Halal Tourism
BUSINESS What is Halal? What is the Halal Consumer Market? By: Dr. Tausif Malik
Being a Muslim and a professional involved in the Halal consumer market, I am always asked the same question “So, Halal means Halal Food, right?”. This is the wrong perception held by a majority of non-muslims of what Halal means. But then I have to explain that Halal is about food and an umbrella code of conduct encompassing personal lifestyle, investment decisions, professional and business dealings. The other question people often ask is, “Muslims don’t take ‘Interest’ on investment or pay ‘Interest’?”. The answer is always yes. Muslims don’t take ‘Interest’ or pay ‘Interest’ since it is the biggest sin mentioned by the Almighty Allah SWT and the beloved Messenger & Prophet Muhammad PBUH, but I also remind them that ‘Interest’ is forbidden in the Bible & Torah and other Holy books as well.
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If you analyze ‘Interest’ closely, you will notice it gets the borrower into the debt trap. Most of the time, one can’t get out of the debt trap. It also creates an unrealistic demand in the market. After some time, it leads to a market crash, just like the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008.
If you study the stock market, you will notice that companies with a lower debt to equity ratio perform better when compared to companies that have a high debt to equity ratio. For example, Apple Inc. doesn’t have any debt, and their stock is always performing higher.
Now, let’s address what Halal is? In the Quran, the word Halal (permitted) is contrasted with Haram (forbidden) in clear binary opposition. According to the quasi rent theory, if interest rates are high, people will use safer and guaranteed investment options like keeping their money in the bank, leading to lower economic activity.
We will analyze the above to explain this concept in light of personal lifestyle, professional, business, and investment decisions.
