Food & Dining
Halaal & Haraam
Halaal means permissible or lawful. Its opposite is Haraam or unlawful. These concepts are applied to all aspects of a Muslim’ s life. For example, backbiting and slander are examples of haraam speech and fornication and adultery are examples of haraam relationships.
Another important concept of halaal is regarding food and drink. Allah( SWT) commands the believers in the Holy Quran to consume only that which is permissible:“ O mankind! Eat of what is in the Earth lawful and permissible; and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Surely he is a manifest foe for you.”( 2:168)
Similarly among the sayings of our noble Prophet Muhammad( SAS) which are called ahaadith, there are many which also command us to stay away from haraam food and drink. One such hadith is narrated by the companion of the Prophet Muhammad( SAS) who was known as Abu Hurairah( RA). He narrates that the Messenger of Allah( SAS) said:‘ Allah( SWT) the Almighty is good and accepts only that which is good. Allah has commanded the faithful to do that which He commanded the Messengers and the Almighty has said:“ O ye Messengers! Eat of the good things and do right …”( Quran 23:51) and Allah( SWT) the Almighty has said:“ O ye who believe! Eat of the good things wherewith We have provided you …”( Quran 2:172).
Then he mentioned [ the case of ] a man who, having journeyed far, is dishevelled and dusty and who spreads out his hands to the sky [ saying ]:“ O Lord! O Lord! While his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothing unlawful and he is nourished unlawfully, so how can he be answered.”( Muslim) The above hadith clearly indicates that the effect of haraam in our lives, whether food, drink, clothing or earnings is the same, it prevents our Dua’ s or supplications to Allah( SWT) from being accepted and answered. It is therefore very important that we understand the principles of halaal and haraam foods and drinks.
SOURCES OF HALAAL AND HARAAM FOOD PRINCIPLES 1. The first and most important resource for rulings on halaal and haraam food comes from the Holy Quran itself. There are numerous verses which outline principles by which laws are derived. One such verse is:“ Forbidden to you( for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah; that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been( partly) eaten by a wild animal …”( Quran 5:3)
2. The ahaadith are used in conjunction with the Quran as another source of principles of halaal and haraam food. One such hadith says:“ Allah’ s messenger( SAS) forbade the eating of meat of beasts having fangs.”( Bukhari)
3. The seerah or life of the Prophet Muhammad( SAS). During the life of the Prophet Muhammad( SAS) there are many incidents in which he gave permission or forbade the eating of certain foods and drinks.
4. Ijma or Consensus There are many scientific and technical issues regarding food for which the scholars of Islam do extensive research and give their opinions. These are based on guidelines obtained from the first three sources of rulings mentioned above.
HALAAL MEAT
WRITTEN by. IMAM sheraz ali
There are three main criteria used to determine whether a particular type of meat is permissible for Muslims to consume.
1. The type of animal Many domesticated and farm animals and birds are permissible for Muslims. These include:
• Cattle
• Goats
• Sheep
• Chicken
• Turkey
• Duck There are also some permissible wild animals and birds such as:
• Deer
• Agouti
50 | Ihsaan | Issue 1