If I see a product marked as Halal or I am given assurance by the distributor or retailer that the product is Halal, am I not supposed to believe him?
The answer is that even then you must investigate. The main reason being is that today we are living in an era in which deceiving, cheating and being unfaithful has become prevalent within our society. This unfortunate state of affairs is something that was foretold by our beloved Prophet PBUH in the following hadith; Imran bin Hussain RA reported that Allah’s Messenger PBUH said:
“The best of this nation is the generation within whom I have been sent then those people who will come after them. Then a people will emerge who will make vows and not fulfill them, they will deceive and they cannot be trusted…” (Musnad Ahmad)
When the current situation is such, we as Muslims have no choice but to be at the top of our guard and practice upon the following verse:
“O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information then investigate…” (49:6)
Unfortunately, today swearing oaths in the name of Allah is seen as a cheap bargain to earn a few pounds. Therefore when we have the right to be inquisitive and the resources to investigate, exercise them!
