WHAT IS HALAL
By Mohamed El-Mouelhy
DEFINITION:
The meaning of the word Halal is: “Permitted, allowed, authorized, approved, sanctioned, lawful, legal, legitimate or licit.”
When used in relation to food or drink in any form whatsoever it means that it is permitted and fit for consumption by Muslims.
For a food or drink to be described as Halal, it must conform to the Islamic dietary laws as specified in the Qur’an, the Hadith (sayings) of the Prophet Muhammad, his Sunnah (tradition), and in the fiqh (teachings) of the Islamic Jurists: Hanafi, Shafi’i, Malki, and Hanbali.” Other sources of laws are Ijma’ (collective Approval) and Qiyas (syllogism) of Islamic scholars. In Australia, approval is given by the Halal Certification Authority, for products that satisfy all of the above, therefore approved products are acceptable to all Muslim denominations.
For a product to be Halal it must be as a whole and in part:
Free of, and not containing any substance or ingredient taken or extracted from a haram animal or ingredient.
Made processed, produced, manufactured and/or stored by using utensils, equipment and/or machinery that has been cleansed according to Islamic law.
Must never have come into contact with, touch or be close to a haram substance during preparation, making, production, manufacture, processing and/or storage.
[What is Haram] [Food in the Qur'an] [Halal Concept]
[Guidelines for Halal Slaughter] [Halal Helpline Home]
Mohamed El-Mouelhy
Copyright © 1996 by Halal Helpline. All rights reserved.
Revised: 21 Jun 2005 22:24:15 -0700.
Taken with permission from http://www.halalhelpline.org/
