Islamic dietary laws provide direction on what is to be considered clean and unclean regarding diet and related issues.
Overview
Islamic jurisprudence specifies which foods are
{{Fiqh-Hyg}}
Islamic dietary laws provide direction on what is to be considered clean and unclean regarding diet and related issues.
Overview
{{Disputed-section|date=March 2008}}
Islamic jurisprudence specifies which foods are
{{Fiqh-Hyg}}
Islamic dietary laws provide direction on what is to be considered clean and unclean regarding diet and related issues.
Overview
{{Disputed-section|date=March 2008}}
Islamic jurisprudence specifies which foods are {{translHalal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
({{lang|ar|حلال}} "lawful") and which are
{{translHaraam is an Arabic term meaning "forbidden", or "sacred". In Islam it is used to refer to anything that is prohibited by the word of Allah in the Qur'an or the Hadith Qudsi. Haraam is the highest status of prohibition given to anything that would result in sin when a Muslim commits it...
({{lang|ar|حرام}} "unlawful"). This is derived from commandments found in the
Qur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, the holy book of
IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, as well as the
HadithThe term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
and
SunnahThe word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar...
, libraries cataloguing things Prophet Mohammed is reported to have said and done. Extensions of these rulings are issued, as
fatwaA fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
s, by Mujtahids, with varying degrees of strictness, but they are not always widely held to be authoritative. According to the Quran, the only foods explicitly forbidden are meat from animals that die of themselves, blood, the meat of swine (porcine animals, pigs), and animals dedicated to other than God (either undedicated or dedicated to
idolsIdolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
), but a person is not guilty of sin in a situation where the lack of any alternative creates an undesired necessity to consume that which is otherwise unlawful. (Quran 2:173) This is the "law of necessity" in Islamic jurisprudence: "That which is necessary makes the forbidden permissible", which, in the case of dietary laws, allows one to eat pork or carrion, or drink
wineWine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
or
ethanolAn alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
if one was starving or dying of thirst (although the
Shafi'iThe Shafi'i madhhab is one of the schools of fiqh, or religious law, within the Sunni branch of Islam. The Shafi'i school of fiqh is named after Imām ash-Shafi'i.-Principles:...
madhhab is a Muslim school of law or fiqh . In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools". In fact, several of the Sahābah, or contemporary "companions" of Muhammad, are credited with founding their own...
differs on the issue of ethanolic drinks).
Healthy diet
A
healthy dietA healthy diet is one that helps maintain or improve general health. It is important for lowering many chronic health risks, such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer. A healthy diet involves consuming appropriate amounts of all essential nutrients and an adequate amount of...
is considered important in Islam. Some Muslim scholars consider excessive consumption a sin, citing the following verses in the Qur'an, which they interpret as supporting that position:
{{quote|
O Children of Adam! wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: But waste not by excess, for Allah loveth not the wasters. (Qur'an 7:31)
}}
{{quote|It is He Who produceth gardens, with trellises and without, and dates, and tilth with produce of all kinds, and olives and pomegranates, similar (in kind) and different (in variety): eat of their fruit in their season, but render the dues that are proper on the day that the harvest is gathered. But waste not by excess: for Allah loveth not the wasters.
(Qur'an 6:141)}}
{{quote|
O’ Believers! Eat of the good and pure (lawful) that We have provided you with and be grateful to Allah, if you truly worship Him. (Qur'an 2:172)
}}
{{quote|O People! Eat of what is lawful and good on the Earth and do not follow the footsteps of Shaitaan, for he is your open enemy.
(Qur'an 2:168)}}
Prophet Mohammed is reported to have stated:
{{quote|
"Man fills no vessel worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Adam to have a few mouthfuls to give him the strength he needs. If he has to fill his stomach, then let him leave one-third for food, one-third for drink and one-third for air." (Reported by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maajah. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5674).
}}
{{quote|
"A believer eats in one intestine (is satisfied with a little food), and a kafir (unbeliever) or a hypocrite eats in seven intestines (eats too much)." (Reported by Ibn 'Umar. Sahih BukhariṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī , as it is commonly referred to, is one of the six canonical hadith collections of Islam. These prophetic traditions, or hadith, were collected by the Persian Muslim scholar Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, after being transmitted orally for generations. Muslims view this as one of...
