Sikander Hashmi – What Are You Eating KMA Friday Message
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses issues related to Islam, including problems with fuel, alcohol use, and the use of animals in products. They provide guidance on the best approach when faced with doubt, and emphasize the importance of finding one's own way of thinking. The speaker emphasizes the need to be cautious and avoiding bad behavior, while also stressing the importance of learning about ingredients and seeking practical advice to improve one's bodies and mind.
AI: Summary ©
Respected elders, dear brothers and sisters,
my young
friends,
Let's say that you drive into a gas
station,
and
the car manufacturer
has stated
that the automobile
can only take
unleaded fuel.
But instead of unleaded,
you manage to pour diesel
into your gas tank.
Now as a consequence,
two things
will likely happen.
Your car won't run, so that's going to
be your first problem,
and you will have to get costly repairs
done in order to get it fixed. So
this will be your second problem.
Similarly, my brothers and sisters,
our creator, our designer, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
has specified what is to go into our
bodies
and what should not.
And if we do not follow
these guidelines
from the designer, from the creator, from the
manufacturer,
there are consequences.
Just as
the engine suffers, if it is given,
the incorrect, incorrect
type of fuel. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has
made that instruction clear in the Quran
by saying
that all humankind
eat from whatever is on the earth
that is lawful, that is halal,
and that is and that is pure.
And in fact, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
rather the prophet
has described
the eating
of halal as one of the Syrian qualities
of the Muslims because the prophet
said as related by Anas Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
when recorded in Sahih al Bukhari
that
that
whoever prays as we Muslims pray and faces
the Kaaba,
Meaning during prayer, faces the qiblah and eats
our zabiha, eats our
slaughtered animals. He is a Muslim for whom
is the protection of Allah and his messenger
salallahu alaihi wa sallam. And Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala has detailed in the Quran. And through
the teachings of the prophet
as to what is halal and what is
haram.
And these things or some of these things
are very clear. So for example, everyone knows
that port is haram.
That carrion,
you know,
meta is haram. Animal which has died without
proper slaughter is haram to consume.
Similarly, you know, blood is not permissible to
consume.
Drinking alcohol is haram and so on. So
everyone agrees
upon these things. There is no difference of
opinion upon this.
Then there are issues.
For example, things that are contemporary
that did not exist at that time. It
did they did not exist at the time
of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
They did not exist in the same way
as they do today at the time of
the revelation of the Quran. So for example,
there are new ingredients.
You know, ingredients which are sometimes,
formulated
in labs, you know, sometimes sometimes through chemical
reactions,
sometimes through, you know, genetic engineering and so
on.
Another example is the method of the slaughter
of animals.
Right? Studying was not a thing at the
time of the prophet
Right? Slaughter by machines was not a thing
at the time of the prophet and
also the use
of alcohol not as wine and products
but as the use of as as a
secondary ingredient. Right? In the finished product. So
for example, the alcohol is not being added
to the food
because it is alcohol, but it is being
added as part of a flavoring as an
example.
And in the finished product, there is very
little. There is very minimal alcohol left. So,
you know, these are contemporary issues
which did not have to be discussed or
were not addressed at the time of the
prophet
or perhaps there are issues
that have
differences of opinion amongst the.
Right? So, for example,
eating meat upon which Allah's name has not
been mentioned at the time of slaughter. Right?
So, what is the status with regards to
that? Or when there is doubt regarding that
who has killed the animal, Right? Whether it
was a Muslim or was a Kitabi, someone
who's from the Ahlul Kitab or if it
was an atheist or someone from other faith,
how are these things going to be addressed?
So there can be differences of opinion amongst
the scholars among the Jewish with regards to
these issues. So the question is,
you know, as we live in the society
where, of course, there is there are things
which are haram, which are clearly haram, then
there are things which are doubtful, and then
there are issues regarding which there is difference
of opinion. So what is the best approach
when we find ourselves in such a situation
or any other situation where there is doubt?
