7 replies to this topic

[abdullahfath]

Salaam alaiykum,

I was curious concerning western food. As many know in the west ( especially areas where there is not a lot of farmer's markets ) most food is preprocessed as in the case of restaurants & grocery store food. Is it lawful to eat these foods?

[ParadiseLost]

You have to be careful of some foods you eat. Apart from the obvious like not eating pork and not drinking alcohol some foods may have byproducts of these. For example gelatin comes from pork and is found in jelly sweets, marshmallows and some other desserts. The good thing these days is that nearly every food item shows a label of ingredients so you just need to watch out for things like this.

Other things to watch out for that you may think are ok to eat is pastries. Some pastries may be made with lard which is pig fat. Also I read there are certain E numbers which are haraam. You can find a list on the internet about these things. Here is an example http://special.world...od/numbers.html

Well if you live in an area where there is a halal shop then I advise you to shop there. If not you will just get used to reading ingredients and understanding what is halal and haram.

By the way when you are looking for a list on the internet you may come across the term mushbooh which means whether the food is haram or halal is doubtful.

Hopefully this helps you in some way.

[abdullahfath]

It does. We do not have a halal shop near here. I was talking more about the sharia as it applies to the killing of animals as most meat in the U.S. is not Islamic and thus is not slaughtered according to sharia and in fact is usually done in factories

[ParadiseLost]

Oh I see what you mean. The following verse may be useful:

And why should you not eat of that (meat) on which Allah's Name has been pronounced (at the time of slaughtering the animal), while He has explained to you in detail what is forbidden to you, except under compulsion of necessity? And surely many do lead (mankind) astray by their own desires through lack of knowledge. Certainly your Lord knows best the transgressors. (6:119)

Also this answer may help you http://islamqa.info/...6/eating haraam

Are you in contact with any other Muslims in your area, maybe you can ask them what do they do to get halal meat. Or ask the local mosque for some advice. Perhaps there is a place you are not aware of?

Maybe another Muslim on the forum can give you better advice too.

[abdullahfath]

@ my local masjid they have differing opinions. Some say it is best to just stay away from most meat when possible while others say that as long as you say bismillah before eating it then it should be fine

[Younes]

As-salamu 'alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh

The vast majority scholars have said that the meat has to be slaughtered properly, i.e. you can't just say Bismillah and eat.

[abdullahfath]

As-salamu 'alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh

The vast majority scholars have said that the meat has to be slaughtered properly, i.e. you can't just say Bismillah and eat.

walaiykum salaam,

so those in the west should refrain from eating meat that they are not able to kill or has not at least been, knowingly, killed by Christian or Jew?

[Younes]

walaiykum salaam,

so those in the west should refrain from eating meat that they are not able to kill or has not at least been, knowingly, killed by Christian or Jew?

As-salamu 'alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh

The food has to be killed in the Name of Allah. That's why Western slaughtered meat is not Halal because they don't prounce God's Name when slaughtering.

Yes, people in the West should refrain from meat unless they can find Halal-meat slaughtered by Muslims.