, Volume 7, Book 65, Number 306)}}
{{quote|
"The food for two persons is sufficient for three, and the food of three persons is sufficient for four persons." (Reported by Abu Huraira. Sahih BukhariṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī , as it is commonly referred to, is one of the six canonical hadith collections of Islam. These prophetic traditions, or hadith, were collected by the Persian Muslim scholar Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, after being transmitted orally for generations. Muslims view this as one of...
, Volume 7, Book 65, Number 304)}}
Slaughter
{{Main|Dhabīḥah}}
Dhabīḥah (ذَبِيْحَة)is a prescribed method of ritual animal slaughter; it does not apply to most aquatic animals. The animal must be slaughtered by a Muslim or by one of the
People of the BookPeople of the Book is a term used to designate non-Muslim adherents to faiths which have a revealed scripture called, in Arabic, Al-Kitab . The three types of adherents to faiths that the Qur'an mentions as people of the book are the Jews, Sabians and Christians.In Islam, the Muslim scripture, the...
, generally speaking, a
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
or a Jew, while mentioning the name of God (
AllahAllah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
in Arabic). According to some
fatwaA fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
s, the animal must be slaughtered specifically by a
MuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
, however, other fatwas dispute this, ruling that, according to verse 5:5 of the Qur'an, an animal properly slaughtered by People of the Book is halal. Thus, many Muslims will eat kosher meat. Other relevant verses in Qur'an include 2:173, 5:3, 5:5, 5:90, 6:118, 6:145, 16:115.
Animals for food may not be killed by being boiled or electrocuted, and the carcass should be hung upside down for long enough to be blood-free. {{Citation needed|date=June 2010}} All water game is considered halal (although the
HanafiThe Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
madhhab is a Muslim school of law or fiqh . In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools". In fact, several of the Sahābah, or contemporary "companions" of Muhammad, are credited with founding their own...
differs on this): Lawful to you is all water-game, and what the sea brings forth, as a provision for you [who are settled] as well as for travellers, although you are forbidden to hunt on land while you are in the state of pilgrimage. And be conscious of God, unto whom you shall be gathered. Quran 5:96
There are generally no restrictions on the consumption of vegetarian food as the restrictions pertain to slaughter.
Food certification
Due to the recent rise in Muslim populations in the United States and Europe, certain organizations have emerged that certify that food products and ingredients met
dhabiha is, in Islamic law, the prescribed method of ritual slaughter of all animals excluding camels, locusts, fish and most sea-life. This method of slaughtering animals consists of a swift, deep incision with a sharp knife on the neck, cutting the jugular veins and carotid arteries of both sides but...
standards. The
Muslim Consumer GroupThe Muslim Consumer Group is a U.S. non-profit organization founded in November 1993 by Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed, based in Rolling Meadows, Illinois...
is an example of an organization that employs certification labelling, using the H-MCG symbol, to identify the status of different edible and non-edible consumer products.
In Islam, Halal is an Arabic term meaning “lawful or permissible” and not only encompasses food and drink, but all matters of daily life. When it comes to halal food, most people think of meat products only. However, Muslims must ensure that all foods, particularly processed foods, pharmaceuticals and non food items like cosmetics are also halal. Often these products contain animal by-products or other ingredients that are not permissible for Muslim consumption.
Since 1991, mainstream manufacturers of soups, grains, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, prepared foods, and other industries, as well as hotels, restaurants, airlines, hospitals and other service providers have pursued the halal market. Halal Certification tells Muslims that the ingredients and production methods of a product have been tested and declared permissible by a certification body. It also allows companies to export products to most Middle Eastern countries and South East Asian Countries. The oldest and most well known Halal Certifier in the USA is
Islamic Services of America.
In Europe, several organizations have been created over the past 20 years in order to certify the halal products. A survey recently published by a French association of Muslim Consumers (
ASIDCOM) shows that the market of halal products has been developed in a chaotic way in Europe. The European certification organizations do not have a common definition of "halal" nor agreed upon control procedures and traceability. The controls implemented by individual agencies are all very different: it can go from an annual audit of the slaughterhouse to checking each production with permanent controls in place and on-going independent.
