Halal and Kosher

**Ansar Al-'Adl** · 03-13-2005

To start off this discussion, I would just like to paste an article:

Judaic and Islamic dietary laws have and do bring Jews and Muslims together. Both the Kosher and Halal signs and symbols have given solace to both minorities living in a majority secular or Christian society.

SIMILARITIES

In General
Of the animals that may be eaten, the birds and mammals must be killed in accordance with Scriptural Law.
All blood must be drained from the meat or broiled out of it before it is eaten.
Certain parts of permitted animals may not be eaten.
Utensils that have come into contact with non-kosher food may not be used with kosher food.

In Detail

In both Judaism and Islam, we have a wide variety of identical dietary laws:
The Torah
“..any animal that has cloven hooves and chews its cud." Lev. 11:3; Deut. 14:6

The Quran
"O ye who believe! fulfil (all) obligations. Lawful unto you (for food) are all cattle four-footed animals, with the exceptions named: But animals of the chase are forbidden while ye are in the sacred precincts or in pilgrim garb: for Allah doth command according to His will and plan.” Surah 5:1

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The Torah
"Of the things that are in the waters, you may eat anything that has fins and scales." Lev. 11:9; Deut. 14:9

The Quran
”Lawful to you is the pursuit of water-game and its use for food,- for the benefit of yourselves and those who travel.” Surah 5:96

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The Torah
The mammals and birds that may be eaten must be slaughtered in accordance with Jewish law. (Deut. 12:21)

The Quran
"Eat the meat of the animals on which name of Allah has been invoked, if you are believers." (6 :1 8)
"Do not eat meat of animal on which the name of Allah has not been invoked because this is an act of sin." (6 : 121)

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The Torah
We may not eat animals that died of natural causes. (Deut. 14:21)

The Quran
"Forbidden to you (as food) are dead animals.” (5 : 4)

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The Torah
Birds of prey or scavengers. (Lev. 11:13-19; Deut. 14:11-18)

Sayings of Prophet Muhammad
"Similarly, someone in ihram should not kill any predatory birds...” (Malik's Muwatta, Book 20:, Number 20.26.92)

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The Torah
Prohibits consumption of blood. (Lev. 7:26-27; Lev. 17:10-14)

The Quran
"Forbidden to you (for food)...blood. (5:3)

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The Torah
“And the swine, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. “ (Lev. 11:7)

The Quran
” He has only forbidden you ... the flesh of swine..." (16:115)

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The Torah
“Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations.” (Lev. 10:9)

The Quran
"They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: "In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit." They ask thee how much they are to spend; Say: "What is beyond your needs." Thus doth Allah Make clear to you His Signs: In order that ye may consider.” (2:219)

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Therefore, the essential and core harmful substances have been preserved as forbidden in the Quran as it has been in the Torah.

**SpaceFalcon2001** · 03-20-2005

Originally Posted by Ansar Al-Haq

How accurate is this article?

It's quite accurate at describing how some companies aquire a seal of approval.

For more specific info check http://www.ou.org/kosher/primer.html

If you haven't noticed, there are many factors in this. One lesser known one is the Kosherness/Halalness of Cheese. The common manufacturer will add some enzymes extracted from a calf to the cheese to make it coagulate faster. Kosher/Halal cheeses do not do this and either use synthetic enzymes (cheaper kosher cheese) or no enzymes at all (EXPENSIVE kosher cheese). Without enzymes, the cheese takes a long time to coagulate.

One thing I will mention is GLATT Kosher, which is the best kind of Kosher for meat.

Though not all adhesions render an animal non-kosher, some Jewish communities or individuals only eat meat of an animal that has been found to be free of all adhesions on its lungs. "Glatt" literally means “smooth”, indicating that the meat comes from an animal whose lungs have been found to be free of all adhesions. Recently, the term "glatt kosher" is increasingly used more broadly as a generic phrase, implying that the product is kosher without question.

Glatt meat, due to this additional step, is of even HIGHER quality than plain kosher, and is usually slightly more expensive (although you get what you pay for! It even tastes better, I assure you).