So the prophet
has given us some fundamental guidance with regards
to this. The prophet
has given us some basic fundamental guidance with
regards to this. And this is related
by
said I heard the messenger of Allah
say, so when the narrator say that he
pointed to his ears when he was describing
this hadith, when he was relating this hadith
that I heard from the prophet
that that which is lawful, that which is
halal is plain, it is clear, and that
which is forbidden, which is unlawful is also
plain, meaning it is clear.
And between the 2 of them, between the
halal and between the haram, there is this
middle ground. There are the doubtful matters. And
the prophet said,
that about which many people do not know.
So, the halal is clear, the haram is
clear, and in the middle, there's this area
of doubtful matters and the majority of people,
the or we should say many people, not
majority, but many people, they do not know.
They're not aware about these things. So the
prophet
said,
that thus, he who avoids the person who
avoids this this doubtful matters
clears themselves in regards to their religion and
their honor. Right? If a person steers clear
of this area, of this field in between
the halal and haram regarding which there is
doubt and which there is a lack of
clarity amongst many people, then a person will
be protecting,
clears himself with regards to their religion and
their honor.
And he who falls the person who falls
into the doubtful matters
will fall into the lawful. And the prophet
salallahu alaihi into the unlawful. And the prophet
salallahu alaihi wasallam gave the example
of the shepherd, as the shepherd who pastures
near a sanctuary
all but grazing therein. You see, if a
shepherd has his animals
and he is grazing them, but there is
an area where he is not supposed to
go. And what does he do? He takes
his animals close to that area, and he
gets them grazing around the borders of it.
Then eventually what will happen?
Inevitably,
most likely, right, he will end up breaching
that sanctuary or that area.
And the prophet
that said
That truly every king, indeed, every king has
a sanctuary and truly Allah's sanctuary is his
prohibitions.
As the prophet
is recorded to as being as having said
in Sahih al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. So
we see my brothers and sisters, the example
I like to give is the person who
likes to go hiking. He likes to go
hiking.
He or she likes to go hiking and
they like to go hiking in new areas,
in different areas. And
one day, they're getting really excited. They said,
okay. I want to go explore the Canada
US border. I want to go along the
border, and I'm gonna hike. You know, I'm
gonna follow the map, and I'm gonna hike
along the border to see what the border
looks like. Inevitably, there's a good chance that
this person is gonna find themselves in trouble.
Why? Because the Canada US border is the
longest undefended border in the world. It is
unmarked in many places, and it's very easy
to slip and to end up on the
wrong side. And then, you know, the US
border protection is gonna find you there, and
then you're gonna be in trouble. Right? So
if we stay away from the areas where
there is doubt, where there is uncertainty, then
we steer clear. If a person does not
go near the border, he doesn't have to
worry about the the US authorities coming and
arresting because he's not he's not going near
the Right? He's in in in Canada. So,
you know, as we move forward,
undoubtedly,
we will come across issues and things of
which we are not sure, or there are
differences of opinion. And the ideal approach, if
it is possible, and I recognize that it
may not always be possible, but if it
is possible,
is to steer clear of these matters as
much as possible. The person who is able
to steer clear will be safe in every
way. Right? Because you're not going near any
of these matters, any of these issues, but
I recognize it is going to be quite
difficult to steer clear completely.
Now sometimes,
you know, depending on the circumstances,
you know, like I said, it may not
be practical,
but, definitely,
it is something that is not minor and
that we need to be careful about. We
should be putting some thought into this. It
should not be a matter which we feel
is, you know, at the back of our
minds, it is dismissed. It is not giving
any importance.
Yes. We give it importance. And if we
go into the doubtful matters, we go into
that area knowing what we are heading into.
We don't walk into it blindly without any
sensitivity, without any understanding
as if there is no danger and as
if there is no risk.
You have probably heard the saying that you
are what you eat.
You are what you eat. And the purpose
of those who came up with the saying
in the 1800
was that, you know, the food that one
eats,
one consumes
has a bearing
of,
of of, regarding one's state of mind and
health.
