Halaal Foods and Drinks
There are various foods and drinks which Allah allows us to have. These are called halaal foods and drinks. Halaal is an Arabic word that means ‘allowed’, ‘permitted’ or ‘lawful’. Most foods and drinks are halaal. Allah wants us to eat and drink only those things which are halaal. Halaal things are good for our health.
Some of the halaal foods are fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, fish, rice, and milk. Keep clearly in mind that eating and drinking is a form of Ibaadah. Ibaadah is an Arabic word which means worship. We must obey Allah and drink and eat only those things which are halaal. We must eat to live, to be healthy and strong and to worship Allah better. We must eat to do good deeds. We must eat to become strong and fight evil.
- Answer the following questions.
1 . Explain the Arabic word halaal.
- Give at least three examples each of halaal foods and drinks, other than those mentioned in this lesson.
- Why do you think Muslims should eat only halaal food?
- Activity
Write down the halaal foods and drinks you had yesterday.
Haraam Foods and Drinks
There are certain foods and drinks which Allah does not allow Muslims to take. These are called haraam foods and drinks.
Haraam is an Arabic word which means ‘not allowed’, ‘prohibited’ or ‘unlawful’. Allah does not want us to eat haraam foods or drinks. Only a few foods and drinks are haraam.
These are five kinds of haraam foods and drinks:
(1) Swine is an animal whose meat is not allowed. It is unlawful for Muslims. Anything that contains any part of the haraam animal is also haraam.
(2) Blood of any animal or bird.
(3) The meat of dead animals and birds.
(4) The meat of animals that are slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah.
(5) Alcohol and intoxicating drinks and drugs.
It is a sin to eat or drink haraam things.
Always buy and eat halaal foods and drinks. Every food is made up of one or several food ingredients. Ingredient means any of the things or qualities of which something is made. In our times, food packages come with an ingredient list on them. This ingredient list contains everything the food is made of. Therefore, always read the ingredient label before buying food. Haraam ingredients in the food make the entire food haraam. Do not buy or eat food containing one or more haraam ingredients.
Some haraam ingredients are:
pork
bacon
alcohol
lard
wine
beer
chocolate liquor
- Answer the following questions.
Exercises
1. Explain the Arabic word haraam.
- What is an ingredient label?
- Write down a few foods that Muslims should be careful of.
- Activity
1. Read this ingredient list:
Fresh bread
Ingredients:
Wheat flour, sugar, bread improver, water, lard.
Can we eat this bread? Why or why not?
- Read this ingredient list:
Tasty Toast
Ingredients:
Wheat flour, water, salt, sesame seeds, 100% vegetable
shortening.
Can we eat this toast? Why or why not?
- Bring from home a few ingredient labels and discuss the
ingredients in class, whether they are halaal or haraam.
The Greeting of Islam :
The greeting of Islam is salaam, which means peace. It is Sunnah to begin this greeting but obligatory to return it.
A Muslim should greet another Muslim by saying: as-Salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh. He should not add anything further to this.
A man once came to the Prophet ( M ) and said, ‘as-Salaamu Alaikum (Peace be with you).’ He returned his greeting and the man sat down. The Prophet ( M )
said, ‘Ten.’ Then another man came along and said, ‘as-Salaamu Alaikum wa rahmatullaah (Peace and the mercy of Allah be upon you). He returned his greeting. The man sat down and the Prophet (Peace and the mercy of Allah be upon you ) said, ‘Twenty,’ meaning (you have earned the merit of twenty good deeds). A third one came and said, ‘as-Salaamu Alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh (Peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings be with you).’ The Prophet (Peace and the mercy of Allah be upon you)
returned his greeting and the man sat down. The Prophet (Peace and the mercy of Allah be upon you) then said, ‘Thirty.’ (Al-Bukhaaree)
The recommended Sunnah is for the person who comes walking by to give the greeting to someone who is sitting down, and for the rider to greet the person who is walking or sitting. The greeting of one member of a group on behalf of the rest is enough and it is likewise enough for a single member of a group to return a greeting.
A Muslim should return the greeting of another Muslim by saying: wa alaikum-us salaam if the first one says as-Salaamu alaikum. It is preferable, however, to add the words ‘wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh’. If, however, he says, as-Salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh, he must reply by saying, wa alaikumus-Salaamu wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh.
Greeting youngsters is recommended because this will teach them good manners. It is also commendable for someone who gets up to leave a meeting to greet those sitting and to greet them similarly when he returns to join them. The same applies if some barrier comes between him and them, such as a wall or a tree. If a person comes across a man again he has already greeted, he is recommended to greet him again.
A Muslim is also recommended to shake hands with his Muslim brother. If he has initiated the handshake he should not withdraw his hand until the other withdraws his. It is permissible for Muslim brothers to hug each other and
to kiss each other on the head.
Exercises
- Say whether these manners are ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
1. Not replying to salaam greeting.
- Being the first to greet one’s elders.
- Greeting youngsters is recommended because this will teach
them good manners.
- Answer the following questions.
1. Whom did the Prophet ( Peace and the mercy of Allah be upon you ) say would get the reward of 20 good deeds?
- What is the best reply to ‘as-Salaamu-Alaikum’?
- Activity
Learn the beautiful Sunnah of greeting and practice it in your daily life to increase your good deeds.
