Hey everyone, asking this here since /r/Islam won't let you post without enough karma. today I was in a supermarket, and I saw a woman in a Hijab working at a spice counter, which wouldn't very odd on it's own, but it was a non-halal/ordinary European supermarket with pork being sold and everything, and I remembered how many Ultra-Orthodox Jews for example have very strict Talmudic rules which extended much beyond the basic Kosher laws, which forbid working somewhere which violates Jewish commandments, or not even going anywhere near a place which sells non-kosher food. If there is a shop that sells pork/seafood you probably aren't going to see any ultra-orthodox Jews entering it even to buy other stuff.
So I became curious about the miscellaneous details of Muslim dietary laws, I was wondering if there are additional guidelines besides the basic Quranic obligation not to eat particular foods yourself.
* Is it fine for a Muslim to work in a place that sells haram food?
* What if it is a job in which the Muslim would directly be dealing with haram food, like a butcher, meat vendor, etc.. in a position where he would have to be handling and selling haram foods to clients? Or sell alcohol/work at a bar without drinking himself?
* What if there is a situation in which he has to knowingly serve a "Muslim" client who is going to break the dietary rules, or unknowingly serving clients which could be Muslims that do those things in secret? Are there some rules about Muslims not being allowed to offer/assist other Muslims in doing haram things?
* Many Ultra-Orthodox Jews will not eat in non-kosher restaurants because of the possibility that dishware/ingredients are coming in contact with non-kosher foods or traces of it, even if they are supposedly ordering a "kosher" dish, and other reasons. Do Muslims eat in non-halal restaurants or fast food joints, and if so, are there any restrictions on that? ( For example, will they eat meat which they don't know how it was butchered? Would they eat something that came from a frying pan where pork or alcohol were freely being cooked earlier and not all traces might be gone? )
Re: Can Muslims work in a place that sells haram food? And other question about dieta
You may get different opinions on this, but a lot of this one comes down to how strictly the individual interprets dietary law. I worked at a meat counter at a grocery store for a while and I handled pork all the time, and was fine with it because I wore gloves. I never had to worry about selling pork to any Muslims because I was the only one in town. The good part is I got to pick my own cuts of meat and handle it myself so I know there was no cross-contamination.
I do not have the option of eating purely halal-slaughtered meats; there's no halal butchers in my area. But yes, I do eat at restaurants that serve pork and at fast food places, and when I go into the cities I very often see Muslims at places like Burger King chowing down on a burger. Like I said, it all comes down to how strictly the individual interprets dietary law. There's lots of other Muslims who would find any of the above appalling.
Re: Can Muslims work in a place that sells haram food? And other question about dieta
The creator and sustainer of the heavens and the earth made pork forbidden for every human being, to wonder if a human being who is carrying out most of the duties and failing in some is singled out as wrong would be a misguided diversion from the fact that the rights duties and responsibilities enjoined by the Creator and sustainer of the heavens and the earth apply to all.
So when explaining to or judging people, it would make sense to judge the entire spectrum, it starts at the pig farm, then to the delivery people, then to the supermarket owners and shareholders, and then to the employees. God is not held accountable (and we can't hold Him accountable).
Then there is the notion that the woman should know better, and depending upon capability and authority, the ideal situation is to close the pig farms and remove the pig off the supermarket shelves and grow wood trees with the compost, for those who don't have that capability, they can explain to the manufacturer, the seller and the consumer that they are in violation of the law of God, if they are even more impotent and in a weak position and can only tell the woman, they can explain to her the evil of the act and encourage her to find a job which is more in line with the laws of God.
If they are totally impotent, they can dislike the deed with their heart.
In terms of criminality however, she appears the least guilty party in the whole process, given your description that she is more in line with the laws of God than everybody else in the chain.
Imagine on the day of judgement (the books of personal deeds having been closed at death) an unrepentant person who died whilst in rejection to God is pulled up, is an angel gonna say, "oh this one was an atheist", it is highly unlikely that God is gonna reply, "oh were they? Well that explains it all - they're exempt from My laws".....
If that were the case, any criminal could stand up in court and the lawyer could claim, oh he's an anarchist, and the judge would say, well ok then, the laws are only for those who accept them.
I don't think queen elizabeth or barack obama would be very nice about it.
God's laws are not only applicable to those who submit to them, they are applicable to all.
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
When you create an account, we remember exactly what you've read, so you always come right back where you left off. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and share your thoughts. Sign Up
Hide
Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks