Restaurants Serving Human Flesh? Haram? Boy Finds FINGER in Food

Boy Finds Finger in Sandwich

Asks 'Is it Haram?'

[Reprint from : May 18, 2012]

Question: Is it Halal (permissible) to eat human flesh?
I know this is not a normal question. But I read about this boy in Michigan found a finger in his sandwich - and what if he ate it? Also, a man found human skin on a chicken sandwich.

Answer: NO. Absolutely not Halal (permissible).

Here are the reports referred to in the question to us:

Ryan Hart, a 14-year-old boy from Michigan, had a rude surprise when he bit into his Arby's roast beef sandwich. "I was like, 'that's got to be a finger,'" he told reporters. "It was just nasty."
Reportedly, a restaurant employee cut off her finger with a meat slicer while preparing the meal. She left her station to deal with the emergency, and other employees, who were unaware of the injury, continued to complete the order.
"Somebody loses a finger and you keep sending food out the window," said the teen's mom, Jamie Vail. "I can't believe that." She added that following the gruesome discovery, her son was "traumatized," couldn't eat or sleep, and had been prescribed medication.

John Gray, Arby's vice president of corporate communications, gave the official Arby's statement:

"Arby’s wants to reassure customers, we are committed to providing quality food in a safe and healthy environment

We are deeply concerned and apologetic to the guest involved in this unfortunate incident. This is an isolated and unfortunate accident occurred in a franchisee’s Jackson, Michigan restaurant in which an employee was injured.

After learning of the incident, the franchisee’s restaurant team shut down food production and thoroughly cleaned and sanitized the restaurant. The franchisee fully cooperated with the Health Department during the investigation, and the restaurant was given the approval to remain open."

This is not the first time human remains have been found in a fast food meal but this case might be the most extreme.

•    A Dayton Ohio man sued Arby's in 2005 for serving his chicken sandwich with human skin on top.
•    An Albany-area man found a bandage with blood on it in his pizza crust at Pizza Hut last year
•    Also in 2011, Texan woman found blood on her French fries at a Houston area Crackle Barrel.

The ruling in Islam is, it is definitely Haram (forbidden) to consume anything from human body, bones, skin or tissue.

The only exception we have heard of, is when there is no food at all, and someone has died and if another consumed something of the body they would be forgiven on the Day of Judgment, provided they had not killed the person and there really was no other option.

Allah Knows All and this was a really strong question without doubt.

What do you think about the health and safety standards in fast food places? Are they high enough? Should Muslims even eat at such places? What about the rulings of "Zibiha" and "Halal Meat"?