Some animals and manners of death or preparation can make certain things
haramHaraam is an Arabic term meaning "forbidden", or "sacred". In Islam it is used to refer to anything that is prohibited by the word of Allah in the Qur'an or the Hadith Qudsi. Haraam is the highest status of prohibition given to anything that would result in sin when a Muslim commits it...
to eat, that is,
taboo food and drinkTaboo food and drink are food and beverages which people abstain from consuming for religious, cultural or hygienic reasons. Many food taboos forbid the meat of a particular animal, including mammals, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, bony fish, and crustaceans...
. These include what are regarded as
unclean animalsUnclean animals, in some religions, are animals whose consumption or handling is labeled a taboo. According to these religion's dogmas, persons who handle such animals may need to purify themselves to get rid of their uncleanness.-Judaism:...
such as animals that are sick, and have a diseases like swine. Link: http://www.islamforlife.co.uk/haram%20list.htm
Prohibited food
Alcohol
In Islam,
alcoholic beverageAn alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
s—or any intoxicant—are generally forbidden in the
Qur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
through several separate verses revealed at different times over a period of years. At first, it was forbidden for Muslims to attend to prayers while intoxicated (4:43). Then a later verse was revealed which said that alcohol contains some good and some
evilEvil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
, but the evil is greater than the good (In Surah Al-Baqarah: 219, it states "They ask Thee concerning Wine and Gambling, Say: In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit."). This was the next step in turning people away from consumption of it. Finally, "intoxicants and games of chance" were called "abominations of Satan's handiwork," intended to turn people away from God and forget about prayer, and Muslims were ordered to abstain (5:90-91). In addition to this, most observant Muslims refrain from consuming food products that contain pure vanilla extract or soy sauce if these food products contain alcohol; there is some debate about whether the prohibition extends to dishes in which the alcohol would be cooked off or if it would be practically impossible to consume enough of the food to become intoxicated.
The
ZaidiZaidiyya, or Zaidism is a Shi'a Muslim school of thought named after Zayd ibn ʻAlī, the grandson of Husayn ibn ʻAlī. Followers of the Zaydi Islamic jurisprudence are called Zaydi Shi'a...
and
Mutazili' is an Islamic school of speculative theology that flourished in the cities of Basra and Baghdad, both in present-day Iraq, during the 8th–10th centuries. The adherents of the Mu'tazili school are best known for their having asserted that, because of the perfect unity and eternal nature of God,...
sects believe that the use of alcohol as always been forbidden and refer to this
Qur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
Ayah (4:43) as feeling of sleepiness and not to be awake.
Blood
BloodBlood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
and its by-products are forbidden in Islam, in the Qu'ran, surah 5 Al-Maeda, verse 3: "Forbidden to you is the dead, and blood...".
This includes meats that have not been drained of blood.
Pork
Consumption of pork and products made from pork is strictly forbidden in Islam.
The origin of this belief is derived from the chapter of the Cow
(Al Baqara) speaks of this: Quran 2.173 which states:"He hath only forbidden you dead meat, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name hath been invoked besides that of Allah. But if one is forced by necessity, without wilful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits, then is he guiltless. For Allah is Oft-forgiving Most Merciful."
GelatinGelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle , flavorless solid substance, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing. Substances containing gelatin or functioning in a similar...
made from porcine skin or bones, which makes up roughly 50% of the supply of gelatin on the market, is forbidden. Gelatin made from other halal animals, fish for example, is acceptable.
See also
- Comparison of Dhabiĥa Halal and kashrut
The Islamic dietary laws and the Jewish dietary laws are both quite detailed, and contain both points of similarity and discord...
- Dietary laws
- Halal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
- Hechsher
A hechsher is the special certification marking found on the packages of products that have been certified as kosher . In Halakha , the dietary laws of kashrut specify food items that may be eaten and others that are prohibited as set out in the commandments of the Torah...
- Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
- Makruh
In Islamic terminology, something which is makruh is a disliked or offensive act . Though it is not haram and therefore not a sin, a person who abstains from this action will be rewarded. Muslims are encouraged to avoid such actions when possible...
- Mushbooh
Mushbooh is a food designation in Islam. Literally meaning 'doubtful' or 'suspect,' foods are labeled mushbooh when it is unclear whether they are Halal or Haraam ....
- Muslim Consumer Group
The Muslim Consumer Group is a U.S. non-profit organization founded in November 1993 by Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed, based in Rolling Meadows, Illinois...
(MCG)
External links
{{Diets}}
{{Islam topics|state=collapsed}}
{{Prohibition}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Islamic Dietary Laws}}