"Asal tidak ada lemak atau daging babi, dan tidak rasa was-was, boleh makan apa?"
Unggapan seperti ini sering saya dengar daripada beberapa teman dan juga mereka yang saya tidak kenali ketika berbual bersama mereka.
Mungkin anak-anak sekolah ataupun anak-anak remaja yang jahil, kurang faham erti sebenar perkataan 'halal' kerana tidak diterangkan oleh orang tua mereka. Namun yang sedihnya terdapat juga ibu-ibu dan bapa-bapa, yang saya yakin akan lebih faham soal halal dan haram, melanggan tempat-tempat makan yang disebutkan tadi. Adakan perkataan Halal yang ditulis sendiri oleh pemilik bukan Islam, terdapat beberapa pekerja Melayu, ataupun tulisan No Pork, No Lard menjadi garis-pandu dan dapat menghilangkan rasa was-was itu?
- 29 Jun 2008, Berita Minggu ms 14 (SPEKTRA - Ada Sijil Ini?)
if you are interested to read the full article, do refer to the newspaper that was mentioned above. :)
well-oh-well, this issue had been bothering me for quite some time. having to see a few Muslim acquaintances of mine being oblivious regarding this matter, makes me feel uncomfortable. initially, i thought, well, they should jolly-well know better what they are doing - bak pepatah melayu, 'tepuk dada, tanya selera'; but it starts to really bother me, when my non-Muslims friends tend to question the actions of those few people - "No Pork, No Lard Halal is it?", "When you eat a dish, & there were a few bits of bacon, is it okay if you just put it aside & eat? Cause that day -insertnamehere- did it, so i am not so sure if it is okay.", "Fish&Co is just fish what - so can eat right?" & et cetera.
i, myself, have to be tactful in answering those questions. as mentioned in the article (not included in the part above, & translated to english), "Yes, there are restaurants & other places that serve No Pork & No Lard, but what about the other ingredients? Are they properly slaughtered? In a manner required by Islam? The cow, the chicken? How about the other stuff like cheese, cream, sauces, gelatine, spices, oil & butter? Have they been checked & certified as Halal?"
this post may serve as an enlightenment for the non-Muslims, & hopefully a knock-on-the-head for my dearest Muslim friends. InsyaAllah.