Summary
In the response below, the Sheikh:
- Emphasises the importance of consuming lawful and good food in Islamic Faith
- Outlines foundational principles in Islamic Jurisprudence regarding capability, ownership, necessity, and extreme situations.
- Highlights ethical considerations, gratitude, and the downfall of ingratitude.
- Highlights the hadeeth in which Ibn Abbas advises avoiding extravagance and arrogance
- Concludes with a supplication for Allah’s blessings and recognition that Allah knows best.
Deep Dive
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah, upon his family, his
companions, and those who follow him.
The true Islamic faith guides its followers to eat from the lawful (Halal) and good types of food and drink, and it warns and prohibits them from the unlawful (Haram) and corrupt ones. In the Noble Quran and the pure Sunnah, there are many texts reinforcing this, among them, the Quranic verse from Surat Al-Baqarah:
“O believers! Eat from the good things We have provided for you. And give thanks to Allah if you truly worship Him alone” (Al-Baqarah: 172).
Abu Huraira narrated that the Messenger of Allah PBUH said, “Verily Allah the Exalted is Pure (Tayyib). He does not accept but that which is pure. Allah commands the believers with what He commanded the Messengers. Allah the Almighty has said, ‘O you Messengers! Eat of the good things and act righteously’. And Allah the Almighty also said, ‘O you who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided you with. Then he (the Prophet) mentioned (the case of) the man who, having journeyed far, is dishevelled and dusty and who stretches out his hands to the sky (saying): “O Lord! O Lord!” (in supplication), while his food was unlawful, his drink was unlawful, his clothing was unlawful, and he is nourished with unlawful things, so how can he be answered?” [Muslim]
From the aforementioned verse and hadith, which are selected from the many on this issue, the importance of consuming what is lawful and the obligation of avoiding what is unlawful concerning food and drink becomes evident to us.
In light of this, we should be observe how the obligations of true Islamic law, the principles of the glorious Sharia, the criteria for halal and haram, and the standards for right and wrong, all of these matters revolve – always – around several vital circles (or considerations) considered as the foundations of Islamic jurisprudence. Among them are:
Firstly, the circle of capability and ability. When Allah Almighty obligated mankind, He only obligated them with what they can bear and did not burden them beyond their capacity. Allah says in the final verse of Surah Al-Baqarah, “Allah does not require of any soul more than what it can afford. All good will be for its own benefit, and all evil will be to its own loss.”
Secondly, the circle of ownership and what is available to a person. Islam does not obligate its followers with what they do not possess or over which they have no authority. Allah Almighty said in verse 7 of Surah At-Talaq, “As for the one with limited resources, let him provide according to whatever Allah has given him. Allah does not require of any soul beyond what He has given it. After hardship, Allah will bring about ease.”
Thirdly, the circle of necessity and life’s demands. A person eats and drinks what they need without extravagance or deficiency. Allah Almighty said in verse 31 of Surah Al-A’raf, “O Children of Adam! Dress properly whenever you are at worship. Eat and drink, but do not waste. Surely, He does not like the wasteful.”
Fourthly, the circle of extreme necessity. There might be situations where a person is excused from the previously mentioned rules and can exceed them in cases of dire necessity. In such cases, what is forbidden becomes permissible, the haram becomes halal, and the wrong becomes right. This is the situation of extreme necessity that preserves a person’s life and protects him from certain death. In Verse 3 of Surah Al-Ma’idah, after Allah Almighty enumerated for us a number of forbidden foods including the dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and what has been dedicated to other than Allah, and the strangled, the killed by a blow, the killed by a fall, the gored to death, what wild animals have eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and many other prohibitions. After this explanation, Allah Almighty concludes the noble verse by saying, "but if any of you is forced by hunger to eat forbidden food, with
no intention of doing wrong, then God is most forgiving and merciful.”
These important circles and jurisprudential rules delineate the path for us and determine the guidelines that enable us to deal with the matter of ensuring the lawful and guarantee us not to fall into the unlawful concerning food and drink, and the religious laws in general.
All of this can be summarized in the agreed-upon hadith:
“What is lawful is clear and what is unlawful is clear, but between them are certain doubtful things which many people do not recognize. He who guards against doubtful things keeps his religion and his honour blameless, but he who falls into doubtful things falls into what is unlawful, just as a shepherd who pastures his animals round a preserve will soon pasture them in it. Every king has a preserve, and God’s preserve is the things He has declared unlawful. In the body there is a piece of flesh, and the whole body is sound if it is sound, but the whole body is corrupt if it is corrupt. It is the heart.” Narrated by Bukahri and Muslim.
The noble hadith provides clarity on the evident lawful sustenance that one can consume, enjoy, and be grateful to Allah Almighty for, but without extravagance or illusion. It also elucidates the evident unlawful that one must steer clear of and avoid out of reverence for Allah Almighty. As for what lies between these two categories, the uncertainties which are neither clearly lawful nor clearly unlawful, it is best to avoid them to safeguard one’s religion and honor, as referred to in this hadith. Naturally, the more doubtful something becomes, the more essential it is to keep a distance from it, as it tends to lean closer to the unlawful.
Such uncertainties include, for example, frequenting certain commercial establishments that sell a mixture of foods and beverages to their customers without ensuring their lawfulness or prohibition. In such cases, it is impermissible to purchase from places where doubts exist, out of caution and to prevent falling into the unlawful. Allah Almighty says in verse 16 of Surah At-Taghabun, “So be mindful of Allah to the best of your ability, hear and
obey…”.
And a Muslim can purchase their food and drink from places selling exclusively Halal food without any compelling reason to buy from elsewhere. Especially if there are alternatives such as Muslim-owned restaurants. In such situations, what is mentioned in verse 119 of Surah Al-An’am applies, where Allah Almighty says, “[Satan says] I will mislead them and incite vain desires in them…”. There is no compelling reason to be driven to food outlets where a risk of consuming unlawful food exists in circumstances where we have Halal alternatives.
In conclusion, let’s not forget the realm of ethics and manners concerning blessings. Food and drink are among the blessings of Allah Almighty upon humans, and the lawful and the prohibited are not only linked to their source. They are also associated with gratitude towards these blessings and good manners concerning them. In verse 172 of Surah Al-Baqarah, Allah Almighty says, “You who believe, eat the good things We have provided for
you and be grateful to God, if it is Him that you worship.”
In the noble verse, a connection is made between eating and giving thanks. Part of the proper etiquette for a blessing is to be thankful for it and to recognise it, or else it could turn into a calamity, just like what happened with Qarun (Korah) who did not attribute blessings to their origin, but instead attributed them to his knowledge and intelligence. He even boasted about them with pride and arrogance to his people. The result was that Allah
caused the earth to swallow him, his residence, and his treasures, turning the blessing into a calamity because of his ingratitude and bad manners towards them.
In this regard, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Eat what you wish and wear what you wish as long as you avoid two things: extravagance (Israf) and arrogance (Makhilah).”; Narrated by Bukhari.
We ask Allah Almighty to bestow upon us His immense blessings, to grant us barakah in them, and to make us among those who are grateful to Him for them. Ameen.
And Allah Knows Best.