Introduction
The definition of halal are explored in contrast due to the broad sense of its use in the east and the narrow context to which it is used in the west. What is halal or made permissible for Muslims falls back onto the Laws of the Shariah which remains definite and unaltered unlike secular law. The Shariah is a moral system of living that should not be limited to dietary requirements and as the halal market continues to grow in correlation to the Muslim population it is important for the halal concept to be part of the brand.
Background
Emphasis on the importance of al-halal or Shariah-compliant products and services is now growing. The Islamic perspective on commerce is increasingly gaining momentum and fast becoming a new market force and brand identifier (Wilson and Lui, 2010). It is moving into the mainstream market, affecting and changing perceptions on how business should be conducted, particularly from a marketing and branding viewpoint (Hanzaee and Ramezani, 2011). The global Muslim consumer market is estimated at US$2.7trillion and is forecasted to rise in correlation to the Muslim market which is estimated to exceed three billion by 2010 making Islam the fastest-growing religion on earth, both by birth and adoption (Hanzaee and Ramezani, 2011).
Academic thinking from the west have exhaustively considered the usage and consumption of halal from the narrow perspective of Islamic Dietary Laws (Al-Harran and Low, 2008; Bonne and Verbeke, 2008; Eddeyo, 2007; Lada et al., 2009; registein and chaudry, date; Riaz and Chaudry, 2004; Vermier et al., 2007). However there is still a relatively large untapped market potential for halal products and services ranging from halal medicines, cosmetics, publishing, to halal insurance and loans (ABi, 2007; Bergeaud-Blacker, 2001) which leave the concept of halal to be explored due to its broader context of its applicability. The concept of halal goes beyond consumption and is no longer purely a religious issue but is in the realm of business and trade.
It is essential that the halal concept be fully understood and considered from a broader perspective especially by the marketers of consumer goods be it for food or non-food product categories or brand behaviour, speech, dress, conduct and mannerisms. Understanding what consistutes ‘halal’ is important because as the consumers become more religious or halal-conscious, they will be looking for products or services that not only satisfy their needs of these valuable markets but also give consumers “peace of mind” (Regenstein et al., 2003; Shafie and Othman, date).
Islam, Muslims and the Halal Market
Zepp (2000) states the term ‘Islam’ means submission, obedience, or surrender to Allah’s commands and putting it into practice. Islam is derived from the word ‘salam’ meaning peace in Arabic from which the literal definition of Islam is “peace through submission to the will of Allah SWT (God). The term Islam denotes the name of a religion or ‘way of life’ initiated with Adam (PBUH) and finally revived with the last revelation to the Last Prophet, Muhammad (PBUH) (Leaman, 2006).
Followers of Islam are known as Muslims or Muslima, that is, ‘the surrendered one’ whereby one has a belief in Iman (faith), fulfils their duties and submits themselves to Allah SWT by practicing the good deeds prescribed in the Qur’an (the Divine Book) as a way of life. This explains why religion is an important role in shaping a Muslims attitude and behaviour so as to find peace through surrendering oneself to the will of Allah (SWT). Muslims live their lives by the halal concept as it stands to promotes purity, with its connotations of cleanliness, integrity and self-restraint (Fildes, 2010).
Islam is the world’s second largest religion after Christianity with 1.8 billion Muslims, making up 23% of the world’s overall population and is projected to increase to 30% of by 2025 (Mintel, 2002; Ogilvy & Mather, 2010). Muslims have the youngest age profile as over 50% of Muslims in the world today are under 24 while two thirds of the Muslims in Europe are under 30 (Ahmed, 2008; National Statistics, 2004). Described as a ‘new consumer group’ they are more connected and digitised and not only do they contribute to a large proportion of spending power but combine modern outlooks with strong religious commitments (Oglivy and Mather. 2010).
Although there is only one Islam there are divisions in schools of thought amongst Muslims that have led to factions exist the most common being between Sunni and Shia with many subgroups formed within the broader community such as Hanafi and Maliki. The importance of this is that while the Qur’an remains the core tenets of faith it largely remains the same all over the world across all branches but the basic acceptance and understanding of what is halal which is central to every Muslims belief (Wilson and Liu, 2010) may differ according to their schools of thoughts. Similarly with a largest youngest age group with their modern outlook would their definition of concept of halal differ such as being more open to cosmetics and fashion than the older generation?
