Some people...

I came across people whom, to my thinking, are too stubborn and rigid when it comes to accepting other people's opinions or as a matter-of-fact, advice. Talking specifically about religious thinking here, especially bab mentekedarah or, dalam bahasa yang lebih lembut, bab makan..hehe...

I am not that well-versed in bab agama ni...Sikit-sikit untuk amalan sendiri tu boleh lah. Things that I am unsure, I won't go and pandai-pandai jatuhkan hukum. Let's leave it to the people who know better kan? But, in general, bab halal haram ni memang kena take extra cautions and prihatin lebih lah sikit. Kalau rasa was-was tu, baiklah djauhkan saja. Jadi darah daging beb. Siapa nak tanggung tu? Diri sendiri lah kan?

Some people, especially non-muslims, and some muslims yang kurang faham, thought that as long as there is no pork involved, the food is halal. Ada je statement NO PORK tu, kira halal lah. What about, if the chicken or beef or mutton etc which was used for the cooking tak disembelih? Atau pun disembelih oleh orang yang tak cukup syarat menyembelih? Orang yang menyembelih tu bukan Islam yang baligh etc? Or masa sembelih dia tak baca Bismillah atau tak menutup aurat? Adakah makanan yang dihidangkan daripada sumber tersebut di atas halal?

And what if the cooking utensils used to prepare the food were once used to cook bacon or ham etc?

It's not that simple, people. It's not as simple as "As long as the restaurant is clean and no pork is used, I can eat it" Not especially if you reside in Malaysia! There a hundreds and thousands of food outlets that you can frequent when you are sure that the food served is REALLY halal. Why must you go to places yang terang dan nyata doubtful?

Overseas, I can understand. But, even now, people are more educated and aware about halal haram, even in non-Islamic countries. Bukannya tak ada food outlets yang halal, kan? Rare yes, but not non-existent! But in Malaysia? No excuse, baby!

And, why must you condemn people who are nice and sincere enough to remind you of this matter? Worst, you unintentionally (or not) form up a gang to condemn that sincere souls for wanting to remind you as brothers/sisters in Islam, especially if you are a known figure and have the ability to influence people.

I don't know. I feel less respect to people whom couldn't tolerate teguran ikhlas.. Especially if you are not so well-versed in it, religion-wise.. Fikir-fikirkan ya? Tegur-menegur untuk kebaikan... InsyaAllah pahalanya berpanjangan, kan?