Q. Some people ask at the eating table if my food is haram or halal. I am a Muslim. This is wrong.

A. The manner in which some people ask is rude and obnoxious. However, sometimes it can be asked if a given food is Halal or Haram. One can do so under the following conditions:

1) If the host is earning money which is doubtful, or is an open transgressor of the religion, if he is gaining his money from the sale of alcohol, or is a gambler, then one should ask where he has bought his food. Although it would be more preferred that you do not eat from such a host, but if you had to consume his/her food, then asking such a person would be allowed.

2) If the food itself is strange. It is something you have never eaten or seen. Then you can ask what it is that you are eating. It may be also good to find out what the religious scholars (authentic qualified ulama) have said regarding that given food. However, if you are still in doubt regarding what you are to consume, then it would be best for you to abstain from consuming foods that you are unfamiliar with.

To ask on the eating table can be rude, unless you are among close friends who are familiar with you. However, if something is haram, it would be best to tell it to those who are close to you without creating a fuss or scene. This is far from piety.  If you are on the ‘best of terms’ with the host, you can pull him/her aside and inform them about your findings, and let them decide what needs to be done.  This would be the dignified way to resolve the possible conflict of Halal or Haram in a non-Islamic country.

Allah certainly knows best.