Muslims interpretation and understanding of halal differ or change considering elements such as level of religiosity, cultural affiliations, level of acculturations and generational influences? Eddyono (2007) mentioned that sociologically the meaning signified by the concept of halal can be interpreted differently in different social, cultural, economical and political circumstances. Nevertheless there is limited research on what is or constitutes halal particularly since there is no universal understanding of the concept.
Halal and Haram Defined
Halal is an Arabic term from the trilateral root h-l-l (ﻝ/ﻝ/ﺡ) in which a total of nine forms occur 52 times in the Qur’an (Badawi and Haleem; 2008). Halal is derived from the verb ‘Halla’ (Al Jallad, 2008) which according to Badawi and Haleem (2008) can mean “religiously lawful, permissible, allowable” (4:19) and is used for their given definition of halal but can also mean “to become deserved, to become inevitable, to fall upon” (20:86), “to untie, to release, to free, to undo, to loosen” (20:27) and “to alight, to ascend” (13:31). Halal is further defined as ‘lawful’ by Al-Hilfy (2010) and described by Patrick-Hughes (2001) as “that which is lawful, as distinguished from haram, or that which is unlawful”.
The Arabic term Haram from the trilateral root h-r-m (ﻡ/ﺮ/ﺡ) has 10 forms occurring 83 times in the Quran and is derived from the verb ‘Harrama’ meaning “to make unlawful, to declare as sinful” (2:275), “to make or declare sacred, inviolable” (27:91), “to deny something to someone” (5:72) and “to make something unacceptable or abhorrent” (28:12) (Badawi and Haleem, 2008; Al Jallad, 2008). Badawi and Haleem (2008) define haram as ‘sinful; illegitimate; taboo’. According to Patrick-Hughes (2001) a “thing is said to be haram when it is forbidden, as opposed to that which is halal or lawful”, it is the opposite of halal referring to that which is “unlawful; forbidden; prohibited” (Al-Hilfy, 2010).
While the definition of the terms halal and haram given above are generalised Al Jallad (2008: 3) states that halal in Arabic refers to all facets of life i.e. permissible behaviour, speech, dress, conduct, manner and dietary in contrast to non-speakers of Arabic particularly in western countries use the term in context of Muslim food Laws particularly where meat and poultry are concerned. This is evident in western dictionaries:
- · a) denoting or relating to meat prepared as prescribed by Muslim Law i.e. halal butchers, b) religiously acceptable according to Muslim Law i.e. halal banking
- · (Adj)(of meat) prepared according to Muslim Law (Oxford, 2009)
- · Halal – n. ‘meat from animals that have been slaughtered according to Muslim Law (Collins, 2009)
- · Adj. 1. (of an animal or its meat) slaughtered or prepared in the manner prescribed by Islamic law, and 2. of or pertaining to halal meat: a halal butcher. N. 3. a halal animal or halal meat(dictoinary reference, 2011) .
- · Arabic ḥalāl permissible, first known use: 1858. 1) sanctioned by Islamic law; especially : ritually fit for use i.e. halal foods , 2: selling or serving food ritually fit according to Islamic law i.e. a halal restaurant (merriam-webster, 2011).
- · (n) Meat that has been slaughtered in the manner prescribed by the shari'a. (adj.) 1. Of or being meat slaughtered in the prescribed way: a halal butcher; a halal label. 2. In accordance with or permitted under the shari'a. (The free dictionary, 2011)
The importance of the terms should not be underestimated as undertaking that which is halal is considered favourable and rewarded by Allah while haram is unfavourable and punishable according to Islamic Law (Jallad, 2008).
