The Qur'an & Hadith about Haram & Halal in Food

Qur'anic Verses
“O ye who believe! Eat of the good
things wherewith We have provided
you, and render thanks to Allah if
it is (indeed) He whom ye
worship” (Qur'an 2:172).
“He hath forbidden you only
carrion, and blood, and swine flesh,
and that which hath been
immolated to (the name of) any
other than Allah. But he who is
driven by necessity, neither craving
nor transgressing, it is no sin for
him. Lo! Allah is Forgiving,
Merciful” (Qur'an 2:173).
“O ye who believe! Fulfil your
undertakings. The beast of cattle is
made lawful unto you (for food)
except that which is announced
unto you (herein), game being
unlawful when ye are on
pilgrimage. Lo! Allah ordaineth
that which pleaseth Him” (Qur'an
5:1)
“Forbidden unto you (for food) are
carrion and blood and swine-flesh,
and that which hath been
dedicated unto any other than
Allah, and the strangled, and the
dead through beating, and the
dead through falling from a height,
and that which hath been killed by
(the goring of) horns, and the
devoured of wild beasts, saving
that which ye make lawful (by the
death-stroke), and that which hath
been immolated unto idols.
And (forbidden is it) that ye swear
by the divining arrows. This is an
abomination. This day are those
who disbelieve in despair of (ever
harming) your religion; so fear
them not, fear Me! This day have I
perfected your religion for you and
completed My favour unto you and
have chosen for you as religion Al-
Islam. Whoso is forced by hunger,
not by will, to sin: (for him) lo!
Allah is Forgiving,
Merciful” (Qur'an 5:3)
“They ask thee (O Muhammad)
what is made lawful for them. Say:
(all) good things are made lawful
for you. And those beasts and
birds of prey which ye have trained
as hounds are trained, ye teach
them that which Allah taught you;
so eat of that which they catch for
you and mention Allah’s name
upon it, and observe your duty to
Allah. Lo! Allah is swift to take
account” (Qur'an 5:4)
“This day are (all) good things
made lawful for you. The food of
those who have received the
Scripture is lawful for you, and
your food is lawful for them. And
so are the virtuous women of the
believers and the virtuous women
of those who received the Scripture
before you (lawful for you) when ye
give them their marriage portions
and liven with them in honour, not
in fornication, nor taking them as
secret concubines. Whoso denieth
the faith, his work is vain and he
will be among the losers in the
Hereafter” (Qur'an 5:5).
“And eat not of that whereon
Allah’s name hath not been
mentioned, for lo! it is
abomination. Lo! the devils do
inspire their minions to dispute
with you. But if ye obey them, ye
will be in truth idolaters” (Qur'an
6:121).
From The Hadith
On the authority of Abu Huraira
(may Allah be pleased with him),
who said: The Messenger of Allah
said: “Allah the Almighty is good
and accepts only that which is
good. Allah has commanded the
Faithful to do that which He
commanded the Messengers, and
the Almighty has said: “O ye
Messengers! Eat of the good
things, and do right..” (Quran
23:51). And Allah the Almighty has
said: “O ye who believe! Eat of the
good things wherewith We have
provided you..” (2:172). Then he
mentioned [the case of] a man
who, having journeyed far, is
dishevelled and dusty and who
spreads out his hands to the sky
[saying]: O Lord! O Lord!-while his
food is unlawful, his drink is
unlawful, his clothing unlawful,
and he is nourished unlawfully, so
how can he be
answered!” (Muslim).
On the authority of Abu Ya’la
Shahddad ibn Aus, the Messenger
of Allah said: “Verily Allah has
prescribed proficiency in all things.
Thus, if you kill, kill well; and if
you slaughter, slaughter well. Let
each one of you sharpen his blade
and let him spare suffering to the
animal he slaughters” (Muslim).
In an incident narrated by Rafi’ bin
Khadij, the Prophet told Muslims
who wanted to slaughter some
animals using reeds, “Use whatever
causes blood to flow, and eat the
animals if the Name of Allah has
been mentioned on slaughtering
them...” (Bukhari).
Narrated Abu Thalaba: Allah’s
Messenger forbade the eating of
the meat of beasts having fangs
(Bukhari).
Narrated Ibn Umar: The Prophet
(saws) cursed the one who did
Muthla to an animal (i.e. cut its
limbs or some other part of its
body while it is still alive
(Bukhari).

