What is the ruling on eating from Saudi restaurants, such as McDonald's, that import their chicken from abroad, and is all chicken and meat imported from abroad considered halal as long as they label it as such?

Imported meats from countries that are not People of the Book are forbidden unless it is known that they were slaughtered according to Islamic law. As for meats imported from countries of the People of the Book, scholars differed regarding their ruling due to two issues:

1. Method of Slaughter: Some scholars (Ibn Humayd, Al-Fawzan) held the view of prohibition unless the lawful slaughter is evident, because the default ruling for meat is prohibition. Others (Ibn Baz, Ibn Uthaymeen) held the view of permissibility in cases of doubt, based on the Almighty's saying: "And the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you," unless it is known that it was slaughtered in an unlawful manner. They based their argument on the fact that the Prophet (peace be upon him) ate from the food of the Jews without inquiring about the method of slaughter, and that the default assumption for the actions of its people is validity.

2. Status of the Slaughterer: If the slaughterer is unknown, the default is prohibition, unless strong indicators suggest permissibility: That the meat supplier is a trustworthy Muslim who claims it was slaughtered according to Islamic method. That the meat comes from countries where the majority of their people are those whose slaughtered animals are permissible.

Caution and piety necessitate avoiding what is doubtful regarding its permissibility. Thus, refraining from eating meat in foreign restaurants is considered a commendable act of piety due to the strong doubt. Reliance on the word "halal" written on it should not be placed due to the widespread deceit in its usage.