Posted by: TheMajlis

The Myth of Supervision

NO o­nE SHOULD allow himself to be duped by the claim of proper supervision of the processing, manufacturing and trading premises and records,etc. of the innumerable non-Muslim food establishments.

The inspectors of the certifying organisations are not omnipresent. Besides the lack of this attribute, there are other factors which inhibit/thwart proper supervision. Among such factors are hirs (greed) for money and fisq (flagrant lawlessness) of personnel. To compound it, there is the downright dishonesty of manufacturers who possess sufficient expertise to deceive the ‘halaal’ inspectors.

When they adeptly conceal the true state of their financial affairs from even tax officials, deceiving the ‘halaal’ inspectors poses no problem, especially when the traders feel that they are being extorted and pressurized to pay unjust fees.

From time to time discrepancies develop. The past bear ample testimony for such developments. The initial reaction of the sellers of ‘halaal’ certificates is invariably to cover up the rot by ‘negotiations and dialogue’ aimed at rectifying the wrongs and violations perpetrated.

Meanwhile, during the process of the discussions, the Muslim public being totally uninformed, continues consuming the products which the discrepancy has rendered haraam. It is o­nly after a break down in the discussions or failure of the establishment to rectify the position, does the halaal ‘authority’ deem it expedient to make an announcement and to withdraw its certificates.

Some notorious ‘halaal’ certifying bodies do not even consider Shar’i violations grounds for revoking the ‘halaal’ certificate. The o­nly valid ground according to them for cancelling a ‘halaal’ certificate is a discrepancy pertaining to the money issue. If their monetary palates are not sufficiently assuaged, the certificate is liable for confiscation. When cancellation does occur in such circumstances, the truth is never revealed to the Muslim community. The impression which will be traded is that the high standard of ‘piety’ of these marauders of the Imaan of the masses, has compelled the withdrawal of the certificate when in fact it is a matter directly aligned with the pocket-linings of those who issue these haraam certificates.

Others again, who may not have fallen to this despicable level of fisq, may still have some form of Imaani conscience flickering in them. When the discrepancies are too glaring and there appears no hope of the trader addressing and rectifying the violations, they feel constrained to cancel their certificates.

But the spiritual damage has already been done and its process is incremental since considerable time is needed for the information to filter through to all levels of Muslim society and in all places.

And, in many cases—not some cases—even after the news of the certificate’s withdrawal has become public, people simply continue to relish in the haraam food. They have already become addicted to devouring the product and are not prepared to abandon it merely o­n account of the withdrawal of the scrap of paper which had initially encouraged them to consume the carrion.

SANHA has withdrawn a number of its certificates in the past. Several meat abattoirs which at o­ne stage were certified ‘halaal’ by SANHA, were later taken off its ‘halaal’ list, and certificates were withdrawn.

After withdrawal of the ‘certificates’, how long did the consumption of the haraam meat of these abattoirs continue? These were abattoirs spread throughout the country, even in remote places where haraam discrepancies were continuously perpetrated while the ‘halaal’ certificates were ‘in operation’.

SANHA must assume full responsibility for all the haraam carrion which Muslims had consumed in the wake of the withdrawal of the certificates. Some ostensibly concerned Muslims, weeks and even months after the withdrawal of the certificates would feebly defend themselves for eating the carrion by presenting the excuse of being unaware of the new haraam status of the meat.

The Muslim community as well as SANHA and all bodies of its ilk should understand that it is wholly insufficient for SANHA, etc. to shrug off the matter of withdrawal of a certificate by saying: "Kindly be informed that the following Abattoirs are no longer supervised and certified by SANHA."

Only fools are duped by such silly statements. SANHA should understand that far from being absolved of its notoriety of having desensitised Muslim inhibitions to haraam carrion, its culpability has o­nly increased and worsened because in the first instance, it had promoted, advertised and ‘certified’ the carrion. SANHA had assured Muslims of the hillat (permissibility) of the non-Muslim’s meat products.

The mention of a certificate’s withdrawal never rectifies the position nor adequately addresses the moral and spiritual damage which consumption of carrion brings in its wake.