And do not eat of that upon which the name of Allah has not been mentioned, for indeed,

it is grave disobedience. And indeed do the devils inspire their allies [among men] to dispute with you. And if you were to obey them, indeed, you would be associators [of others with Him]. [al Anam 6:121]
- With the new Rest. Depot opening in our area, many Muslims have been going to purchase meat that is packaged as halal. This week, I went to Rest. Depot myself with br. Abdul Raheem to see and investigate what the hype is all about. After calling up the different companies and Halal certifiers, we have come to certain conclusions. But before I can disclose my findings, it is necessary that we set the ground work first for an animal to be considered Islamically lawful (halal), there are basically three conditions. a) Most of the four veins (including the Jugular vein, according to some) must be cut with a knife, blade or any tool that is sharp and has a cutting edge; b) The name of Allah must be pronounced at the time of slaughtering, whether actually or effectively (such as when it is forgotten by someone who would normally have said it); c) The slaughterer must be either a Muslim or from the People of the Book (Ahl al-Kitab).

So eat of that [meat] upon which the name of Allah has been mentioned, if you are believers in His verses.

And why should you not eat of that upon which the name of Allah has been mentioned while He has explained in detail to you what He has forbidden you, excepting that to which you are compelled. And indeed do many lead [others] astray through their [own] inclinations without knowledge. Indeed, your Lord - He is most knowing of the transgressors.

Adi ibn Hatim (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he said: O Messenger of Allah! At times, I let go of my hunting dog but I find with it another dog and I am unaware which of the two hunted the animal? The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: Dont eat (from the hunted animal), for you have pronounced the name of Allah on your dog and not on the other.

- This is what the fuqaha from the 4 madhaib have to say: Allamah Ibn Abidin (Allah have mercy on him) explains the above by stating:
Meaning a slaughtered animal will not be lawful to consume (halal) if the name of Allah was intentionally not pronounced whether the slaughterer was a Muslim or from the people of the book (kitabi), because of the (clear) text of the Quran and the consensus (ijma) of all the scholars. (See: Radd al-Muhtar ala al-Durr, 5/298-299)

Imam al-Dasuqi (also a major Maliki jurist) explains the above by stating:
The meaning of the Quranic verse: Eat not of (meats) over which Allahs name has not been pronounced is that on which the name of Allah was not pronounced intentionally with having capability of doing so. However, if Allahs name was not pronounced due to forgetfulness or incapability, then the animal would be lawful (halal). An individual ignorant of the ruling (jahil) will be treated in the same manner as the one who deliberately and intentionally does not pronounce the name of Allah (amid). (See: Hashiyat al-Dasuqi ala al-Sharh al-Kabir, 2/167-168)

From the Hanbali Madhhab, Imam al-Bahuti (Allah have mercy on him) states:
If the slaughterer fails to pronounce the name of Allah deliberately (amadan) or ignorantly (jahlan), the animal will not be lawful (halal), due to the statement of Allah Most High: Eat not of (meats) over which Allahs name has not been pronounced. However, if he failed to pronounce the name of Allah forgetfully, then it would be lawful (halal) to consume from the animal, due to the Hadith of Shaddad ibn Said wherein the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: The Zabiha of a Muslim is Halal even if he does not pronounce the name of Allah as long as it is not left out deliberately, narrated by Said. (Kashaf al-Qina ala Matn al-Iqna, 5/181)

Imam Shafi says:

If a Muslim forgets to pronounce the name of Allah Most High, the slaughtered animal is Halal to consume. However, if he did not pronounce the name of Allah by taking the matter lightly (istikhfafan), then the slaughtered animal will not be lawful to consume. (al-Umm, 2/131, Bab Zabaih ahl al-Kitab)

Some people try to justify the lawfulness of the animals on which the name of Allah was not pronounced (even intentionally) with the following Hadith recorded by Imam al-Bukhari in his Sahih:
Sayyida Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) narrates that a group of people said to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace): Some people bring us meat and we do not know whether the name of Allah was pronounced over it or not. He (Allah bless him & give him peace) said, You pronounce the name of Allah on it and eat from it. Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) states: Those people had embraced Islam recently. (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 5507)

THE PROBLEM WITH MECHANICAL SLAUGHTER:

The condition (for an animal to be Halal) is that the animal is slaughtered straight after the pronouncement of Allahs name (tasmiyah) before one begins doing something else (tabaddul almajlis). So much so that if a person laid down two sheeps, one over the other, and slaughtered them simultaneously with pronouncing the name of Allah once, then they will both be Halal, contrary to the situation where one slaughters them one after the other (m, in that only the first will be Halal). The reason behind this is that the repetition of the act (m, meaning the act of slaughtering) necessitates repetition of Tasmiyah. (See: Radd al-Muhtar ala al- Durr alMukhtar, 6/402) The same has also been mentioned in the other fiqh schools. See for the Hanbali school: Ibn Qudama, al-Mugni (11/33), and for the Maliki school: Muwaq alMaliki, al-Taj wal Iklil (3/219). I noticed an uncle had picked up chicken that wasn't really halal so we went to advise him. He started saying "there's differences of opinions...some people even say you can go buy meat from a regular supermarket...gelatin this..heart valve that...your taqwa may be on a diff.level....Islam is for all times..we can't practice 7th century Islam..." Basically, I already knew what time it was. THIS is what botherd me...IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE BOLD ENOUGH TO PICK AND CHOOSE BASED ON IGNORANCE OR YOUR OWN EGO, THEN BE MAN ENOUGH TO ADMIT YOU DONT CARE ABOUT THE PROOFS...YOU'RE JUST GOING TO DO WHATEVER SEEMS RIGHT TO YOU. Don't try and justify following your desires.
And leave those who take their religion as amusement and diversion and whom the worldly life has deluded. But remind with the Qur'an, lest a soul be given up to destruction for what it earned; it will have other than Allah no protector and no intercessor. And if it should offer every compensation, it would not be taken from it. Those are the ones who are given to destruction for what they have earned. For them will be a drink of scalding water and a painful punishment because they used to disbelieve. [6:70] At the end of the day, its your DUAS that are at stakeThen he mentioned (the case of) a man who, having journeyed far, is dishevelled and dusty and who spreads out his hands to the heavens (saying): O Lord! O Lord! while his food is unlawful, his drink unlawful, his clothing unlawful, and he is nourished unlawfully, so how can he be answered! (Sahih Muslim)

Chicken branded as nur al jabal and certified by Halal Fiqh Council of Maryland is not halal because it is mechanically slaughtered. Chicken certified by Halal Transactions of Omaha is also mechanically slaughtered, hence not halal. Duck, turkey, veal, and beef certified by HTO is hand slaughtered hence halal. I have yet to confirm products certified by ISWA...the goat and lamb that is imported from Australia, I do not know about.