What we eat and what we consume, it
will undoubtedly have an effect on our state
of mind and upon our health. And this
is where the saying came from that you
are what you eat.
But we also learn my brothers and sisters
from the teachings of the prophet
that what we consume,
if it is haram,
also has other effects.
It has effects on our heart, on our
spiritual heart. It has effects on our our
worship. It has effects on our actions. You
know, sometimes
we wonder why our dua,
why our
duas seem to not be responded to. Right?
We make dua, we raise our hands in
front of Allah
but we feel like, you know, nothing's happening.
And Allah
knows best but Abu Hurayrah radiAllahu anhu related
from the Prophet
that he said,
That, O people,
Allah is a tayb.
Allah
is He is pure
and He only accepts that which is pure.
Allah is
He is pure and He only accepts that
which is pure. And then the Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam goes on and he says,
Allah has commanded the believers
that which he commanded
the messengers.
Faqal for he said and then he quoted
2 verses from the Quran.
Yeah. Oh, messengers, eat from the pure foods
and do right
and,
indeed, you know, I am knowing of what
you do and Allah
says,
and Allah said, all you who believe,
eat from the pure and good foods
that we have given you. So the prophet
quoted
from these two verses of the Quran.
The prophet
then made mention of a man.
Made mention of a man who undergoes a
lengthy journey and what it is a state?
Said,
and
that he is in a disheveled and a
dusty state. So this is a person who's
made a long journey and you imagine at
the time the prophet a
long journey means that, you know, you're you're
not really in a good state. So somebody
who really looks like, you know, they are
in need of assistance. They are someone who
is, you know, going through hardship
and he raises his hands
towards the sky. He spreads his hands towards
the sky calling
He calls out
saying, oh my lord, oh my lord, you
Rabbi, you Rabbi. But the prophet
said,
However, his food, his consumption is haram. His
drink is haram. His clothes are haram and
he has been nourished with haram. So, how
will his call be answered? This is the
rhetorical question that the prophet
asked.
So, how will this call be answered when
he is enveloped in every way
with haram in terms of his what he
has consumed and what he has drank and
his clothing even and how he has been
nourished is all coming from things which are
prohibited by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Thus, we
learn my brothers and sisters that
no matter how deserving a person may seem,
if they are not careful about the boundaries
that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has set, the
guidelines that Allah has given, then it is
quite possible that their pleas for assistance, their
pleas, their calls to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
for help may not be responded to because
of this reason. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
forgive us and purify us.
It's like, you know, he's in need, he's
calling for help. He's calling 911,
but the call can't get through because he
has cut the line by getting into the
unlawful. What has he done? He's cut his
phone line, he has cut his means of
communication
for
assistance by
engaging
in haram. Now, as if that wasn't bad
enough, my brothers and sisters, it gets even
more serious. The prophet
reported to have said that
that that the flesh
will not enter enter Jannah which has grown
from Haram. The flesh which has grown from
Haram will not enter into Jannah and,
the fire of the meaning of * is
more worthy of it. So the the the
flesh which has been nourished from haram or
like from evil, from that which is bad,
will not enter into Jannah and rather the
fire is more worthy of it. And that
is why my brothers and sisters, we see
the prophet
and his companions
being so particular about this matter. Taking this
matter so seriously. On one occasion, the prophet
could not sleep all night. He was tossing
and he was turning.
So he was asked by his wife that
you Rasulullah, you spent the night awake tossing
and turning and he replied that I found
a date last night. What did I find?
A date. What did he find? A date.
I found a date last night under my
side and I ate it. Then I remembered
that we had in our house some dates
that were meant for salakah, that were meant
for charity. So I fear that that date
that I ate was of it.
This is the scrupulousness of the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam with regards
to ensuring that he does not consume anything
which he should not be consuming.
You know, even if it was charity, if
it was sadaqah, if accidentally it was eaten,
of course, you would hope to be forgiven
yet and the prophet didn't have to worry
about this of course because Allah had already
forgiven him yet. Still, we find that there
is so much care and concern even regarding
accidentally eating, consuming something which should not be
consumed.
