Islamic and Jewish dietary laws compared

Ḏabīḥah is the name ritual slaughter according to Islamic dietary laws, and Shechita is the name for ritual slaughter according to Jewish dietary laws (Kashrut). Kosher foods are those that meet the Jewish laws, Halal the foods that meet the Islamic ones.

There is a great deal of confusion regarding the similarities and differences between Dhabiĥa halal and Kosher, and purpose of this article is to clarify those similarities and differences.

Similarities

 * Blood and swine are prohibited as per kashrut and dhabiĥa halal.
 * Many animals permitted by kashrut are also dhabiĥa halal, such as bovines.
 * Kashrut and dhabiĥa halal guidelines both generally forbid the consumption of amphibious animals such as frogs.
 * According to kashrut, almost all insects are not kosher. The few kosher insects are specific types of locusts and grasshoppers which are seldom eaten today. It is also a consensus among Muslim scholars that most insects are forbidden except for locusts.
 * Kashrut states that kosher aquatic animals must have scales and fins. The most prevalent consensus among Muslim scholars is that in order to be dhabiĥa halal, the fish must have scales (nothing is said about fins). However, according to Jewish oral law all fish that have scales have fins, thus making all fish with scales kosher and thus the law being essentially the same dhabiĥa halal.

Differences

 * For a substance to be dhabiĥa halal, it must not contain alcohol of any kind (except what occurs naturally, as in the case of fruits). The strictness of this with regard to the presence of extremely small quantities of alcohol in cooked foods depends largely on individual commitment. Except for grape wine and grape juice (which must be manufactured under Jewish supervision), Kashrut allows any sort of alcohol, as long as it has no non-kosher ingredients (including any unsupervised grape extracts).
 * The list of animals forbidden by kashrut is more restrictive, as kashrut requires that, to be kosher, mammals must chew cud as well as have cloven hooves. Dhabiĥa halal does not require that an animal have cloven hooves. Thus, various animals such as the camel are permissible as per dhabiĥa halal, but not according to kashrut.
 * Unless prepared specially, the hindquarters of cows, sheep, goats, and related species are not generally considered kosher. Dhabiĥa halal contains no such restriction regarding the hindquarters.
 * Kashrut prohibits shellfish such as lobster, shrimp, clams, and oysters, while there is debate among Muslim scholars regarding the status of shellfish.

Slaughter
Dhabiĥa is the method used to slaughter an animal as per Islamic tradition. Shechita is the ritual slaughter of land animals and birds according to Jewish laws.

Similarities

 * Both, shechita and dhabiĥa, involve cutting across the neck of the animal with a non-serrated blade in one clean attempt in order to sever the main vessels.
 * Both require that the spinal cord be avoided during slaughter.
 * Both require draining the blood of the animal.
 * Any adult, sane Jew who knows the proper technique can perform shechita [Maimonides' Code, Laws of Shechita 2:12]. Similarly, Dhabiĥa, can be performed by any "adult sane Muslim...by following the rules prescribed by Shariah". Some Islamic authorities, though, state that dhabiĥa can also be performed by Jews and Christians

Differences

 * The actual requirements of the slaughter in terms of which vessels must be severed and which must be kept intact are different. Shechita requires that the "trachea, (esophagus), the carotid arteries and jugular veins" be severed. There is no conclusive answer as to exactly which vessels are required to be severed as per dhabiĥa but according to the Islamic rules, the two big veins on both sides of the neck should be severed, but it is agreed that "most of the four veins" must be severed.
 * Today, as a matter of practicality, Shechita is only performed by a licensed, well-trained slaughter man known as a shochet. (While no rule specifies the gender of a shochet, they traditionally have been male) . While dhabiĥa slaughter is generally performed by an experienced individual, it is still common in certain parts of the world for families to butcher their own meats.
 * Theoretically, in the unlikely event that a minor or insane Jew slaughters an animal, the Shechita would be considered valid after-the-fact if the proper technique was used [Maimonides 2:12 and commentaries ad loc]. The strictness of Dhabiĥa's requirement regarding an "adult, sane" slaughterer is under debate in an identical situation, because there is no primary Islamic source which addresses this specific scenario . However, this is unlikey to occur, and so does not constitute a major difference.
 * The strictest application of Dhabiĥa halal requires that God's (see Islamic Concept of God) name be pronounced before each slaughter, but according to the Hadith, Muhammad said (ثبت في صحيح البخاري عن عائشه رضي الله عنها: ان قوما قالوا: يا رسول الله ان قوما ياتوننا باللحم ولا ندري اذكر اسم الله عليه ام لا فقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: (( سموا انتم وكلوا )) قالت: وكانوا حديثي عهد بكفر. ) which means, it is narrated by Al Bukhari from Aisha the Prophet Muhammad's wife, that some people came to him and said, Oh God's Prophet, some people bring us meat and we do not know if they pronounced the name of God on it or not, and he said pronounce you the name of God and eat. In Shechita, a blessing to God is recited before beginning an uninterrupted period of slaughtering; as long as the Shochet does not have a lengthy pause, interrupt, or otherwise lose concentration, this blessing covers all the animals slaughtered that period. This blessing follows the standard form for a blessing before most Jewish rituals ("Blessed are you God ... who commanded us ... regarding such-and-such", in this case, Shechita). The general rule in Judaism is that for rituals which have a pre-ritual blessing, if one omitted the blessing, the ritual is still valid [see Maimonides Laws of Blessings 11:5]; as such, even if the shochet failed to recite the blessing before Shechita, the slaughter is still valid and the meat is kosher [Maimonides Laws of Slaughter 1:2 and commentaries ad loc].

Similarities

 * After slaughter, both require that the animal be examined to ensure that it is fit for consumption. Dhabiĥa guidelines generally say that the carcass should be inspected, while kashrut says that the animal's internal organs must be examined "to make certain the animal was not diseased".
 * Both sets of religious rules are subject to arguments among different authorities with regional and sect-related differences in permissible foodstuffs.
 * Strictly observant followers of either religion will not eat in restaurants not certified to follow its rules.

Differences

 * During Passover, there is an additional set of restrictions, requiring that no chametz (leavened bread) be eaten. This has no parallel in the laws of dhabiĥa halal.
 * Kashrut prohibits mixing meat and dairy, which may not be consumed or prepared together. Dhabiĥa halal has no such rules.
 * In Judaism, the ritual purity of food accompanies a vast corpus of secondary factors. For instance, vessels and implements used to cook food must also be kept separate for dairy products and meat products.  If a vessel or implement used to cook dairy has touched meat, the vessel or implement is rendered unclean, or treif, a hebrew expression meaning "torn." Therefore, the vessel or implement itself can no longer be used for the preparation or consumption of a kosher meal.  Depending on the material properties of the vessel or implement, it may be re-purified ("kashered") by certain rituals or it may be irretrievably unclean.  In general, the same policy extends to apparati used in the preparation of foods, like ovens and stoves.  Laws are somewhat more lenient for modern cooking apparatuses like microwaves, although it depends greatly on tradition (minhag) or strictness (chumrot).  As a result of these secondary factors, many Conservative and Orthodox Jews cannot eat at any restaurant that is not specifically kosher, even if the actual dish ordered would have only used kosher ingredients.  This demonstrates a level of stringency that does not have an analog in Dhabiha Halal.