Is it permissible for my wife and me to eat non-halal meat in Britain—given the ignorance of the method of slaughter—despite the availability of a place that sells halal meat, but it is expensive, and it might sell spoiled or frozen meat, or procure it from a distant place, which could expose it to spoilage?

A Muslim must seek out what is lawful (halal) and good (tayyib) and avoid what is forbidden (haram), for Allah Almighty says: ﴿O Messengers, eat from the good things and do righteous deeds﴾ [Quran 23:51], and the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "O people, Allah is good and accepts only what is good." The default ruling regarding slaughtered animals is prohibition, but scholars have unanimously agreed on the permissibility of slaughtered animals by the People of the Book if the slaughter is performed by cutting the windpipe and the jugular veins, for Allah Almighty says: ﴿And the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you﴾ [Quran 5:5].

However, it must be confirmed that the slaughterer is from the People of the Book, and that death did not occur by stunning or strangulation, but rather by lawful slaughter. As for places where the majority of those who perform the slaughter are neither from the People of the Book nor Muslims, the default ruling for these slaughtered animals is prohibition.