What Is Halal?

Halal is an Arabic word meaning permissible or lawful in Islam. Its opposite is haram, meaning forbidden. The term covers all of life, but most people meet it through food. For meat, halal means it comes from a permitted animal that was alive and healthy, then slaughtered in the Islamic way by a Muslim, with the name of Allah recited over it.

What does halal mean?

Halal is Arabic for permissible or lawful under Islamic law, and it is the opposite of haram, which means forbidden or unlawful. Although people most often use the word for food, halal is broader than diet. It also guides areas such as business, finance and daily conduct, marking out what Muslims may lawfully do.

When it comes to food, some things are always haram. These include pork and any product from the pig, blood, carrion (meat from an animal that died of itself), and alcohol and other intoxicants. Meat is haram, too, if the animal was not slaughtered in the halal way.

What makes meat halal?

For meat to be halal, several conditions must all be met. The animal must be a permitted species and must be alive and healthy when it is slaughtered. A Muslim carries out the slaughter by hand, reciting the name of Allah, and cuts the throat so the blood drains away. The meat must also stay free of pork, blood and intoxicants.

• A permitted animal. The species must be one that Islam allows. Pork and any part of the pig are never halal.
• Alive and healthy at slaughter. The animal must be living and in good health at the moment it is slaughtered, not already dead or dying.
• Slaughtered by a Muslim. In the mainstream practice that UK certifiers apply, a Muslim performs the slaughter.
• The name of Allah recited. The slaughterman says the name of Allah, the Tasmiyah, over each animal. This is part of mainstream halal slaughter, and UK certifiers require it.
• The throat cut by hand. A swift, deep cut with a very sharp knife severs the main blood vessels of the neck.
• The blood drained. The blood is allowed to drain from the body, because consuming blood is forbidden.
• No haram content. The meat must not contain pork, blood or intoxicants.

These core conditions are what mainstream halal practice, and UK certifiers such as HMC and HFA, apply. The one practical difference most customers meet is stunning, which is covered further below.

Halal and tayyib: lawful and wholesome

Halal is not the only word the Qur'an uses about food. It often pairs halal with tayyib (also spelled tayyab), in the phrase halalan tayyiban, meaning "lawful and good". Halal is about permissibility; tayyib means pure, clean, wholesome and good. Together they set an ideal: food that is both allowed and genuinely good.

Tayyib points to quality and wholesomeness: food that is clean, pure and good. For many, tayyib also points to the ethical treatment of animals and honest, careful sourcing. Tayyib is an Islamic ideal, not a certificate or a stamp. Halal certification confirms that meat is lawful, but it does not by itself guarantee that a product is tayyib. At Jeff's we aim for both, meat that is halal and genuinely good, through careful sourcing. That is our aim, not a claim to any tayyib certification, because no recognised tayyib certification exists.

How is halal meat slaughtered?

Halal meat is slaughtered by a method called dhabihah. A Muslim slaughterman recites the name of Allah, then makes one swift, deep cut to the throat with a very sharp knife. The cut severs the main blood vessels of the neck, and the blood is then drained from the body.

The aim is a swift, humane cut while the blood drains. A common question is whether the animal is stunned beforehand. Certifiers take different positions on stunning: some accept only meat from animals that were never stunned, while others allow a controlled, reversible stun that does not kill the animal before slaughter. Our guide to HMC vs HFA explains how the two UK certifiers handle stunning.

How do you know meat is really halal?

The clearest way to know meat is genuinely halal is independent certification. Bodies such as HMC (Halal Monitoring Committee) and HFA (Halal Food Authority) are third parties that inspect and certify along the supply chain, so the halal claim is checked by someone other than the seller. A shop's own halal sign, with no certifying body behind it, is only self-declared.

At Jeff's, certification is shown per product. Every certified item displays its certifying body, HMC or HFA, so you can see exactly who checked it. Jeff's is not certified as a business and never claims to be. The certification belongs to each product and is issued by an independent third party, not by us. To understand how the two bodies differ, see our guide to HMC vs HFA.

Frequently asked questions

Is all chicken and meat halal?
No. Meat and poultry are halal only when they meet the conditions above: a permitted animal, alive and healthy, slaughtered by a Muslim who recites the name of Allah, with the blood drained. Pork is never halal. Chicken, lamb, beef and other permitted meats are halal only when slaughtered the halal way.

Does halal meat have to be blessed?
The slaughterman recites the name of Allah, the Tasmiyah, saying "Bismillah" ("in the name of God") over each animal. This short dedication is sometimes described as blessing the animal, but it is simply an invocation said at the point of slaughter, not a separate ritual. Reciting it over each animal is part of mainstream halal slaughter.

Is halal meat stunned?
Not always. UK certifiers take different positions: some accept only meat from animals that were never stunned, while others allow a controlled, reversible stun, checked so that the animal does not die before slaughter. Which you choose is a personal choice. Our guide to HMC vs HFA sets out how the two UK bodies handle stunning.

What is the difference between halal and haram?
Halal means permissible or lawful in Islam. Haram is its opposite: forbidden or unlawful. For food, the main haram items are pork, blood, carrion and intoxicants such as alcohol, along with meat that was not slaughtered in the halal way.

What is the difference between halal and tayyib?
Halal is about permissibility, whether a food is lawful to eat. Tayyib is about wholesomeness, whether it is pure, clean, healthy and good. A food can be halal without being fully tayyib, for example if it is lawful but of poor quality. The Qur'anic ideal, halalan tayyiban, is food that is both lawful and wholesome.