Extracted from Muis
http://www.muis.gov.sg/cms/services/hal.aspx?id=1706
BASIC PRINCIPLES
According to the Islamic worldview, all food and drinks can be
classified under one of the following categories:
1) Halal
Halal is an Arabic word which means lawful or allowable. Any food
or drink which falls under this category is permitted for
consumption. Most food and drinks are considered Halal unless they
are stated clearly in the Holy Quran and Hadith as forbidden or
non-Halal.
2) Non-Halal
Non-Halal, also traditionally known as Haram, means unlawful or
unallowable. As the name implies, any food or drink which is
classified as non-Halal is prohibited for consumption. In general,
all harmful things are non-Halal. Examples of these include the
meat of dead animals and birds, flesh of swine, intoxicating drugs
and alcoholic beverages.
3) Syubhah
Any food or drink which lies within the grey area and does not fall
clearly under the Halal or non-Halal category is classified as
Syubhah, alternatively called questionable or dubious.
One example of a Syubhah ingredient is lecithin. Lecithin can be
derived from plants or animals. It is considered Halal if the
lecithin comes from plants but non-Halal should it come from pigs
or animals that are not slaughtered in accordance with the Islamic
law.
Until the status becomes clear, Muslims should avoid consuming
Syubhah food or drinks. The Prophet (pbuh) has given a guideline
concerning Syubhah matters. It is reported by Bukhari, Muslim, Abu
Daud, Ibn Majah and Darimi, as follow:
Which means: What is Halal is clear. And what is Haram is also
clear. And in between those two is a dubious area in which many
people do not know about. So whoever distanced himself from it, he
has acquitted himself (from blame). And those who fall into it, he
has fallen into a state of Haram.
