Halaal Vs. Haraam
"Oh People of Imaan!! Eat of the pure things (Halaal) that We have provided for you, and be grateful to Allah" - (S. 2 V. 172)

The growing indifference with regards to halaal foods is indeed disturbing and shocking. How greatly has our Imaan degenerated! Where are those days gone when a Muslim would rather go hungry than consume anything Haraam or doubtful? The morbid sight of Muslims heartily enjoying meals in non-Muslim restaurants and the great increase in the purchase of food items having dubious "halaal" stamps on them is frightening. One cannot help but reflect on the profound prophecy of our Beloved Nabi (SAW) that, "There will come a time upon my Ummat when people will not be concerned over what they take. It will not matter for them whether it is Haraam or Halaal".(Bukhari: Nasai).It is further reported that, "When this time comes, then none of their Duas will be accepted" (Razeen). This is actually the ploy of the enemies of Islam to paralyse this Ummat by cutting off their connection with Allah Ta'ala by duping them into consuming Haraam. The recent upsurge of Haraam food items being marketed as "Halaal" is a clear indication of this.
The grave nature of this problem and the level of caution that should be exercised in this regard can be clearly understood from the following Hadith where Nabi (SAW) said, "It is better for you to consume sand rather than eating anything Haraam" (Ahmed). It is narrated in another Hadith, "That flesh which has grown out of Haraam food will not enter Jannah. Hell has more right to it" (Ahmad: Tirmidhi). A brief perusal of the lives of our pious predecessors cannot help but fill one with a sense of awe over the overwhelming extent to which they exercised caution with regard to their food. They understood the great effect that Halaal food had on spiritual development and the implications of the warnings sounded out by the Shariah for carelessness in this regard.

HALAAL SIGNS
The Jamiat has made every effort possible to assist our Muslim brethren in this regard by drawing up stringent regulations and conducting supervision of food plants willing to comply with our regulations (refer to August issue of Al-Jamiat for further elucidation). Contrary to rumours is the fact that this service is conducted on a completely non-profit basis. What is greatly disheartening is the number of bogus 'Halaal' signs floating around and the number of unscrupulous organisations who for the sake of monetary benefit are compromising the Muslim masses. Many of the applicants who were turned down by the Jamiat due to not accepting our regulations, applied to some other organisations and easily obtained certificates. It has been conclusively proven that some of these organisations do not conduct proper supervision thus, causing detrimental harm. Of greater concern is the increasing number of Non-Muslim food outlets displaying Halaal signs. We have repeatedly warned the Muslim public, but it sadly appears that to a large extent our warnings are falling on deaf ears.

HALAAL AND YOU
When we reflect over the magnitude of the problems it appears as if we are caught in a quagmire from which there is no escape. However the problem is simple, should we get things in the correct perspective. Of utmost importance is the realisation that the onus is on us to ensure the purity of our food. We cannot blindly rely upon some 'Halaal' sign or Arabic writing on the packing of an article. Sweets, canned food, etc. should not be consumed without at least a brief perusal of the ingredients. When we have doubt over some item, we should first clarify the matter with the Ulama. Let us realise that exercising caution is not a burden on ourselves but an act of Ibaadat and will in fact take us closer to Allah Ta'ala. Hadhrat bin Adham (RA) said, "Whatever lofty spiritual ranks obtained was by virtue of exercising care in what went into the stomach". Nabi (SAW) said, 'Abstention from doubtful things is the best of Deen" (Tabraani: Bazzaar). Very often we will be tested by Allah Ta'ala: the item which has no doubt in it maybe more expensive as in the case of the local meat when compared to the imported one, etc. Here our steadfastness will bring us immense reward from Allah Ta'ala.
We must reiterate our call to our Muslim brothers to be careful. The Jamiat has been inundated with calls informing us of discrepancies of various organisations and food outlets having 'Halaal' signs. We beg our brothers to be careful and in matters of doubt to abstain. We will make every effort to update material in this matter and will appreciate every assistance in this regard. However, each individual has to himself become firm and wise.
May Allah Ta'ala give every one of us the Taufeeq. Ameen

Al-Jamiat Publications

Islamic Information