2 September 2010 / ,
In Arabic, halal means anything that is lawful, legal, licit, legitimate, permissible, allowable, permitted, allowed, admissible, authorized, un-prohibited, un-forbidden, un-proscribed or acceptable.
In Islam, beside prayer and other religious activities, eating is respected as a matter of worship of God. Muslims consume to maintain good health in order to perform their duty to contribute their knowledge and efforts for the welfare of society. For this reason, there is a dietary code within the religion, similar to the Kosher code for Jews; certain animals cannot be eaten (such as pigs), while other foods or drink are forbidden. Far from a mere list of foods that are “OK” and “not OK,” the Islamic dietary guidelines also address ethical issues in addition to health concerns: such as whether an animal was treated properly during their lifetime and slaughtered in a non-traumatic manner, whether the money used to purchase food was gained through lawful means, and whether the name of God was pronounced upon the animals before killing.
