Is Turkey Halal? Thanksgiving, Butterball and Halal Birds

Turkey is a halal bird. Scholars of every school permit it, just like chicken. But the meat is only halal if the turkey was slaughtered the Islamic way, with Allah’s name said. Most turkeys sold in Western supermarkets, including America’s best known brand, Butterball, aren’t halal certified.

If you’re buying a turkey for Thanksgiving, Christmas or a family dinner, you’ll need a halal turkey from a halal butcher or brand. And you’ll want to check the stuffing and gravy too. This guide covers the rules, the Butterball myth, and the dishes that catch people out.

Quick answer

The bird itself is never the problem. Every school agrees that turkey is a lawful bird. The question is always how it was slaughtered and what it was cooked with. A turkey killed by an ordinary processing plant, without Allah’s name, isn’t halal for most scholars, even though the species is.

A halal turkey can still end up on a plate next to sausage stuffing or bacon wrapped trimmings. So when you shop, look for a halal certificate on the turkey, and when you eat at someone else’s table, ask about the sides as well as the bird.

Why turkey is halal

The Prophet (peace be upon him) “prohibited the eating of all fanged beasts of prey, and all the birds having talons” (Sahih Muslim 1934). Turkeys aren’t birds of prey. They’re ground feeding birds, like chickens, ducks and quail.

So all four Sunni schools, and Shia scholars, count turkey as halal. See is chicken halal and is duck halal for the same reasoning.

Turkeys were only brought to the Muslim world from the Americas a few centuries ago, so you won’t find them named in the classical books. Scholars apply the general rules for birds. The default is permission: Allah says, “Eat from what is lawful and good on the earth” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:168).

What makes turkey meat halal

Like any bird, a turkey has to be slaughtered properly. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“if the killing tool causes blood to gush out, and if Allah’s Name is mentioned, eat (of the slaughtered animal).” (Sahih al-Bukhari 5503)

The Quran adds, “Do not eat of what is not slaughtered in Allah’s Name” (Surah Al-An’am 6:121).

Large turkey plants use machines and often stun the birds, just like chicken plants. That raises the same debate:

• Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, the Hanafi jurist, and certifiers such as HMA in Canada reject machine slaughter, because Allah’s name can’t be said over each bird.
• Other certifiers accept machine slaughter when Muslims start the line and recite the tasmiyah throughout.
• On stunning, HMC doesn’t accept it, while others accept it if the bird is alive at the cut.

The Shafi’i school treats the tasmiyah as sunnah, as Imam al-Nawawi explains, so Shafi’i scholars tend to be more flexible. We explain all of this in is chicken halal.

Is Butterball turkey halal?

No. This comes up every November. In 2011, an online campaign claimed Butterball turkeys sold in the US were secretly halal certified. It wasn’t true. Butterball said:

“Our domestic products are not halal certified and thus, do not require any additional packaging or labeling.”

The company did say that some turkeys it exports to other countries meet halal requirements for those markets. But a Butterball turkey in a US supermarket isn’t halal certified, and Muslims shouldn’t treat it as halal.

Is Thanksgiving turkey halal?

Only if you buy a halal turkey. Here’s how:

1. Order early from a halal butcher. Many take turkey orders from October for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
2. Look for halal turkey brands. In the US, Midamar sells halal turkey, and other halal brands and online butchers do too. In the UK, halal butchers sell whole halal turkeys at Christmas.
3. Check the certifier, especially if you care about machine slaughter or stunning.

Some scholars, following Quran 5:5 on “the food of the People of the Book”, accepted meat from Christian countries. Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi held that view. But most certifiers and scholars say it doesn’t apply to industrial slaughter without Allah’s name, so most Muslims buy certified.

The side dishes that catch people out

The turkey might be halal while the rest of the plate isn’t:

If you’re eating at a non Muslim friend’s house, it’s fine to explain politely and bring your own halal turkey or a halal side.

Turkey bacon, deli turkey and turkey ham

Turkey is often used as a pork substitute, which leads people to assume it’s halal. It isn’t automatically:

• Turkey bacon is halal only if it’s made from halal slaughtered turkey. See is bacon halal.
• Deli turkey, turkey ham, turkey pastrami and turkey sausages in regular supermarkets usually aren’t halal. Look for a halal certificate.
• Turkey burgers and mince follow the same rule.

“No pork” doesn’t mean halal. See is pork halal for what does make a product haram.