What is zabiha?
Zabiha (also written zabihah or dhabiha) is meat from an animal slaughtered according to Islamic rules: a Muslim slaughterer says God's name and cuts the throat with a sharp knife, severing the windpipe, food pipe and main blood vessels, while the animal is alive, so the blood drains out.
Sources checked October 23, 2026. Muzzmi describes the standards and where views differ. It does not give religious rulings.
The conditions most certifiers use
The international Codex Alimentarius halal guideline sets out four: the slaughterer should be a sane Muslim who knows the procedure, "Bismillah" (in the name of God) is said immediately before each animal, the cut severs the trachea, oesophagus and main arteries and veins of the neck, and the animal is alive or deemed alive when it is slaughtered.
North American certifiers add their own detail. HMA in Canada requires a single cut through the esophagus, trachea and both jugular veins. HMS in the US says at least three of the four main vessels of the throat must be cut, and that if a condition is missed the meat is not halal.
Where Muslims differ
Scholars and communities do not all draw the lines in the same place. The Quran (5:5) says the food of the People of the Book is permissible, and some Muslims accept meat slaughtered by Christians or Jews, including kosher meat. Others accept only meat slaughtered by a Muslim. HMS, for example, accepts a "Believing Ahlul Kitab" slaughterer.
The two other big questions are stunning before slaughter and machine slaughter of poultry. See Is halal meat stunned? and Hand vs machine slaughtered. Muzzmi does not rule on these. It shows what each place and certifier says so you can choose by your own standard.
Zabiha and halal are not the same word
Halal means permissible and covers far more than meat. Zabiha describes how an animal was slaughtered. In North America many people use "zabiha" to mean hand slaughtered halal meat, to set it apart from meat that is only labelled halal. More in Halal vs zabiha.
How to find zabiha food
Certified zabiha on Muzzmi means a certifier with a public list (HMS, HFSAA, HMA or HMC) names that exact restaurant or butcher. Browse them on the HMS, HMA and HMC pages, or find halal food by city.