Summary: Halal means lsquo;permissiblersquo; in Arabic. So, Muslims cannot eat foods that are not lsquo;Halalrsquo;. Similar to Jewish Kosher laws, Muslims cannot eat any pork or pig meat. The Qurrsquo;an does not state why pig-meat is restricted, but some believe that it is because pigs are considered unclean. Also, like Kosher, an animal must be slaughtered while it is still alive. This method of slaughtering is called lsquo;Dhabiharsquo;; it ensures that no blood is left in the meat before it is eaten. Because of this some Muslims choose only to eat meat that comes from a Muslim butcher. Also, under Halal, Muslims cannot consume any alcohol, even if it was used to prepare food. This is the most common understanding of Halal, and Muslims can eat anything except for these few restricted foods.
