You may have come across the halal sign on windows of restaurants throughout the country. Have you ever thought to yourself what it means or how it's even pronounced? Halal is a term in Islam that means something that is permissible to consume. Whereas its opposite, haram, which means it's not allowed. consume.
So why should it matter what we eat or what we don't eat? Well just like people watch what they eat for a diet or their physical health, Islam also cares for the spiritual well-being. In essence, Islam teaches you that you are what you eat.
So how do you How do you become what you eat? The divine text in Islam teaches that all the attributes that you see in different animals can become a part of your own soul the more you eat that animal. For example, people wonder why Muslims can't eat pork.
Well, with this divine teaching of you are what you eat, you can understand why. Because there are certain attributes in pigs that can have harmful spiritual effects on a person. Similar, all predator animals are forbidden as well due to their vicious attributes that could have harmful effects on your soul. These are effects that may not be noticed physically but without a doubt affect your soul. Okay, so why does Islam allow eating of other animals like cattle you ask?
Well because their attributes are benign and thus not harmful to the spirit. Then again, if you overeat the meat of a cattle, you will acquire attributes of cattle such as laziness, sloppiness and the like. In summary, Islam wants us human beings not to just look like human beings on the outside, but wants to nurture the true human dimension within us to maximize potential.
The principles of halal and haram are thought of as a map that helps us with growth and nourishment of the human dimension. We often wonder why some people act like animals. Well, the answer may lie closer to their dining plate than you may think.
If we gave as much importance to the spiritual effect food has on us as Islam teaches, then society would be much better placed. So, the next time you notice the halal sign, consider the spiritual benefits as well as the physical taste of the food. Stay tuned for our next video.