There is a growing sense of concern today among consumers, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, about the healthfulness of what they eat. Health food stores have gained a prominent status in the US, and many consumers review every last ingredient listed in a food item's nutritional facts list to ensure that they meet their dietary standards. Muslims must be even more conscientious of what they consume, as a Muslim's diet must, above all, be lawful (halal) under Islamic law, as well as wholesome (tayyib). The Qur'an states, "O people, eat from whatever is upon the earth that is lawful and wholesome" (2:168).
Of all types of food, one that has become the cause of controversy among Muslims the world over is slaughtered meat. Muslim sources without the guidance of scholars have spread inaccurate information about Islam's rules and regulations for animal slaughter, leaving Muslims confused about the facts. Authored by a Muslim scholar recognized worldwide for his mastery of Islamic jurisprudence, The Islamic Laws of Animal Slaughter clears up the confusion. The author presents a brief, structured analysis of Islam's laws for animal slaughter, as well an overview of their practical application in the modern world. A couple of articles, appended specially for this translation, round off the discussion by addressing matters particularly relevant to Muslims in the US and other Western nations.
Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani is one of the leading Islamic scholars living today. Author of more than forty books in Urdu, Arabic, and English, he is an expert in the fields of Islamic Law, Hadith, and Economics. He is the son of Mufti Muhammad Shafi' Usmani, the late Grand Mufti of Pakistan. For the past forty years, he has taught at Darul Uloom, Karachi, one of the largest and most renowned schools of higher Islamic education in Pakistan. Mufti Usmani is a retired judge of the Shari'a Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and he currently serves as the deputy chairman of the Jeddah-based Islamic Fiqh Council of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). He is also on the advisory board of a number of Islamic financial institutions around the world, and he continues to play a key role in advancing the cause of interest-free banking and establishing more Islamic financial institutions available to Muslims.
Mufti Usmani's works include Takmila Fath al-Mulhim, a six-volume complement to Fath al-Mulhim, an Arabic commentary of Sahih Muslim by Mawlana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani. In Arabic he has also written Buhuth fi Qadaya Fiqhiyya Mu'asira, a collection of juristic discussions on some important contemporary issues (especially economics-related ones). His English works include What is Christianity?, Islamic Months, and Authority of Sunnah. The majority of his books are in Urdu, and most of them have been translated into English. Titles include Islam and Modernism, The Legal Status of Following a Madhhab, and An Approach to the Quranic Sciences. His works are widely available in the US and easily obtainable through on-line book distributors.