The reward for good husbands and fathers

Assalamu alaykum
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious Most
Merciful
Allah says in the Glorious Qur’an:
“And live with [them] in a beautiful
manner. If you are then displeased with
them, [then know] perhaps you like
something which Allah has created
abundant goodness in it (al-Qur’an4:19 )
.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him
peace) said:
The believer with the most perfect faith is
the one who has best character and the
one who is kindest to his wife (Sahih
Muslim).
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him
peace) said:
The believer should not harbor hatred
towards his wife. If he dislikes something
in her, then surely he will be pleased with
another quality in her (Sahih Muslim).
Shaykh Asharaf Ali Thanwi said, commenting
on the above verse:
“Brothers! when Allah has ordained these
rights for women, then who can change
them.
If a man fails to fulfill these rights, he will
be guilty of not upholding the rights of
the creation. Man should ponder over
how Allah has interceded on behalf of
women in the above verse.
While there may be many reasons for
being displeased with one’s wife, the
main reason is usually bad character—
this becomes a source of grief for the
husband.
Nevertheless, Allah has promised that
even this bad character can become a
means of attaining goodness—for He is
All-wise and capable of doing anything.
For example, she could bear you children
who become the means of your salvation
come qiyamah. Just ponder over how
clearly the rights of women are
emphasized in the above Qur’anic verse.”
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him
peace) said:
The best of you is the one best to his
wife. I am the best among you to his wife
(Tirmidhi, Darimi).
'A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) relates that
a desert Arab came to the Prophet (Allah
bless him and give him peace) and remarked:
“Do you kiss your children, for we do
not?” The Prophet (Allah bless him and
give him peace) replied, “What can I do if
Allah has taken mercy out of your
heart?” ( Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Anas (Allah be pleased with him) relates that
the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him
peace) said:
“Whoever brings up and nurtures two
young girls until they reach maturity will
appear on the Day of Judgment in a state
that he and I will be like this (and he
joined his fingers together).” [( Sahih
Muslim)]
It is easy to gauge from here how Islam has
granted so many incentives upon actions
necessary for the upkeep of society.
The Spiritual Care of One’s Family
Furthermore, just as it is necessary and
rewarding to see to the physical and monetary
needs of one’s family it is even more
important and rewarding to see to their
spiritual ( ruhani ) development.
Allah says in the Glorious Qur’an:
“O people of faith, save yourself and your
families from the Hellfire.” (al-
Qur’an66:6)
Likewise, the rewards for a women are also
many if she interacts well with her husband.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him
peace) said in a hadith narrated by Umm
Salama (Allah be pleased with him):
“Any woman who dies with her husband
pleased with her shall enter
Paradise .” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi)
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him
peace) said in a hadith narrated by Anas
radhiyallahu anhu:
“If a women performs her five prayers,
fasts the month of Ramadan, protects
herself from immorality, and is obedient
to her husband, she will enter into
Paradise from any door she
desires.” ( Hilya)
It is greatly rewarding to treat all the creation
of Allah with gentleness and kindness. This
reward (along with the responsibility) only
increases when their is kinship and closeness.
This makes the person into a complete
believer, and he is rewarded in this life and the
Hereafter.
Much of the above information was gleaned
from Ashraf’s Advice on Marriage available
from www.al-rashad.com and the Mishkat al-
Masabih, the great hadith collection by
‘Allama Tabrizi in Arabic.
This is just a sample of what rich heritage we
have been left by our pious predecessors.
Other marriage books and relevant chapters in
hadith works like the Riyad al-Salihin
(translated) and the al-Adab al-Mufrad by
Imam Bukhari (translated) can be consulted
for more information.
Wassalam

The Blessings of Zamzam Water

“Verily, the first House (of worship) appointed
for mankind was that at Bakkah (Makkah), full
of blessing, and guidance for the entire
creation Al-Aalameen. In it are manifest signs
the Maqaam of Ibrahim (Standing place of
Abraham); whosoever enters it, he attains
security…”
(Quran 3:96-97)
“O our Lord! I have made some of my
offspring to dwell in an uncultivable valley by
Your Sacred House (Kabah in Makkah), O our
Lord, so that they may perform Salah. So fill
some hearts among men with love towards
them, and O Allah provide them with fruits so
that they may give thanks.”
(Quran 14:37)
Abdulah Ibn Abbaas (radiyallahu ta’ala
‘anhu) narrated that the Prophet (salallahu
alayhi wasallam) said: “May Allah bestow his
mercy upon Hajar, the mother of Ismail, had
she let go of the water of Zamzam it would
have become a flowing spring on the face of
the earth (rather than a well) whose water
shall never dry.” (Ahmad)
Ibn ‘Abbaas (radiyallahu ta’ala ‘anhu)
narrated that the Prophet (salallahu alayhi
wasallam) said: “One difference between us
and the hypocrites is that they could not drink
much from Zamzam.”
(Ibn Majah)
Ibn ‘Abbaas (radiyallahu ta’ala ‘anhu)
narrates that he gave the Prophet (salallahu
alayhi wasallam) the water of Zamzam and
the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wasallam) drank
the water of Zamzam whilst standing.
(Bukhari)
The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wasallam) said
to Abu Dhar (radiyallahu ta’ala ‘anhu) who
had stayed near the Kabah and its coverings
for forty days and nights with no food or drink
other than Zamzam, “How long have you been
here? “Abu Dharr (radiyallahu ta’ala ‘anhu)
said: “I have been here for thirty days and
nights.” The Prophet (salallahu alayhi
wasallam) said, “Who has been feeding you?
”He said, “I have had nothing but Zamzam
water, and I have become so fat that I have
folds of fat on my stomach. I do not feel any
of the tiredness or weakness of hunger and I
have not become thin.” The Prophet (salallahu
alayhi wasallam) said: “Verily, it is blessed, it
is food that nourishes.”
(Muslim) ”
Jabir bin Abdullah (radiyallahu ta’ala ‘anhu)
narrates that the Prophet (salallahu alayhi
wasallam) said: “The water of Zamzam is for
whatever it is drunk for.”
(Ibn Majah)