Waleed Basyouni – Is Cross-Contamination in Restaurants Haram – Islamic Ruling on Eating Out

Waleed Basyouni
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The speaker discusses the use of honoring coworkers in restaurant business. They explain that honoring coworkers is not allowed in certain situations, and that the use of honoring coworkers is not allowed in other situations. The speaker also suggests avoiding certain details and avoid avoid being in front of people.

AI: Summary ©

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			Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
		
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			We have a question.
		
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			He says if it's permissible to eat from
		
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			a restaurant, obviously the halal meat or meat
		
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			that is like beef or chicken, is it
		
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			okay if there is what he calls cross
		
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			-contamination, which means that they use the same
		
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			utensils and pots that they cook pork with.
		
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			Is it halal to eat in these restaurants,
		
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			or should you ask if this takes place,
		
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			and what is the case in this situation?
		
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			Yeah, I mean, this is a good question.
		
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			It's a common question.
		
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			For instance, if you go to a subway
		
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			and you want to buy a sandwich, okay,
		
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			he just made a sandwich, turkey, but made
		
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			a ham.
		
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			The same knife they cook, they cut the
		
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			ham, they use it to cut the turkey,
		
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			use it to cut the tuna sandwich.
		
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			You know, that will contaminate.
		
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			It will make it haram.
		
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			Obviously, this is a very, very insignificant amount
		
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			of touch.
		
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			The residues of pork.
		
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			Yeah, yeah.
		
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			It will not make it haram.
		
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			It will make it dislike.
		
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			But also, usually what they do, they wipe
		
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			the knife.
		
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			Yeah, or you can ask them to do
		
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			that.
		
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			Or you can ask them to do that
		
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			if you have access to the person.
		
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			Just wiping it, it will be enough.
		
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			Right.
		
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			But the grill, they just cook in there
		
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			a bacon.
		
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			You know, I ask people in restaurant business,
		
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			they said usually we do mix things together.
		
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			Like in the grill, this area for bacon,
		
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			this area for this.
		
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			But if that's the case, that's easy.
		
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			But what if no?
		
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			Some people don't do that.
		
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			That one grill, small, everything else.
		
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			You know, for them, sometimes they take that,
		
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			what do you call that?
		
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			The spatula.
		
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			What is it?
		
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			The spatula.
		
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			Spatula.
		
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			Yeah.
		
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			So they use it to clear the fat
		
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			or the crumble on the side.
		
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			That will be enough to clear that when
		
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			the heat exists for your beef to be
		
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			cooked.
		
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			All this area, it is not haram.
		
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			And I'm worried if, especially you live in
		
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			a non-Muslim country, and this is, the
		
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			possibility of this is so high.
		
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			Something like, something is very hard to avoid.
		
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			Yes.
		
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			And unless you see with your eyes, you
		
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			know for sure that this is something haram.
		
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			It is not allowed.
		
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			Like for example, they tell you, you know
		
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			what?
		
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			We fried the sausage with the fish together
		
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			in the same fry pan.
		
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			In this case, I don't eat it.
		
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			Yeah, this is because the oil has already
		
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			been contaminated, and it's probably a big percentage.
		
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			A big percentage, and it is.
		
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			But you know what?
		
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			Just assuming that, you know, maybe like in
		
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			the microwave, the smoke of the meat comes
		
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			to meet with the chicken when you put
		
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			it to heat it.
		
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			Or maybe there is some, you know, bubble
		
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			from the, you know, the oil of the
		
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			bacon fly and drop on the, at least
		
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			if you're going to open this door, you're
		
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			not going to be able to eat anything.
		
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			I'm worried that's going to create some kind
		
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			of...
		
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			Yeah, the splashing of the oil.
		
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			Yeah.
		
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			And some people think this is wara.
		
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			You know, al-wara is not to look
		
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			into these details.
		
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			Al-wara is to stay away from it.
		
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			But going to these details, I don't consider
		
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			this as wara, like being avoiding.
		
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			I think this has become more of open
		
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			the door for being, you know...
		
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			Maybe a wiswas.
		
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			Wiswas, some kind of...
		
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			You're going to think of so many details,
		
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			it can create sometimes disorder, you know, for
		
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			the person.
		
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			And compulsive disorder.
		
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			And you worry about everything and create phobia.
		
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			And create, like, a situation that's not healthy.
		
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			Al-wara is to say, you know what,
		
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			I don't want to be in that door.
		
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			I don't want to think about details or
		
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			anything like that.
		
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			I just want to go for something 100
		
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			% I'm very comfortable with.
		
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			You know, in this case, that's fine.
		
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			So I hope this is clear to differentiate
		
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			between the two concepts.
		
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			As for all these details and, you know,
		
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			unless you know for sure this is something
		
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			in front of your eyes happened to be
		
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			haram.
		
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			Right.
		
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			That's one thing.
		
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			You don't know.
		
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			It's not, you know, been asked to investigate
		
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			into the details.
		
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			Yeah.
		
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			But there are certain things simple.
		
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			Ask them, hey, can I have things to
		
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			be grilled by itself?
		
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			You know, can you please make sure that
		
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			you clean them?
		
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			Whether they did it or not, you did
		
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			your job.
		
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			Alhamdulillah.
		
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			Yes.
		
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			So basically, if you go to a restaurant,
		
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			you're sitting down, you're ordering fish, for example.
		
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			I want salmon.
		
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			Right.
		
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			And it's obviously halal.
		
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			And then you don't ask.
		
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			They bring you salmon.
		
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			Oh, how they grill it.
		
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			Did they have before that a bacon?
		
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			No, you're not supposed to.
		
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			Yeah, you don't have to.
		
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			You don't have to.
		
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			Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made it so
		
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			easy for us, alhamdulillah.
		
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			So if you know for sure, then you
		
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			avoid it.
		
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			Yes.
		
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			But if you don't, you don't have to
		
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			ask.
		
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			Yes.
		
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			Right.
		
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			Jazakallah khair.
		
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			Thank you.