What is Tayyib:
Tayyib is an Arabic word (derived from Tayyibah pl. Tayyibaat) which has extensive use and purpose in the Quran and hadith. As with most Arabic words within the Quran it is difficult to translate direct to one English word.
The most used definitions being: Wholesome, Good, Pleasant, Excellent, Fair, Lawful, Pure and Clean. (1)
It is advised within the Hadith that the food we consume should be both Halal and Tayyib. Looking at the different modern farming practises and animal welfare advice of the Hadith and Sunnah the most suitable to match modern day farming and Islamic advice would be Organic farming.
Animals who have been raised in factory farms, raised in poor conditions or ill treated are not considered halal to consume because they are not Tayyib. (2)
“Oh, ye messengers! Eat of the good things {tayyibat} and do righteous deeds. Surely, I know what you do” (Qur’an 23:51).
“Oh believers! Eat what We have provided for you of lawful and good things, and give thanks for Allah's favour, if it is He whom you serve” (Qur’an 2:172; 16:114).
As Muslims, purchasing and consuming meat raised in poor conditions, intensively farmed and stunning (More on this subject to follow) violates the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) advice that food animals should be subjected to no pain before they are slaughtered as well as other rulings regarding animals. If animals have been victims of cruelty, meat from them is considered as impure and unlawful to eat (Makrooh) in some regards may be seen as carrion which is haram even if they upmost Islamic methods have been used during slaughter.
One of the Aims of this association is to rid the Halal meat world of Factory farm food or meat which has come from animals who have been raised in poor conditions in order to have confidence that Halal meat is Tayyib.
Just having Organic meat available in halal meat butchers and supermarkets so consumers have a choice would be a great improvement.
What is Halal:
Halal is an Arabic term which means, permissible and lawful. It is most likely used to describe food (in most cases meat) or drink which a Muslim can or cannot consume as per the teachings of Islam although it also applies to certain actions or lifestyle choices.
With regard to meat the term Halal sets a form of rules requiring the animal to be raised and slaughtered in a certain way, some animals or the state of an animal cannot be said to be Halal. (Please see the Tayyib section with regard to animal treatment)
Halal slaughter means the animal must be slaughtered by the teachings of the Quran and Hadith as told by the Prophet (pbuh). The set rulings of Halal slaughter are:
Imam Ali says: “Do not slaughter sheep in the presence of other sheep, or any animal in the presence of other animals.” (4)
“So eat that meat on which Allah’s name has been pronounced if you have faith in His signs.” (The Holy Qur’an 6:118)
‘Umar once saw a man denying a sheep, which was going to slaughter, a satiating measure of water to drink. He gave the man a beating with his lash and told him: ‘Go, water it properly at the time of its death, you knave!’. (5)
‘God’s messenger (s) was reported as saying: ‘Allah who is blessed and exalted, has prescribed benevolence towards everything [and has ordained that everything be done in a good way ]; so, when you must kill a living being, do it in the best manner and, when you slaughter an animal, you should [use the best method and] sharpen your knife so as to cause the animal as little pain as possible.” (6)