The companions of the prophet
were also very careful about their food. It
is reported from Abu Bakr
that he forced himself to vomit even when
he realized that he had been given food
that had been obtained unlawfully. You know, someone
had fed him something and then afterwards told
him how it had been obtained and he
realized that it was from an unlawful source
and he did not want that food to
be digested in his stomach and become a
part of his body or nourish his body
and therefore he forced himself to take it
out.
Was once asked, of course, one of the
famous companions of the prophet that
why is it that your prayers are responded
to? Why is it that your dua is
responded to amongst all of the other companions?
So he replied, I do not raise to
my mouth a morsel except that I know
where it came from and where it came
out of. So he was very particular about
what he would allow to enter into his
mouth and digest
in his stomach. And
he said
that, That the first thing of the human
body to rot is the abdomen.
So he who can eat nothing
but but good food, you know, explained as
being unlawfully
halal and pure in every way should do
so. So my brothers and sisters,
you know,
let us understand that this is not a
trivial matter.
Right? And shouldn't just,
say, okay, whatever and have a dismissive attitude
and put anything into your mouth. And
sometimes, you know, I have observed, forgive
me, all of us,
you know, I'll give you an example. You
know, you go to Costco and there's many
samples everywhere.
People like to go sometimes to make sure
that they get all the samples.
But we have to be very careful.
I have observed, and, again, this is not
to to to pinpoint anyone or to, you
know, to look down upon anyone. But out
of concern for myself first and for all
of us, you know, that that there are
people who are visibly Muslim. Clearly, they are
Muslim, and yet they're eating things which are
are ham. Right? And I don't mean just
just like doubtfully ham but like clearly ham.
Right? So for example, there was a sample
of sausages, right? Of hotdogs.
And
someone came, clearly Muslim,
and they ate it, and they left. And
then I read and looked at the packaging,
and I read the ingredients, it's clearly pork
and beef.
There's pork in there. But the person didn't
know, may Allah forgive them, Allah forgive us
all for our unintended mistakes.
But you know we have to be careful
about this. Another time, somebody picked up a
tray of sushi.
Again visibly Muslim, right? But you read the
ingredients and there's wine in there. Like clearly
there's wine. Like, it's listed on the ingredients.
You know? So, again, this is not to
to pinpoint anyone's mistakes, but this is as
a as a lesson for all of us,
myself first, because sometimes it's easy to get
carried away. Yes? I have to remind myself.
So we have to be careful about this.
I remember,
we think, okay, bread nowadays, there's no issue,
but I picked up a loaf of bread
and I read the ingredients, there's a lot
in it still. They're still using pork fat
and pig fat in some baked items.
So, you know, we need to be careful
about this and not just have a dismissive
attitude, Mila's will not forgive all of us.
To put some serious thought into it and
do what we can,
whatever is we are able to do, you
know, have some awareness, be vigilant. Can be
difficult to guarantee, I understand, you know, 100%
everything and we don't wanna be paranoid either.
So, I understand that, you know, there's a
balance
but try to find, you know, the our
best to find ways to ensure that as
much as possible, whatever we are consuming, we
know what we are consuming
and that there is nothing that at least
is blatantly haram inside of it. 4th year,
I would say my brothers and sisters, if
possible, try to learn about ingredients. You know,
try to do some research, you know, ask
around.
There are organizations now. There are certifying bodies
that certify halal. It was difficult, you know,
many years ago. But now many many things
have become easy.
So do some research, do some learning about
it, you know, seek some tips and clues,
some practical advice, and try to develop a
balanced approach so that you're not always, you
know, paranoid about it, but at the same
time, you're not totally dismissive either. So that
at least we're doing some due diligence about
what we are consuming
and what is nourishing our bodies. We ask
Allah
to purify our bodies, our minds, our souls,
our nourishment. Ask Allah
to forgive us for any more salah haram
of any type that we have consumed. May
Allah we ask Allah
to guidance,
to guide us away from anything which may
be displeasing to him.
Let's take a quick break inshallah and then
we will continue.