What are the Shar’ee criteria to define any foods
as Halaal / Haraam?
Is the certification of Halaal authorities, MJC, SANHA, NIHT, etc. a Shar’ee criterion of determining any foodstuffs as Halaal or Haraam? The inconsistent rulings of Halaal and Haraam on the same product from the different Halaal authorising bodies is indeed confusing.
Hereunder is our standard response to a similar query.
Q: What are the Shar’ee criteria to define any foods
as Halaal / Haraam? Is the certification of Halaal
authorities, MJC, SANHA, NIHT, etc. a Shar’ee
criterion of determining any foodstuffs as Halaal or
Haraam? The inconsistent rulings of Halaal and Haraam
on the same product from the different Halaal
authorising bodies is indeed confusing.
A: According to the Shari’ah, the criterion to
determine any food as Halaal or Haraam is the
information (khabr) of an Aadil person. (Hidaaya vol.4
pg.454; Ashrafiyya)
An Aadil person is a Muslim who is known to abide by
the laws of the Shari’ah and is not a Faasiq (person
who transgresses the laws of the Shari’ah). Therefore,
if the owner or manager of a food outlet who is well
aware of the Shari’ah laws of Halaal and Haraam
informs that the food is Halaal, his information may
be accepted. His business does not have to be
certified by any Halaal authorising body. If the
owner/manager gives misleading information, the sin
will rest on him.
If the informer is a Mastoor (a person whose condition
is unknown), then one may apply his discretion to
determine the information to be correct or not and
follow his Zann-e-Ghaalib (overpowering thought).
(Ibid) The certification of any Halaal authority may
serve only as a guideline but is not a Shar’ee
criterion to determine anything as Halaal or Haraam.
and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
FATWA DEPT.