A while ago there was a huge outcry when samples of Cadbury chocolate were found to have porcine DNA. Naturally, there was a whole frenzy about the whole situation, with measures as extreme as some Muslims calling out for blood transfusions in order to ‘cleanse’ themselves from the accidental consumption.
I have to admit I was stunned when I first heard the news. The whole idea about blood cleansing because of the accidental consumption of Cadbury is nothing short of mind-boggling. Who would even come up with the idea?
I wondered if these individuals even knew about the state of the blood products that were being donated from, and the rules behind receiving transfusions.
These individuals needed to understand that the very same blood transfusions that were talked about were from a central blood bank with no differentiation between the faith of donors - and the fatwa in Islam is that it IS permissible to receive this blood if needed, even if it is from one who does not consume halal food, per se.. Blood transfusion is not something to be taken lightly, even for qualified medical reasons, and the idea that people were calling for blood transfusions for the sake of a religious belief – one that didn’t even advocate this sort of extremism – was ludicrous.
Islam is not defined by the idea of halal - it is about the concept of submission, and it seems like there is a lot of focus on the small things, rather than the bigger picture that we have at hand.
The concept of halal is meant to be applied to much bigger things, ones that encompass our daily lives and the pillars of society that we build on. Is it halal to eat the food bought from non-halal wages, where you have spent your days at work idling away? Is it halal when what you bring home is tainted by corruption and bribery? I think a lot of people have to work on the idea of a big picture, and not pick and choose regarding the small things.
It is important to work on your faith. There is a bigger picture.
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