Question
Assalam ualeikum ua rahmatullahi ua barakatuh!
What is the wisdom of Halal consumption? What fawaid from the consumption of Halal?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Islam means to submit to the will and command of Almighty Allah. As Muslims, our sole objective in this worldly life is to obey Almighty Allah and seek his pleasure. The Shari’ah is based on divine revelation and not logic and reason. If, hypothetically speaking, there was no wisdom behind these commands, it would still be incumbent upon us to simply submit and obey. We are naught but slaves, existing simply to worship, glorify and obey Almighty Allah.
Nevertheless, Almighty Allah is Al-Hakeem (The All Wise), hence, every command of His has wisdom in it, and we trust the absolute wisdom of Almighty Allah.
At times, the wisdom behind a specific command is evident whereas at times it is not very clear to us. Despite that, as Muslims, we firmly believe that the wisdom does exist behind this command even though we may not understand it.
As for what is Halal for us, Almighty Allah says:
يَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا أُحِلَّ لَهُمْ قُلْ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتُ (المائدة: 4)
Translation: “They ask you O Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) what is lawful for them (as food). Say lawful for you are At-Tayyibat (pure, halal, wholesome food).”
Almighty Allah, in His infinite wisdom, has prescribed a specific method of slaughter to render an animal Halal i.e. permissible for consumption. If one were to analyse this method, it becomes apparent that there are certain benefits to it. Severing the carotid arteries, gullet and windpipe is a quick, effective and humane method of taking the life of an animal. Furthermore, such slaughter makes it easy to drain out the blood of an animal.
One may better understand the wisdoms when considering what has been declared Haram by Almighty Allah. Take for example, the prohibition of wine. Almighty Allah says,
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ قُلْ فِيهِمَا إِثْمٌ كَبِيرٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَإِثْمُهُمَا أَكْبَرُ مِنْ نَفْعِهِمَا (البقرة: 219)
Translation: “They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, “In them is great sin and (yet, some) benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit.”
Almighty Allah acknowledges some benefit in wine but then clarifies that its sin is far greater than the benefit. This is evident by the fact that annually, three million deaths worldwide result from harmful use of alcohol. This represents 5.3 % of all deaths.[i] Similarly, the wisdom behind the prohibition of all drugs is self-evident.
As for the fawaaid of consuming Halal,
First and foremost, it is obedience to Almighty Allah and a means of reward thereby granting entry into Jannah. Secondly, Halal food is a source of pure nourishment which has a tremendous effect in one’s worship and spirituality. Consider the following hadith,
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ طَيِّبٌ لاَ يَقْبَلُ إِلاَّ طَيِّبًا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِمَا أَمَرَ بِهِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ فَقَالَ{يَا أَيُّهَا الرُّسُلُ كُلُوا مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَاعْمَلُوا صَالِحًا إِنِّي بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ عَلِيمٌ} وَقَالَ {يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُلُوا مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ}
ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ الرَّجُلَ يُطِيلُ السَّفَرَ أَشْعَثَ أَغْبَرَ يَمُدُّ يَدَيْهِ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ يَا رَبِّ يَا رَبِّ وَمَطْعَمُهُ حَرَامٌ وَمَشْرَبُهُ حَرَامٌ وَمَلْبَسُهُ حَرَامٌ وَغُذِيَ بِالْحَرَامِ فَأَنَّى يُسْتَجَابُ لِذَلِكَ
Translation: “Abu Hurayrah (Radhiyallahu Anhu) narrates that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, O people, Allah is Good and He therefore, accepts only that which is good. And Allah commanded the believers as He commanded the Messengers by saying: “O Messengers, eat of the good things, and do good deeds; verily I am aware of what you do”. And He said: “O those who believe, eat of the good things that We gave you”. He then made a mention of a person who travels widely, his hair dishevelled and covered with dust. He lifts his hand towards the sky (and thus makes the supplication): “O Lord, O Lord,” whereas his food is Haram, his drink is Haram, his clothes are Haram, and his nourishment is Haram. How then can his supplication be accepted? (Muslim-1015)
Given that our purpose in this life is to obey Almighty Allah, can there be a benefit greater than the pleasure of Almighty Allah?
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Ml Bilal Yusuf Pandor
Checked and Approved by
Mufti Nabeel Valli
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia
[i] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/alcohol