What is halal?
Halal, in Arabic, means “what is allowed”
Halal means “what is allowed,” as opposed to haram, which means “forbidden.” People normally seek an understanding of what is allowed by God and what is forbidden by God by reading religious texts such as the Quran. For instance, we can find the following passages in the Quran.
“O mankind, eat from whatever is on earth [that is] lawful and good and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy.” [2: 168]
“He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” [2: 173]
“Satan only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you not desist?” [5: 91]
All verses are cited from quran.com (https://quran.com/) with partial modifications.
Muslims’ desire to eat and consume only what is “lawful and good” is derived from these passages in the sacred text, through the interpretation that those verses tell Muslims that eating “dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah” or drinking “intoxicants” are forbidden by God. However, decisions regarding what to actually avoid or how serious they take those prohibitions in their everyday lives may differ. For instance, some people avoid consuming anything made with alcohol or any products with substances originating from pig. They may avoid any food or drinks which might potentially have contact with pig-related products due to the belief that these products are forbidden and unclean. On the other hand, some other people may only avoid drinking intoxicants and eating pork. Some people may even care less due to their customs or other reasons.
