By Oula Mahfouz
The term “Halal” is often used when referring to food, but what exactly does it mean in the Islamic religion? The word “Halal” means “permitted” and refers to things and actions that are allowed in Islam, but it does not only refer to food. The opposite of the word “Halal” is the word “Haram”. In between is the word “Makruh” and it means “unpopular” or “undesirable”. This denotes what one should rather not do, but if one does not do it, it is not a sin.
What is considered “Halal” and “Haram”, there are sometimes different opinions. This is because there are different faith groups and sects in Islam. After the death of the Prophet Mohammad in 632 and the emergence of new jurisprudential issues, Muslims needed a reference point to fall back on in case of disagreement. This gave rise to the sects. The Sunni community, for example, has four main sects, whose designations derive from the name of the imam who founded each sect. Although the imams agreed on all the basic principles of jurisprudence, they differed on individual rulings because some legal decisions were evaluated differently depending on the situation, and the sects each derived different evidence for them from the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet.
“Halal” is the plant and animal foods that may be eaten because they do not contain anything prohibited by Sharia (Islamic law and legislation). The preparation and processing must not use procedures that are forbidden by Sharia and do not meet the health requirements.
The consumption of animal meat is allowed only under certain conditions. For example, the animal must be alive before slaughter and must not be stunned or subjected to electric current, which would result in its killing before slaughter. The animal is slaughtered from the neck and the throat is cut in one motion so that the slaughter process can be completed quickly and without prolonged pain and the blood can flow from the body.
The goal in slaughtering an animal in the Islamic way is to remove all the blood from the animal’s body. If the animal dies before it is slaughtered, the blood will clot in its veins and thus remain in the body. Slaughter must be carried out under conditions specified by the Prophet: The animal must not be tortured or subjected to stress and suffering under any circumstances. The knife must be sharp and free from defects or damage so that the animal can be slaughtered quickly and in one motion without pain. The trachea, esophagus, and both arteries must also be cut. The entire head and neck vertebrae should not be cut until all the blood has drained. In this way, the pain of the slaughtered animal does not last more than a few seconds, because all the systems of the body are busy supplying blood to the brain.
It is also allowed to eat fish and other aquatic animals, but only those that always live in the water and are not amphibians.
These foods are forbidden in the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet:
– Dead animals that have not been slaughtered in the Islamic way with the exception of animals that live in water. This applies, for example, to hunted wild animals from which the blood cannot be removed from the body before they die.
– Foods that contain blood.
– Pork: The Islamic ban on eating pigs is an extension of the ban in previous monotheistic religions. The detailed reasons for the prohibition occur only in this Quranic verse, “for it is an uncleanness or an abomination.” In general, the Islamic religion allows eating good things, but eating filth is forbidden. The pig eats dirt and feces, but not everywhere: here in Europe, for example, pigs are now often raised in clean, enclosed, air-conditioned barns and fed good feed. There are also medicines and vaccines to rule out infectious diseases that can be caused by eating pork. But that does not make pigs halal food for Muslims. This is because even if there is no explicit reason for a ban, it does not invalidate the ban. This is because, from the perspective of Islam, the Quran applies at all times and in all places, and its rules do not change.
– Meat from animals that eat meat, like birds of prey, is also forbidden. And there are also animals that are not allowed to be killed according to the Prophet Mohammad such as ants, bees, frogs and hoopoes.
– It is forbidden to eat animals that have been slaughtered as offerings in non-Islamic religions.
– In addition, there are animals whose consumption is forbidden by some sects and scholars, while some only advise against eating them. Examples include: Insects, with the exception of grasshoppers, donkeys, horses, and poisonous sea creatures.
– Opinions also differ on foods, medicines, and items containing gelatin from animals such as pigs or non-Islamic slaughtered ones. A few scholars say, “When gelatin is made, these animal materials turn into various chemicals and therefore can be eaten and used.” The majority of Muslim scholars, however, reject this as forbidden.
– Alcohol, even in small amounts, such as in some sweets and baked goods. Some scholars make an exception when alcohol is included in external medicinal applications. Also forbidden are intoxicants and drugs.
– Also forbidden, according to the hadith (sayings) of the Prophet, is anything that harms the body. In the past, Muslim scholars disagreed on the issue of smoking, the majority of them forbidding it, some considering it “makruh” (unpopular). But due to the increasing scientific evidence on the harmfulness of smoking, the main scholars now prohibit it.
The law and jurisprudence of Islam, the Shariah, also has the rule: “In time of need, prohibitions may be transgressed.” Therefore, for a person who is in danger of dying of hunger or thirst, the exception is made to eat or drink even forbidden things.
The prohibitions in the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet do not cover all the behavior of Muslims. But in principle, everything that is not explicitly forbidden is actually permitted. The Prophet says about it: “God has imposed obligations, do not forget them; He has set limits, do not transgress them; and He has forbidden things, do not do them. He kept silent about things out of mercy and not out of forgetfulness, so do not investigate them,” namely whether they are Halal or Haram.
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“Halal” bedeutet “erlaubt”. Foto: tünews INTERNATIONAL / Oula Mahfouz.
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