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Muslims are encouraged to ensure
that their food and beverages are Halal and good. However, to ensure a Halal
product today is not easy as many foods are now been processed with various
types of chemicals. It is difficult to verify its status except for those who
are well versed in the field of food science and nutrition.
Islam does not burden its people. In the above case, it is sufficient
for one to make sure that the main ingredient does not contain element which is
haram
Should there be any doubt about
the status of the food, then it is preferable for one to avoid it because that
is closer to taqwa.
Prophet Muhammad s.a.w once said
in a hadith as narrated by Abu Abdullah Nu'man Bin Basheer:
"فمن التقى الشبهات فقد استبرأ لدينه وعرضه"
Which means: " One who avoids the doubtful safeguards his faith and his honor." Narrated By Bukhari and Muslim.
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As Muslims, we must believe that
every commandment and decree from Allah is for our own good. God knows best
about us than ourselves. The knowledge we have is too little compared to the
Knowledge of God which is like a drop of water from the oceans of the entire
world and beyond that. And even a drop of water too comes from God.
The origin of the prohibition
comes from the Qur'an as in surah Al-Mai'dah, verse 3 which reads:
"حرمت عليكم الميتة والدم ولحم الخنزير وما أهل لغير الله به"
Which means: "It is
forbidden to you (eating) carcass, blood, pork, and (meat) slaughtered
mentioning name other than Allah has
been invoked".
Therefore as a Muslim, every
commandment and prohibition of God must be act upon without having doubts and
skepticism. We are encouraged to study, if possible, the reasons for such
commands and prohibitions. But it is not allowed that we begin to obey God's
commandments only after knowing the reason behind it. This is because we may
never know the reason behind the commandment of God as mentioned by Imam
Al-Ghazali;only the prophets would have knowledge on some of these reasons.
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Animals that are lawful to be
eaten are animals that have no fangs that is used to hunt and eat other
animals.
This is based on a hadith of the
Prophet s.a.w reported by Ibn Abbas:
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى عن كل ذي ناب من السباع وعن كل ذي مخلب من
الطير
Which means:
"Indeed the Prophet s.a.w. prohibits all animals that have fangs and
birds that have claws". (Narrated by Muslim)
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Animals that live both in sea and on land, are called amphibians.
And there are 3 types of amphibians; frog families, ceacillian and salamander.
These animals are prohibited to be eaten
according to the Shafi’i school.
This is based on a hadith narrated by Abu Daud and Ahmad:
"أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى عن قتل الضفدع"
Which means: "Indeed the
Prophet SAW prohibits killing the frog".
The Prophet's prohibition against
his people from killing frogs indicates that it is not permissible for us to
eat the animal. Imam Nawawi has said: "the dead fish that are floating are considered halal i.e fish that died by itself. So it is permissible according to our opinion (Mazhab Shafi'i) for all kinds of sea animals except frogs..."
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Crab belongs to marine life. They live entirely in water,
or their habitat is in water, whether in fresh or salt water. Confusion arises
because many assume that there is a kind of crab that is not halal as it can
live in two realms, the sea and on land. However, crabs can only survive in one
of these realms and not both. With that, crabs are halal as long as they are
not poisonous or harmful to humans.
Mazhab Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali opine that
all kinds of marine animals are halal, including their carcasses. This is based
on the word of Allah in surah Al-Maidah which reads:
"أحل
لكم صيد البحر وطعامه"
Which means: "It is lawful for you to
hunt down the sea and the food (from the sea) as a delicacy for you." (Al-Maidah:
96)
In a hadith narrated by seven
companions:
"هو
الطهور ماؤه الحل ميتته"
Which means:
"The (sea) water is pure and its dead meat is halal."
There are some sea creatures that can live on
land for long periods of time such as penguins. These animals need to be
slaughtered before they are eaten.
Al-Kharshi has said in his book
("Hasyiah Al-Kharshi Alaa" Muskhtasar Sayidi Khalil): "what is
permissible to be eaten of sea creatures are all kinds of animals, whether they
are already dead, are drowned or floating”. Imam An-Nawawi has said: "The dead fish that are floating are halal. i.e, fish that died suddenly. So, it is permissible according to our opinion (Mazhab As-Shafi'i) for all kinds of sea animals except frogs..."
