Halal means “allowed,” “lawful,” and/or “permissible.” It comes from a verb meaning, “untie, unbind, unfasten, unravel, solve, decipher.”

The milk of a cow is an example of a halal food.

Haram means “prohibited,” “unlawful,” and/or “sacred.” It comes from a verb meaning “to be forbidden, to be unlawful.”

Note that the meaning of haram depends greatly on context. When Muslims refer to Masjid al-Haram or the Haram Shareef, they are using the word in the sense of being sacred, referring to the masjid surrounding the Ka’aba in Mecca.

Bacon, meat from the side, back, or belly of a pig, is an example of a haram food. There is a clear daleel (piece of evidence) supporting the claim that pork is haram is Islam. Quran 2:173 says, “He [Allah] has only prohibited to you dead meat, and blood, and the flesh of swine and that on which any name hath been invoked besides that of God.” (Hussaini and Sakr, 17, following Yusuf Ali). “Swine” refers exclusively to the animal known in contemporary English as the pig.

When Muslims refer to pork as haram (pronounced with a longer second vowel than above), they mean that pork is prohibited. They do NOT mean that pork is sacred to Muslims.

References:

Mohammad M. Hussaini and Dr. Ahmad H. Sakr, Islamic Dietary Laws and Practices, Chicago: IFANCA, 1983,9.

R. Harmsen, “Halal and Haram.” http://rudhar.com/etymolog/halal.htm, 2011

Abu Hurairah relates that the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “Allah, the Lord of Honor and glory says: All other deeds of man are for himself, but his fasting is purely for Me and I shall reward him for it. The fast is a shield. When any of you is fasting he should abstain from loose talk and noisy exchanges. . . [T]he breath of one who is fasting is purer in the sight of Allah than the fragrance of musk. One who fasts experiences two joys: he is joyful when he breaks his fast, and he is joyful by virtue of his fast when he meets his Lord” (Bukhari and Muslim).”

Allah declares that fasting is purely for Him, Subhana wa Ta’ala (Glorified and Exalted). All other deeds that man does, he does for himself. There is a mystery about fasting that sets it apart from other forms of ibadah. Hajj is always public. Salat earns more merit if it is done in public (for men). Zakat can be done relatively privately, yet it involves multiple people including the donor, the recipient, and often intermediaries to ensure it is properly distributed. Yet fasting is inherently private. The only ones who can be certain that you are fasting are you and Allah (SWT).

The fast is a shield. Fasting should prevent us from committing sins. Unfortunately, the way many of us fast, fasting does not perform this function. We think that if we have gone without food and drink, we have succeeded. We need to push beyond this and realize that fasting should raise us higher. I think the problem is that we are satisfied with too little progress. We are so proud of ourselves when we complete a day of fasting or a night of Taraweeh. Why is it in Shawwal, we struggle to do more than 4 rakahs of Isha? Why are the six fasts of Shawwal so much harder to do than the 30 fasts of Ramadan? I think it is because we have lost the appreciation of excellence in religion. We just want to be good enough Muslims. The idea of becoming the best Muslims in the world does not even occur to us.

Still, I do not want to leave on a sour note. We should reflect on how the fasting that Muslims do inspires awe from people of other religions, even religions that themselves teach fasting. The lesson in this is that if we dedicate ourselves to Islam, there is no limit to our spiritual progress.

http://www.islamicfinder.org/articles/article.php?id=400&lang=

1. Allah (SWT)* created the universe for us to use. Whatever is in the world is ready for our use except those things Allah has forbidden. Humanity has found remarkably ingenious ways to use the creation of Allah for our collective benefit. Biologists have engineered microscopic bacteria that make insulin for diabetics. Physicists have used the gravity of planets to move observers to collect data to advance human knowledge.

2. The purpose of eating is to nourish our bodies which require inputs of matter and energy. It is not wrong to take pleasure in food, so long as we do not go to extremes. We need to eat to live. We do not live merely to experience the pleasure of food.

3. We ought to purchase food from money that we have earned honorably. According to the Noble Messenger, Muhammad (S)**, “No one eats better food than what he eats out of the work of his own hand.” (Sahih Bukhari). Allah, in His infinite grace, has provided us an unlimited variety of ways to earn money in a permissible manner. We can practice medicine, work as engineers, advocate for clients in court, teach classes, serve food, or do one of the many jobs that observant Muslims perform all around the world. We must not steal, gamble, distribute intoxicants, or prostitute ourselves. The sins that accrue from these negative choices can undo the rewards we reap from our good deeds. A Muslim who steals incurs the sin of theft but additionally incurs the sin of eating prohibited food because the food he purchased was bought with dirty money.The lists of permissible and prohibited careers is not comprehensive. For example, I did not mention business management, but in general, that career would be considered permissible. On the other side, I did not mention exotic dancing, but that would be considered prohibited.

At your next meal, take a moment to thank Allah for providing you with the means of survival. Also, reflect for a moment on how you paid for the food you are eating. We should strive to be as grateful as possible and as obedient as possible to Our Merciful Lord, Allah.

(SWT)* = “Subhana wa Ta’ala” (Glorified in the Highest)

(S)** = “Salla allahu alaihi wa sallam (May the peace of Allah be upon him)

You can now access this blog at www.asad123.com. This domain is mine. If you don’t like change, I understand. You can still access it at www.asad123.wordpress.com. Please add me to your feed.

When Van Gogh painted Starry Night, he was  in an Asylum at Saint-Remy in 1889. Some may read mental illness into their interpretations of this painting. I do not think it reflects insanity, rather it reflects religiosity.

During Van Gogh’s younger years (1876-1880) he wanted to dedicate his life to spreading Christianity to the poor. Many believe that this religious endeavor may be reflected in the eleven stars of the painting. In Genesis 37:9 the following statement is made:

“And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.” 

Count the number of stars in the painting and you will see there are exactly eleven.

Interestingly, the painting is based on Van Gogh’s view from his room in the asylum at night, yet he painted it from memory during the day.

If you would like to see the original painting, you can see it at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, where it is part of the permanent collection.

Many people mistakenly refer to the piece as “Starry Starry Night.” Don McLean uses this phrase in his song, “Vincent.” I believe McLean coined this name of the painting.