'Halal' Food in the Qur'an

Qur'anic Commandments- 4

Let man consider the food he eats! We pour down abundant water and cause the soil to split open. We make grain grow, and vines, fresh vegetation, olive trees, date palms, luscious gardens, fruits, and fodder: all for you and your livestock to enjoy. (80:25-33)

'It is He who produces both trellised and untrellised gardens, date palms, crops of diverse flavours, the olive, the pomegranate, alike yet different. So when they bear fruit, eat some of it, paying what is due on the day of harvest, but do not be wasteful: God does not like wasteful people. [He gave you] livestock, as beasts of burden and as food. So eat what God has provided for you and do not follow in Satan’s footsteps: he is your sworn enemy. (6:142-143)

‘Lord, send down to us a feast from heaven so that we can have a festival– the first and last of us– and a sign from You. Provide for us: You are the best provider.’ (5:115)

The food that we consume affects our physical well being, internal disposition and external conduct in such subtle yet profound ways that it requires deeper consideration for its implications on our morals and manners. Historically and spiritually, the criterion of discrimination between the bad and the good, the unlawful and the licit, has been Divinely-ordained for the knowledge and guidance of man from the dawn of civilization. Hence, dietary restrictions and regulations are found in almost all religions of the past. Indeed, the Islamic tradition of ‘Halal’ is the quality process of purity and wholesomeness that makes something lawful and appropriate for consumption and beneficial enjoyment. 

The Holy Qur’an offers vital guidance on the lawful and the unlawful when it comes to consumption of food. The Word of God points to the intimate connection between the consumption of food and the spiritual disposition, urging believers to remain within the confines of the lawful, and to shun the evil of excesses and immoderation. To keep the Satanic impulses in chains, it is important to avoid the consumption of the unlawful, including the intoxicants. Whereas certain harmful foods and deviant/idolatrous practices are to be avoided under the Shariah, all good foods are licit in moderation. Further, the Qur’an addresses issues of healthy eating and community dining, attacking tribal prejudices and facilitating social interactions around shared food.  Reproduced below are Qur’anic verses that speak of dietary regulations:

'Ya Ilaahi': Revealed Poems

Spiritual Healing

O my dear God, my Protector, my Loving One

My dear Friend - Always Living One

Always powerful and Merciful One.

Please shower Your blessings with Your help

And guidance.

O my dear God, every single thing is in Your control

And as Your servant please protect me and Help me.

O my dear God, please do not ever leave me alone

O my dear God, I shall not ever forget You

O my dear God, do not ever forget me

O dear, the Perfect Healer

Only You are sufficient for me 

Please heal me (only You suffice for me)

'Ilham': Recent Divine Messages- V

Hazrat Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba)  of Mauritius is a living saint and servant of God: a spiritual preceptor and model-exemplar of Islam in our times. A frequent recipient of Divine revelations and spiritually-infused messages from the Unseen for the past two decades now, the mystical experiences of Imam Azim (aba) rhyme with the finest of such revelatory experiences of great savants ever reported in the annals of Muslim communities around the world. Most certainly, Imam Azim (aba) has been blessed with an abundance of Divine communications and spiritual messages to a level and scale unheard of in the records of the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya since the times of the Promised Massih Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian (1835-1908 CE). Like the Promised Messiah (as) in the previous era, Imam Azim (aba) today claims Divine revelations and messages as the authority behind his spiritual mission: Allah (swt) charged him with the mighty task of reclaiming and revitalizing the enduring message of Tawheed in this era, and emblematic of this Divinely-infused spiritual role, bestowed upon him several titles- Hazrat, Amir-ul-Mu’mineen, Muhyi-ud-Din Khalifatullah; Mujaddid, Messiah, etc. Hence, Divinely-raised with a mandate to serve Islam in this era, Imam Azim (aba) is the Holy Founder of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al International- a devotional community of Muslims around the world who are committed to rejuvenate the Heavenly Way of Islam in their own lives and among the people.

Reproduced below are certain recent Divine revelations received by Hazrat Saheb (aba) on 30-31 May 2021. These messages from Beyond call our attention to the grim situation of the world: a world that has abandoned the protective shade of Divine regulations and has virtually embraced the lure of evil and inequity at the cost of peace, justice and fairness. Reminding believers about the duty to obey God and His messenger, the revelation underscores the need for an open and receptive mind that is capable of carefully listening and following the messages and advices that contain true life for the believers. What distinguishes a hypocrite from a believer is their contrasting attitudes to faith. Beyond verbal profession of belief, a true believer is seriously committed to the obligations of Faith. Such a believer diligently upholds God's commandments concerning just living in society, safeguarding the Amanat of Bai'at at all costs till their last breath in this world...it is such a community of believers that shall inherit the grand Divine promise on Fath-e-Islam in the Later Days, Insha-Allah, Aameen. 

Read  the Divine Revelations Below:      

The situation around the world 

Time will come soon for great destruction. Some of my disciples have no food for themselves. 

 يَا رَبِّ إِنَّ قَوْمِي اتَّخَذُوا هَٰذَا بروح القدس مَهْجُورًا ۝ وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا مِّنَ الْمُجْرِمِينَ ۗ وَكَفَىٰ بِرَبِّكَ هَادِيًا وَنَصِيرًا ۝

 

"Oh My Rab/Lord/Creator verily my people had abandoned this Divine Revelation [i.e. such revelations which came through the Holy Spirit], not acted on its teachings. Thus, from the sinful people We made enemies for every Prophet. Your Lord is a Sufficient Guide and Helper."

The Quest for 'Ummat-e-Wahida'

The time period of a Khalifatullah or a Divinely-inspired messenger is a vital phase in the spiritual and political spheres of his community. For instance, when Jesus (as) appeared among the Israelites, the spiritual (and political) expectation of the times was that he would establish the Heavenly Kingdom on Earth. Likewise, when the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) preached Islam in Arabia, it eventually resulted in the establishment of a just and humane political order in the land as well. Indeed, the Islamic Aqeedah  contains within it the design and seeds of an equitable social order that will truly liberate humans from the chains and shackles that confine them to the clutches of Taghut and other satanic elements.

In this era of a Khalifatullah, political and material conditions of our societies clearly point to a world in decadence, disarray and anarchy, with much violence and bloodshed and unconscionable inequalities and rampant corruption. While capitalist social orders swear by civic freedom and liberties, and secular laws passed in people's assemblies are ostensibly for providing justice and welfare to the people, corruption and decadence have permeated every fiber of nations. Despite claims of being democracies that value freedom and liberties of people, the reality on the ground is such that much injustice and exploitation of the vulnerable take place on an everyday basis, ravaging our pretentious claims of being civilized peoples. All of these call for a just social and political order that protects the vulnerable from the 'slavery' of the 'free' (the rich and the influential).

In the reconstruction of the deeply-flawed and anarchical world order in our times, Islamic values can shine a light in ensuring freedom from slavery and other inhuman exploitation. Against this backdrop of the quest for a just world order, in his Friday Sermon of 21 May 2021~ 08 Shawwal 1442 AH Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius spoke about role of Islamic Aqeedah in reimaging the world order and in the creation of another world.