Shariah - Islamic Law
The terms halal and haram distinguishing the lawful from the unlawful refers to matters stated under the ‘Islamic law’ known as the Shariah (Al-Shariah) which is a moral system of living that governs every aspect of a Muslims life. It is considered to be the embodiment of the will of Allah (God) (Alserhan, 2011). The Shariah according to Weeramantry (1988:1) is an Arabic expression for ‘track’ or ‘road’, Neighbour (2011: 4) mentions the word describes a ‘way’ or ‘path’ and Abdal-Haqq (2006: 4) states that the term literally means the ‘pathway, path to be followed, or clear way to be followed, and has come to mean the path upon which the believer has to tread’.
Weiss (1998) pointed out that in archaic Arabic, the term Shariah means ‘path to the water hole’ which considers the importance of ‘a well-trodden path to a source of water for man in the arid desert environment’ thus, has become a metaphor for a whole way of life ordained by Allah. Shora (2009: 294) also referred to the expression ‘the path to the watering source’ i.e. the water source of life, emphasising its fundamental importance to human life. It refers to the body of Islamic law which deals with many aspects of a Muslims day-to-day life from food, hygiene, family, politics, banking and business.
Shora (2009, 294) expresses the trilateral sh-r-e (ﻉ/ﺭ /ﺶ) off this root we have four forms: shara’a “to legislate, to lay down as part of faith, to ordain” (42:13), shurra’an “visibly, openly for all to see” (7:163), shir’atun “a law, legislation from God, divine way of religion” (5:48), and shari’atun “clear path, legislation from God” (45:18) (Badawi and Haleem, 2008: 481). Regenstein et al. (2003) points out that the Shariah refers to matters of religion and consists of a system of divine laws forming a legal framework which remains definite and unaltered unlike secular law while Shora (2009: 294) states that the Shariah is less a strictly codified set of laws and more a system of devising laws.
The sources of law that determine the Shariah had been limited and fixed by Al-Shafi in the ninetieth century called Usul al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence) which identifies the legal sources from which the law can be derived therefore, he Shariah refers to the principles that lie behind the fiqh. (Standke, 2008). The four sources of jurisprudence are the Quran (divine book), the Sunnah (action, and teaching of Prophet Muhammad life) as recorded in the book of Hadith (compilations of the traditions of Prophet Muhammad), Ijma (scholarly consensus), Qiyas (legal analogy based on logic) (Bonne and Verbeke, 2008; Regenstein et al., 2003; Standke, 2008).
Experienced Shariah scholars interpret these sources as there is no higher institution that exists responsible for religious opinions to be followed by Muslims (DeLorenzo, 2000 cited in Derigs and Marsban, 2009). Vikor (2005) views the Shariah as "a shared opinion of the [Islamic] community, based on a literature that is extensive, but not necessarily coherent or authorized by any single body," Foster (2006) highlights that although Islamic Law covers all aspects of human behaviour the term ‘Islamic Law’ is criticized by Muslim Scholars for its failure to distinguish between legal verses (of the Quran and Sunnah) and fiqh (the jurist interpretation of these sources). Janin and Kahlmeyer (2007) describe the Shariah as "a long, diverse, complicated intellectual tradition," rather than a "well-defined set of specific rules and regulations that can be easily applied to life situations,"
The Qur’an (5:48) states “We have appointed a divine law and a traced-out way, Had Allah willed He could have made you one community. But that He may try you by that which he has given you, So vie one with another in good works. To Allah you will return, and He will then inform you that in which you differ”. The Shariah encompasses five main branches that uphold values and preserves institutions of that society protecting human rights of individual and wider society by introducing penalties. These include (Rah, 2009):
- · Beliefs (Aqqa-id)
- · Righteous deeds (A’maal)
- · Transactions and contracts (Muamalaat)
- · Moral character (Akhlaaq)
- · Beautiful social conduct (Husn-e-muasharat)
Conclusion
Wilson and Liu (2010) state “halal is not merely a brand element – instead it is part of a belief system and moral code of conduct, intergral in daily living”. So whether 'halal or shairah compliancy is a process or value gained it plays an important role in shaping the minds of the Muslim consumer particularly when it comes to consumption. However, consumption at a product level is what is offered by many brands while the broader approach of the definition of halal should to be applied to brands. Offering halal or shariah compliancy at product/service level shows satisfying the needs of the Muslim market by the 'letter of the law' for profitable gains and not the spirit (of the brand).
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