Jurisprudential Intervention In Halal Standards Of Pakistan And Malaysia, An Analytical Study

Abstract

Halal food is a requirement according to Islamic teachings. Muslim jurists have relentlessly devised principles and basics in the light of Quranic verses and Hadiths to facilitate Muslims. Examples of halal standardization can be found from Islamic history where certain indications were made to distinguish between Halal and Haram as we find examples of stamping from the reign of Hazrat Usman RA. Since the inception of modern methods and technology now the Halal Standardization has been taken up at Government levels. In present age Halal Standardization is among the world’s largest industries and Halal standardization of food is one major component of this industry.  This article throws lights how juristic rulings of Hanafi and Shafi madhab affect the standards in Pakistan and Malaysia respectively as Pakistan and Malaysia follow Hanafi and Shafii School of Islamic Jurisprudence. Malaysia being among the first Muslim country to research in developing halal standards for food and other items. It has been tried in the article to look into the nature of juristic differences of Hanafi and Shafi, by quoting few examples of standards and how these differences actually broaden the scope of standardization.