Food for Thought

When purchasing anything do we take time and analyse its viability to see whether it is suitable for our needs? How often do we carry out a self check on whether our income is Halal? Especially when it comes to food, do we really apply this rule with stern regularity?

In today's society many people do not differentiate between Halal (Permissible) and Haram (Forbidden) food. They find it tedious to read the ingredients before they purchase the food. There are also those people who take care and buy Halal food yet they do not care about the income that they use to buy the food. If the income obtained is unlawful the food purchased would also be classified as Haram.

Hazrat Abu Hurayrah (R.A) reports that Holy Prophet (S.A.W) said, “A time will come upon the people wherein a man will not bother what he intakes; whether from a Halal source or Haram.” (Bukhari Shareef)

It is also clearly stated in the Holy Quran: “so always eat of that clean and lawful sustenance which Allah has given you, and give thanks for the favour of Allah if it is indeed Him that you worship alone. He has only forbidden you carrion, blood, the flesh of swine and (the animal) on which the name of other than Allah is invoked at the time of slaughter…. ” (Surah Al-Nahl 16; Ayah 114-115)

Diet has tremendous effect on our physical, physiological, mental, moral and spiritual life. The way we feel, think, behave, our like and dislikes, our spiritual attainment etc. are linked to our diet.

In fact “we are what we eat”, Haram diet has a number of very harmful effects such as; Damages physical health, lowers mental ability, degrades moral behaviour, weakens the faith, Ruins good deeds and ruins the hereafter. If children are nurtured with Haram food, they will be rebellious and have the worst of characteristics. It is plainly evident that from purity comes good and from filth comes evil.

Being careless about the dietary laws of Islam a believer puts himself in harms' way both in this world and hereafter. If we indulge in Haram intakes, not only will our good deeds and Duas not be accepted, but we may also be refused admission to Paradise.

We need to ensure our earnings are Halal and ensure that we eat only Halal food. In this way our children can also be nurtured with Halal food which would breed modesty, shamefulness, honesty and obedience. May Allah (S.W.T) grant us the ability to live our lives in accordance to the teachings of Quran and Sunnah. (Ameen).