The following contents has been carefully created and added to the site for the muslim community, so that they can have a more clear understanding of what it means to eat Halal. The information below begins by using quotes from the Quran and the Hadith to show why the Muslim Ummah should do their utmost to stay away from Haram products, leading onto a section which shows what products could possibly deemed to be made Haram.

1) The Importance of a Halal Diet:

In a Hadith Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said:

Search for Halal (i.e. money or food) is also Fardh (obligatory) along with other Fardh things from Allah.

(Mishkat Sharif)

Here are a few important verses from the Holy Quran that very clearly describe the Islamic laws regarding Halal and Haram:

Mankind! Eat the lawful (Halal) and good things from what is in the earth, and follow not the footsteps of the devil. Surely he is an open enemy to you.

(2: 168)

O believers! Eat of the good things that We have provided you with and give thanks to Allah.

(2: 172)

He has forbidden you what dies of itself (carrion), and blood, and the flesh of swine and that over which any name other than (that of) Allah has been invoked.

(2: 173)

And eat of the lawful (Halal) and good things that Allah has given you and keep your duty to Allah.

(5: 88)

O believers! Intoxicants, and game of chance, and idolatrous practices and divining (of the future through) arrows are abominations devised by the Satan. Shun it then!, so that you may prosper.

(5: 90)

Our beloved Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has taught us to be very careful about our food in terms of Halal and Haram. His sayings indicate that Haram food makes our Faith terminally damaged and our soul and heart extremely weak. Here are a selection of meanings and extracts of his sayings:

A person after travelling a long distance, with dispersed hairs and covered with dust, raises his hands for the prayer and says O Allah!, O Allah! But his food is Haram, his drink is Haram and his dress is Haram. So how can his prayer be accepted by Allah?

(Mishkat Sharif)

Note: It means that without Halal food our Duas are not accepted at all.

Sadaqah (charity) from Haram wealth is not accepted by Allah, and there is no Barakah (Blessing of Allah) in such things and the Haram wealth will take one to Hell.

(Imam Ahmed)

Those persons whose bodies are nourished with Haram food will not enter paradise.

(Mishkat Sharif)

When Haram is mixed with Halal, it ruins the Halal as well.

(Mishkat Sharif)

Salah (Ritual Prayers) of a person with Haram clothes is not accepted by Allah.

(Mishkat Sharif)

One who drinks Sharab (Wine), Allah does not accept that persons Salah for forty days.

(Tirmidhi)

Note: Muslim scholars say that whether a person takes Sharab directly or indirectly with other edible things in the form of an ingredient, his/her Salah is barred from acceptance for 40 days in the light of this Hadith.

2) Any Product or By-Product Derived from the Following Must ALL be FREE from:

1. Pig or Dog

2. Human Being

3. Blood

4. Carnivorous animals (except fish)

5. Birds with talons or birds that feed by snatching and tearing e.g. eagles and other similar birds

6. Reptiles and insects

7. Any marine animals except fish

8. Animals that live on land and in water (amphibians) like frogs, crocodiles and other similar animals.

9. Animals which have died by any means other than slaughtering according to the Islamic Law.

10. Animals which are generally considered as repulsive such as lice, maggots, mice, rats, spiders and other similar animals.

11. The bodies of animals permitted under the Islamic Law (i.e. Buffalo, Cow, Sheep, Lamb, Goat, Deer, Rabbit, Poultry etc.) which are not slaughtered according to the Islamic Law.

(Note: Most animals in the U.K. are not slaughtered according to the Islamic Law)

12. Wine, Ethyl Alcohol or Spirits, where these remain in their original chemical form

13. Any product or by-product (including any product used temporarily as a substitute) which contains or is derived from any one or more of the above products (as defined in sections 1. to 12.) in however minute quantity, whether as an ingredient or sub-ingredient or as a processing aid or as a releasing agent or as a glazing agent or as an additive or as a colour or in any other form, is Haraam (unlawful) for Muslims

14. The preparation, processing and the manufacturing equipment must be free from all of the above 1. to 13.

15. The packaging material which comes in contact with the food product must be free from all of the above 1. to 13.