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Mazhab as-Shafi'i,
Maliki and Hanbali are of the views that all kinds of seafood are halal,
including if it’s dead.
Imam
Nawawi has said: "The dead fish that are floating are considered halal
i.e. fish that died by itself. So it is permissible according to our opinion
(Mazhab Shafi'i) for all kinds of sea animals except frog ... "
This is based
on a hadith narrated by Abu Daud, At-Tirmizi, An-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Ahmad, Malik
and Darimi which says:
"هو الطهور ماؤه الحل ميتته"
Which means:
"The (sea) water is pure and its dead meat is halal." Some of the scholars of the Hanafi School considered that when seafood is concerned, only the fish are Halal.
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"Some people have brought
meat to us, we do not know whether they mention the name of Allah or not? He
said: You say the name of Allah (i.e Bismillah) then eat" (Narrated by
Bukhari)
This hadith is Sahih. However, it
is important to note that the meat was brought to the Prophet s.a.w and his
companions and not them who sought after it. Nevertheless, the nature of Islam
as a religion that is easy to practice, allows the meat of the syubhah to be
eaten in the following circumstances:
1) If it is
unknown how the meat was slaughtered, whether it is in accordance with Islamic law or not, then it is considered as
slaughtered by way of the Islamic method. This is based on the principle of Shari'ah 'Al-yaqeen
la yazulu bi syak’ which means that certainty is not overruled by doubt.
2) Eating every
meat that are brought to us should not be taken as a norm. This Hadith should
only be used as a reference if we’re facing the same situation.
3) The meat was
slaughtered by the Book of the People
(Jews and Christians) as their method of slaughtering is similar to Islam.
Today, there are many ways of
killing animals such as injections, shots, stunning and others. It is
impossible for Muslims to determine whether the meat are from animals that is
slaughtered in a lawful way. Therefore, we are encouraged to get halal
certified meat and food as best possible.
Therefore, it is advisable that
the point of this hadith only be taken when you are convinced that the meat is
slaughtered in accordance with the
method of the People of the Book which is similar to Islam, and that
there is no other option except to eat that only meat.
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Ethanol is divided into 3 types:
1) Naturally formed ethanol,
found in very small quantities, in most fruits and plants.
2) Ethanol formed from the
carbohydrate fermentation process.
3) Ethanol formed from other
petro-chemicals.
The scholars have agreed that the
first type of ethanol is not impure and is permissible to be consumed. This is
because the process of extracting ethanol extracts will damage the fruits or
plants that contain them.
They have also agreed that the
second type of ethanol is impure, even in a very small quantities or if it does
not cause intoxication..
This is based on the hadith of
the Prophet s.a.w :
"ماأسكر كثيره فقليله حرام"
Which means:: "anything that cause
intoxication in large quantity, then even a little is haram". (Narrated
by Imam Ahmad, Abu Daud and Ibn Majah)
The total prohibition is to
prevent from rampant consumption of liquor.
Therefore drinks or products that
are not alcoholic based on legal definitions but can cause intoxication are
still considered prohibited. This second type of ethanol is also considered to
be impure, and anything that has been mixed with it is impure and prohibited to
drink.
The scholars differs on the third
type of ethanol. However, most of them are of the opinion that it is not impure as it is
formed for industrial purpose and not for the purpose of drinking.
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Alcohol is forbidden not just
because it is intoxicating but because it is impure.
The four schools, Hanafi, Maliki,
Shafi'i and Hanbali have agreed that alcohol is impure. This is based on
Allah's word s.w.t in Surah Al-Ma'idah, verse 90 which says:
"ياأيها الذين آمنوا إنما الخمر والميسر والأنصاب والأزلام
رجز من عمل الشيطان فاجتنبوه لعلكم تفلحون"
Which means: "O you who believe! That indeed wine, gambling, idolatry,
and the fate by arrows, are filth of the deeds of Satan. So leave it that you
may succeed.”
