When are foods halal?

Allah says in the Quran:

This verse from the Holy Quran makes it clear that in Islam, certain foods are permitted for consumption (halal; What does halal mean?) and others are not (haram). The following section describes what to look out for when following an Islamic diet. 

Is a food halal or haram?

Providing a precise list of which foods are permitted (halal) and prohibited (haram) would, on the one hand, result in a massive halal database and, on the other hand, be misleading and ultimately inaccurate, as food products, their ingredients, and manufacturing methods are constantly changing. It is much more important to understand the concepts behind what is permitted (halal) and what is prohibited (haram) and to take them into account when consuming, distributing, or producing food as a practicing Muslim, restaurant owner, or food manufacturer. At this point, it is important to note that the consideration of permitted and prohibited foods is only possible by taking into account the^Sunnah1 of the Prophet Muhammad (s), in addition to the Quran as the primary source. The information from the Quran is supplemented by traditions of the Prophet.

But first and foremost: What does the Quran say?

Individual attempts to translate the necessary verses into German are not sufficiently clear. We therefore wish to present two versions of Surah Al-Baqarah/The Cow, verse 173, which complement each other well:

1. "He has only forbidden you (the consumption of) animals that have died naturally, blood, pork, and that over which anything other than Allah has been invoked. But if anyone is forced (to do so) without desiring it and without exceeding the limits, there is no sin on him; truly, Allah is forgiving and merciful."

2. "He has forbidden you to eat dead animals, blood, pork, and animals sacrificed to other gods besides God. But whoever eats it out of necessity, without exaggerating or harboring evil intentions, will not be guilty. God is forgiving and merciful."

This statement appears repeatedly in similar form in various places in the Quran. The information we receive can be broken down as follows: The consumption of

• pork
• blood
• animals that have died naturally or been stillborn

is expressly prohibited. Furthermore, it is not permitted to consume meat from animals that have not been slaughtered in the name of Allah, but have been sacrificed to idols or slaughtered arbitrarily without prayer or dedication. These parts of the verse can be traced back to a pre-Islamic practice at the time of idol worship, when animals were slaughtered and dedicated to idols. These abuses were abolished with the revelation of the aforementioned verse of the Quran by categorizing them as "haram." Ultimately, this verse contains another important lesson. This is that under certain conditions, foods in the "haram" category may be temporarily classified as "halal." An important note on this. Cravings, appetite, interest in taste, or basic hunger are not situations that would fulfill these conditions. Legal scholars explain this context as follows: If one is faced with death from starvation, then if there is absolutely nothing else to eat, one may consume as much pork as is necessary to overcome the danger of death. No more! 

What's next for our series of articles on the topic of "halal"?

The above explanations do not cover everything that is permissible (halal) and prohibited (haram) in the diet of Muslims. Next, we will look at the traditions with various verses from the Quran and geographical conditions, the combination of which has led Islamic jurisprudence to make statements about other permissible and prohibited foods. 

Comments

¹We already discussed the Sunnah in the previous article. What is the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (s)? Simply put, the Sunnah can be summarized as everything that the Prophet explicitly said, did, permitted, and prohibited, but also everything that he tacitly accepted or tolerated. From the sum of these traditions, a picture of his life and work can be drawn, which is used as a source in addition to the Quran to find fundamental answers to Islamic questions, such as in this case, nutrition.