A video went viral recently on Facebook in which a man claims that there is no halal food in Sabah. At the time of writing, it has 5.3k reactions, 5.1k comments and 730k views. The unnamed man says the following in the 5 minutes and 41 seconds long video (originally in Malay):
"Allahu Akbar (God is Great)! Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh (May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be with you)! It is, ya Allahu Akbar, not easy to find food that is halalan-toyyiban. It is really difficult to find food that is halalan-toyyiban especially at the shops around here (Sabah). This is why I encourage you guys to cook for yourself and eat at home. Take for example, if you go to a shop and you want to eat, most of the staff do not ‘solat’ (Islamic prayer).
Not only that, they expose their aurah (aurat in Malay; refers to any part of the body which are obligated to be covered). Furthermore, they use products that are not halalan-toyyiban or some are certified halal but when it comes to heading towards the direction of toyyiban, ya Allahu Akbar, they fail in this respect - they do not use Muslim products. That's why it is difficult for us to find food that is halalan-toyyiban. Take me for an example, I am in Sabah and it is difficult for me to find food here (that is halalan-toyyiban). Why is it difficult? The reason is that they use SUGAR and most of the shops here use WHITE SUGAR, FINE SALT and these are poison; these are magic! Why? Because to get all these, you need technology.
Later I will tell you why these are all magic and why they are poison. Fine salt is the cause of our diseases and is the reason why in today's society, we have cancer, diabetes, hypertension and so many more. That's why I encourage you all to just eat at home even when you have no choice but to eat eggs and anchovies (at home) but it's okay - just be grateful to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala (Glory be to Him, the Exalted). This is due to your ‘hawa nafsu’ (desire); you guys don't have the will to restrain your ‘nafsu’. As ‘mumin’ (believer or faithful Muslim in this context) or Muslims, we have to control our ‘nafsu’ (desire).
In today's world, we all want food to be delicious, we want this and that and so on. That's why today, ya Allahu Akbar, a lot of us suffer in terms of health. That's why there are more hospitals with each passing day. More people are getting sick by the day and this is why the WHO (World Health Organization) increased its number of hospitals; this is because it is a business. When you have hospitals, you need to create a ‘problem’ in which the construction of those hospitals are justified. That problem is in terms of health and it stems from our diet. This is why today in Sabah, ya Allah, it is difficult to find food that is halalan-toyyiban. Even in Peninsular Malaysia, it is difficult. This is why the Prophet doesn't encourage people to eat at shops because these are the problems - the products used, the causes of diseases and when shop/restaurant owners want their food to be delicious. And when you want food to be delicious, that's when you cause diseases. This is why we have to avoid it.
We have to avoid eating out. This is my advice, I am advising you all not just for the sake of it but it is for me as well: I say all these, inshallah, to remind myself to not eat out. Like when I go to Sabah, Alhamdulillah, I can cook at home because there are homestays and whatnot. But if we are in Sabah and we need to eat out, make an effort to find places that are halalan-toyyiban. Don't eat at a place just because the food is delicious, it is important to factor in the blessing from Allah as well."
The video received a lot of attention and subsequently, widespread condemnation that came along with it. Many netizens criticize the individual in question. A Facebook user even wrote a post in response to the video, he said the following:
"The suggestion to cook at home is good and if you can bring a gas cylinder and gas stove wherever you go in Sabah, kindly do so.
However, there are many Muslims in Sabah and inshallah, the food here is halal and clean especially since most of it is based on seafood. Buying from ‘fasiq’ (sinful individuals) is allowed according to Islamic ruling. Abu Umar said: And it is permissible to eat the food of the idolaters, Zoroastrians (Majusi; fire worshippers) and the people not from the people of the book from the disbelievers, as long as it is not from their slaughter.' See Al-Jami’ Li Ahkam al-Quran, Al-Qurthubi (6/77).
Maybe in the past, ‘he’ has consumed too much SUGAR and SALT, now only repenting to the point where everything is magic and poisonous.
Speaking without knowledge and morals is characteristic of people who are zindiq (heretics) and ignorant which will quickly become slander to the religion of Islam. May God give us all guidance…Amen!"
Other netizens also chime in - one netizen said “Don't talk rubbish, that place is Donggongon Penampang (a place in Sabah) and the majority of the people there are non-Muslims. It is rather easy to find halal food, only your ‘serban’ (turban) is exaggerated but your knowledge is not”. Another netizen commented, “Ask him to go back home…no need to go to Sabah. It is not a loss to Sabah at all; Sabah would fare better without people of his IQ level.”
What do you think of the entire issue? Let me know in the comments.
Aaron Colt is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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