EatingHalal: In Defense of Food

A nice NPR story about eating better.

Author Michael Pollan summarized it nicely, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Eat Food: As Muslims, when we eat, it's not just about Halal, but it has to be good too. As mentioned in the Quran.

[16:114] So eat of the sustenance which Allah has provided for you, lawful and good; and be grateful for the favours of Allah, if it is He Whom ye serve.

Not Too Much: Most of us know the statement of the Prophet (peace and prayer be upon him): "There is no worst container a person can fill other than his stomach. It's enough for one to eat a few bites, but if you have to eat/can't resist, then 1/3 for your food, 1/3 for your drink, and 1/3 for your breath." -Collected by Ibn Majah.

Mostly Plants: We can learn this from the story of Ibrahim/Abraham (peace be upon him) when he supplicated for the food of Makkah. In the authentic narration collected by Al-Bukhari, the Prophet (peace and prayer be upon him) said, if people only eat meat, they will get sick, except in Makkah (because of the supplication of Ibrahim (peace be upon him).

قال اللهم بارك لهم في اللحم والماء قال النبي ‏ ‏صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ ‏ولم يكن لهم يومئذ حب ولو كان لهم دعا لهم فيه قال فهما لا يخلو عليهما أحد بغير ‏ ‏مكة ‏ ‏إلا لم يوافقاه

The author also mentioned about eating animals that consume green/pasture. Notice that in Islam, we can't eat meat/milk from animals that consume filthy diet (e.g. ground dead animals like the one being used in today's industrial farming).

So, the bottom line, if you want to eat better, follow Islam!

Here is the book cover of "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan.




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