What is the ruling on eating imported meat?
Short answer
The default is that the slaughtered animals of the People of the Book are lawful if it is not known that they were slaughtered in a prohibited manner; the slaughtered animals of pagans and those who are not People of the Book are not lawful; and verification is taken into account where the manner of slaughter is doubtful.
Evidence and explanation
The Shaykh distinguished between the slaughtered animals of the People of the Book and those of others, and warned to hold back and take precaution when non-Islamic slaughter methods are known or suspected.
Scholar referenced
This editorial summary is based on the original source linked below and is not presented as a verbatim quotation from the scholar.
From the text of the answer (Arabic, with an English translation)
Original answer — Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz
ما حكم أكل اللحوم المستوردة؟ — فتوى ١٢٢١٨- Question
«اللحوم المستوردة كيف توجهوننا بخصوصها يا شيخ عبدالعزيز؟ السؤال لأخينا صاحب الرسالة السابقة.»
English translation (unreviewed): Imported meat: how do you guide us regarding it, Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz? The question is from our brother, the sender of the previous letter.
- From the text of the answer
«اللحوم المستوردة إن كانت من بلاد المجوس والوثنين، أو من بلاد الشيوعيين أو البوذيين أو أشباههم من الكفرة هذه لا تحل؛ لأن ذبيحتهم حرام، أما إذا كانت من بلاد النصارى واليهود فإنها تحل؛ لأن الله أباح لنا طعامهم وهو ذبائحهم، لكن بسبب أن كثيرًا من المجازر في أوروبا وأمريكا لا يهتمون بالذبح الشرعي وربما ذبحوا بالخنق أو بالصرع أو بالصعق أو بغير ذلك هذا يوجب للإنسان التوقف وأخذ الحيطة، فإذا تيسر له أن يستغني عن ذلك بالذبح الشرعي أو بالتماس المجازر المعروفة التي تذبح ذبحًا شرعيًا ويكتفي بها فهذا هو الذي ينبغي له، عملاً بقوله ﷺ: دع ما يريبك إلى ما لا يريبك ، وقوله»
English translation (unreviewed): Imported meat: if it is from the lands of the Magians and pagans, or the lands of the communists, Buddhists or the like among the disbelievers, it is not lawful, because their slaughtered animals are forbidden. As for if it is from the lands of the Christians and Jews, it is lawful, because Allah permitted us their food, which is their slaughtered animals. But because many slaughterhouses in Europe and America do not care about Islamic slaughter, and may slaughter by strangling, stunning, electrocution or otherwise, this requires a person to hold back and take precaution. If it is possible for him to do without that, through Islamic slaughter or by seeking the known slaughterhouses that slaughter Islamically and being content with them, then that is what he should do, acting on his saying ﷺ: “Leave what makes you doubt for what does not make you doubt,” and his saying ...
The Arabic excerpts matched the original page word for word by an automated check and have not had human scholarly review. The English translations are unreviewed translations made for this site; they are not an approved Shari‘ah translation. Rely on the Arabic original.
Source
What is the ruling on eating imported meat?
Title of the original page (Arabic): ما حكم أكل اللحوم المستوردة؟
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him