WHAT IS HALAL
About Halal
Halal is an Arabic word meaning “lawful” or “permitted”. The opposite of halal is haram, which means “unlawful” or “prohibited”. When it comes to food and consumables, halal is the dietary standard of Muslims. All pure and clean things are considered halal except for the few following exceptions:
- Swine/pork and its by-products
- Animals improperly slaughtered or dead before slaughtering
- Animals killed in the name of anyone other than ALLAH (God)
- Alcohol and intoxicants
- Carnivorous animals, birds of prey and land animals without external ears
- Blood and blood by-products
- Foods contaminated with any of the above products
While many things are clearly halal or clearly haram, there are some things that are not clear. These items are considered questionable or suspect, and more information is needed to categorize them as halal or haram. Such items are often referred to as mashbooh, which means “doubtful” or “questionable”. Foods containing ingredients such as gelatin, enzymes, emulsifiers, etc. would be mashbooh because, more often than not, the origin of these ingredients is not known.
