BIBLICAL BRIEFS 35
The halal sign confirms that the meat (or other food) is slaughtered or prepared in accordance with Islam’s hygienic code and dietary rules. It is not part of any sacrifice, but a prescription (of their faith). It is like the Jewish kosher rules and entails among other things that the animal has to be bled thoroughly, that the product does not contain pork, etc. The kosher sign often appears on the packaging along with the halal sign. The Bible is explicit about matters of this nature. In Mark. 7:15 Jesus clarifies: “Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” Paul says in 1 Cor. 10:25 – “Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience.” And 1 Tim. 4: 4-5 takes all the doubt out of the way: “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.”
Dr. Tom Gouws