Rasulullah s.a.w said:
"ماأسكر كثيره فقليله حرام"
Which means:: "anything that
cause intoxication in large quantity, then even a little is haram". (Narrated
by Imam Ahmad, Abu Daud and Ibn Majah)
Thus, even if it’s only a drop of
alcohol and does not cause intoxication, it is still prohibited and impure to
eat.
Therefore, any amount of food
that have been exposed to alcohol are impure and are prohibited from eating
them. These include cakes containing alcohol.
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Alcohol is forbidden not just
because it is intoxicating but because it is impure. The four schools, Hanafi,
Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali have agreed that alcohol is impure. This is based
on the word of Allah s.w.t in Surah Al-Ma'idah verse 90 which reads:
"ياأيها الذين آمنوا إنما الخمر والميسر والأنصاب والأزلام
رجز من عمل الشيطان فاجتنبوه لعلكم تفلحون"
Meaning:
"O you who believe! That indeed wine, gambling, idolatry, and the fate
by arrows, are filth of the deeds of Satan. So leave it that you may succeed.
"
Alcohol
in any form and name, is impure and haram to be consumed by Muslims.
Therefore,
adding any ingredients that contain alcohol is unlawful to be
consumed, even when after cooking the alcohol will disappear and dry. This is
because once alcohol is exposed to food, the food will become impure hence
should not be eaten by Muslims.
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In general,
non-halal matters should be avoided. But some things commonly used may have an
exception. In some cases, if a drug that contains non-halal substances is the
only drug that can cure illnesses and there’s no other medicines, then this is
an exception.
This is based
on one of the legal maxims in Fiqh :
"الضرورات تبيح المحظورات"
Which means: "Necessities
overrule prohibitions".
The method is
based on the Quranic verses on halal food / haram food to be used / eaten in an
emergency situation. In Surah Al-Maidah, verse 3 states:
"فمن اضطر في مخمصة غير متجانف لإثم فإن الله غفور رحيم"
Which means:
"Then whoever is forced (in a state of emergency) not inclining
wilfully to sin, verily Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."
However
one has to keep in mind that the emergency can only be used at a certain limit.
This is in accordance with the other Fiqh method:
"الضرورة
تقدر بقدرها"
Which means:
"Necessity is determined according to its degree".
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Alcohol is divided into 3 types:
1) Naturally formed ethanol, found in very small
quantities, in most fruits and plants.
2) Ethanol formed from the carbohydrate fermentation
process.
3) Ethanol formed from other petro-chemicals.
The type of alcohol normally used in products of which
its purpose is not for consumption is made from industrial petro-chemicals and
not from the carbohydrate fermentation process. According to scholars, this
type of alcohol is not impure and can be used
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It is Sunnah to
use right hand at all time. As reported by 'Umar bin Abi Salama: "My hands
will usually surround the plates when eating, then Allah's Messenger said to
me," Call upon the name of Allah and eat with your right hands and eat
from the dishes nearest to you ". 'Aishah r.a. also has narrated that the
Prophet s.a.w likes to start something from the right.
But if doing so
will cause inconvenience to other people, such as staining the spoon and cup,
then there's nothing wrong with using the left hand.
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Bone China is a new kind of pottery that uses animal
bones as one of its contents. The bones were burned up to 1000 degrees
centigrade till it has changed their properties and shapes. It is then mixed
with other materials such as clay to make it hard, and known as "bone China".
Since the properties of the bones have changed, and
blended with other materials, then the tableware from "bone China"
can be used to provide food. It is not impure.
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Muslims are allowed to eat and
drink in the house of People of Other Faith’s as long as he consumed only the Halal food and drinks.
Having good relationship with
others in a community can lead to the progress and harmony of the country. Therefore, it is
good to be inclusive of other races and accept the pluralistic life without
neglecting the principles and values of Islam. Allah s.w.t has said in the Quran, surah al-mumtahanah, verse 8, "لاينهاكم الله عن الذين لم يقاتلوكم في الدين ولم يخرجوكم من دياركم أن تبروهم وتقسطوا إليهم إن الله بحب المقسطين" Which means: "God does not forbid you to do good and to be fair to those who have not fought you for religion, nor have you driven you out of your land. Lo! Allah love those who do right.
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