Halal

Halal (Arabic: حلال) is a term meaning "permissible" or "lawful". It is one category within Islamic religious law, with its opposite being haram (forbidden). The term is applied across all aspects of life: food, drink, clothing, money, and business practice.

Although the term halal is commonly associated with food in the wider world, Islamic scholars apply it to every religious ruling. The general principle followed by most scholars is that things to eat and social practices are permissible by default unless evidence of prohibition exists, whereas religious practice is based only on what has been explicitly transmitted.

Sources of Law

Rulings on what is halal and haram derive from the Qur'an and the Sunnah (the words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad). When a new matter arises, scholars use ijtihad (reasoned effort to derive a ruling), relying on analogy (qiyas) and scholarly consensus (ijma). The different schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali, and others) sometimes differ in their details, particularly on novel issues.

Food and Meat

The Qur'an identifies forbidden things: pork, blood, the flesh of dead animals, and what has been offered to another deity. Similarly, alcohol and intoxicants are forbidden. Meat from permissible animals requires a specific method of slaughter: the person slaughtering invokes God's name, and the main blood vessels are cut so blood drains out. Some scholars permit meat slaughtered by People of the Book (Jews and Christians), subject to certain conditions.

Finance and Commerce

Permissibility also concerns how money is earned. Scholars have ruled forbidden: riba (usury), fraud, gambling, and excessive risk contracts lacking certainty (gharar). This has formed the basis for Islamic banking and finance, which employs methods such as murabaha (sale with added margin) and musharaka (profit sharing).

Halal Certification

Given the scale of the global food market, certification bodies verify that products meet Islamic legal requirements. Certification involves inspection of ingredients, slaughter methods, and ensuring no forbidden substances are added during processing. The standards of different certification bodies vary, which has led to debate over the reliability and recognition of different certifications.