way. He said to say Allah's name on it and eat it. A friend of mine, who has converted to Islam, told me that his Christian grandmother always said God's name before she killed a chicken. Also remember, there might be Muslims working in the slaughter-houses in the United Stated who may say God's name before killing the animal. My dear brother, please think on this issue with a fresh mind. Ahmed, USA Reply Before giving you the basis of the parenthetical additions to the four referred points, I would first like to comment on one of your statements. You write: Our Prophet (may Allah's peace be upon him), allowed Muslims to eat the meat of the Ahl-e-Kitaab . You do cite this saying of the Prophet (may Allah's peace be upon him) in one of your answers on this issue. You disregarded that allowance for the present times. I would like to clarify that I do not disregard the directive of the Qur'an (and that ascribed to the Prophet), whereby the food of the Ahl-e-Kitaab has been made lawful for the Muslims. What you have construed as having "disregarded that allowance for the present times", is not really so. I do not hold the food of the Ahl-e-Kitaab as prohibited for the Muslims (neither in the past, nor in the present or future time), on the contrary, I only hold the four prohibitions (mentioned in referred response and cited in your letter) to be universal. In other words, I only hold that: A Muslim can eat from the food of the Ahl-e-Kitaab , if it is not a) flesh of a dead animal (which includes animals which have not been properly slaughtered); b) flesh of swine; c) flowing blood; and d) slaughtered in the name of other deities besides the one God (which includes animals which have been slaughtered without taking God's name on them). Let us now take a look at the basis of the parenthetical additions in points, which you have cited in your letter. The first point (without the parenthetical additions) is: "The flesh of a dead animal". The Qur'an, in Surah Al-Maaidah 5: 3, has mentioned that all kinds of accidental deaths of an animal renders it unsuitable for eating and then has clarified that these animals are only allowed "if you have slaughtered them properly". One of the bases of the referred parenthetical addition is the stated qualification of the Qur'an. The second point is: "Animals slaughtered in the name of other deities besides the one God". Had the Qur'an stopped at the cited words, there could have been some difference of opinion as to whether animals slaughtered without taking God's name on them are allowed for eating or not. However, in Surah Al-An`aam 6: 121 the Qur'an has itself given an answer to the question. The Qur'an declares: "Do not eat of that upon which Allah's name has not been mentioned". These are the words of the Qur'an, on the basis of which I have made the parenthetical additions in the second of the two referred points. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad , Otherwise you may simply Close this Window