Slaughter

Dhabīḥah (ذَبِيْحَة)is the prescribed method of ritual slaughter of all animals excluding fish and most sea-life per Islamic law. For such a method the animal must be slaughtered by a Muslim or by the People of the Book (Christian and Jew), while mentioning the name of God (Allah in Arabic). According to some fatwas, the animal must be slaughtered only by a Muslim. However, some different fatwas dispute this, and rule from the Qur'anic position, according to verse 5:5 of the Qur'an, that an animal properly slaughtered by People of the Book (Jews, Christians or Sabians) is dhabiha. Thus, many observant Muslims will accept kosher meat if dhabiha options are not available. Other main references in Qur'an include 2:173, 5:3, 5:5, 5:90, 6:118, 6:145, 16:115.

If there is doubt to anything being regarded as halāl or haram, Muslims are generally advised to refrain from consumption until clarification or permissiveness is given by another Muslim learned in Fiqh.

Animals for food may not be killed by being boiled or electrocuted, and the carcass should be hung upside down for long enough to be blood-free. Different rules apply to fish; for instance, fish with scales are always halāl, while it has been debated whether shellfish and scaleless fishes, such as catfish, are halāl, haram or makruh (prohibitively disliked).

There are no restrictions on vegetarianism or veganism, with muslims affiliated with the Hardline straight edge doctrine having promoted veganism from an Islamic perspective.