I’ve recently started using goat meat for a lot of my cooking.
Though it’s not as commonly eaten as other kinds of meat, I’ve just acquired a real personal taste for it—every part of the animal!
I had my Muslim friend over for dinner the other night, and, though you might wince, one part of the goat I’ve been particularly enjoying is the testicles.
For him, though, he wasn’t sure whether it was halal or haram to eat goat’s testicles, so I decided to look into it.
So, are goat testicles halal?
The simplest way to remember it is that an entire animal either is or isn’t halal.
There’s never any distinction between parts of the body.
If the meat is halal, then the whole animal is halal.
Goat testicles may seem like something which would be at least taboo to eat, but in Islam, there is nothing haram about eating goat testicles.
Let’s look further into this.
Firstly, what is halal?
What is halal?
Translated from Arabic, halal simply means permissible.
Any halal food is that which is consistent with Islamic law.
Such customs are common in religions, such as the issue of kosher for Jewish people.
Typically, though, halal refers to meat, in particular how the animal is slaughtered.
In order for meat to be halal, the animal must fit a few requirements.
At the time of slaughter, it needs to be alive and healthy, not decrepit or ill.
During the slaughter, all blood has to be drained from the animal, and a Muslim must recite a tasmiya or shahada—a religious dedication in to effectively bless the food.
This is the basic essence of halal—though much reduced to its basic parts.
As you can see, though, it is primarily a matter of how the animal is killed.
There is some debate in the modern world about whether electronic stunning should be allowed.
Let’s look at goat testicles, then.
Is it halal to eat goat testicles?
As long as the animal was slaughtered in the way described above, then there is nothing haram about eating goat testicles.
The most common reason people ask this question is that many often assume that eating genitals is haram in and of itself.
This is, in fact, not true.
Assuming that the animal had its blood drained, the dedication was recited, and all other customs observed, then no part of any animal is not halal to eat.
Goat testicles are no different.
Eating goat testicles is perfectly halal.
The rules of halal were not intended to make the eating of certain things haram, but rather to ensure proper adherence to rules which make the animal safer to eat.
Most commonly consumed meats, with the exception of pork, are halal.
Are animal genitals halal?
Again, assuming the meat itself is halal and proper customs have been observed, then yes, genitals are halal.
Though we might wince at the idea today, back in the origins of Islam making good use of every part of the animal was often vital.
Food was, obviously, scarcer, and so if animal genitals had been haram, then that would have been a large source of nutrition gone from each slaughter.
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What foods are haram?
There really are not many examples of foods that are haram in their own right.
Anything which has not been slaughtered in the right way is haram, of course.
But that is merely as a result of its having been slaughtered incorrectly.
Pigs and pork products are the most important.
Eating pork is never permitted, as pigs are considered unclean animals.
Any carrion product is, naturally, off limits, since it died naturally and was not slaughtered in the right way.
Any blood product is haram, such as the many blood puddings which are made in many parts of the world.
The other, main food item that is haram is alcohol.
Drinking alcohol is not permitted in Islam.
Other than that, pretty much all meats are halal if they are slaughtered correctly.
Are goat testicles good for you?
If you can get over the initial shock of the idea, then yes, goat testicles are actually rich in many benefits.
Organ meats like these can be a great thing to add to your diet for many reasons.
For one thing, goat testicles are packed with minerals and vitamins.
Vitamin B12, for example, is found in large quantities in goat testicles.
They’re also rich in iron and folate, as well as being a great source of protein.
Goat in general is a very healthy meat to consume, then.
Most of us, nowadays, tend to shy away from eating genitals, for reasons of culture and taboo—but in fact, they’re tasty and really healthy!
However you look at it, then, goat testicles, like every other part of the animal, are halal.
When an animal is slaughtered in the right way, the entire animal becomes halal.
No part of the animal is off limits, and you can eat whatever you want.
Goat testicles, as I’ve said, might be the kind of thing you would think of as haram.
The simplest way to remember it is that an animal slaughtered in the right fashion is in no way off-limits.