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EATING ACCORDING TO THE QURAN AND ACCORDING TO SECTS NO PROHIBITION AGAINST MUSSELS AND SHRIMP!As we have seen in the above verses only four things have been forbidden, namely: dead animals, blood, pork and the meat of an animal on whom a name other than God’s has been invoked. However, in a situation when there is no other choice, a person may eat of these, provided not with willful obedience and without going to extremes. One can see that the Quran leaves no loopholes. Yet, thinking there are loopholes, the sects have thought it advisable to add other prohibitions. For instance, the Hanafi sect, the largest of the sects, has forbidden the eating of mussels and shrimp. It is to be regretted that many people believe that these gifts of nature have been prohibited by religion, depriving themselves of them. The sects contradicted not only the Quran but also each other. For example, the Maliki sect acknowledges the edibility of mussels and shrimp banned by the Hanafi sect. On the other hand, the flesh of horses forbidden by Maliki is consumable for the Shafi and Hanbali sects. These are not all that are declared forbidden by great scholars. Carnivores like the wolf, the bear and the squirrel are also on the black list. The sects also have banned the rapacious birds. One may also add to the black list serpents, frogs, toads, tortoises and crabs. Those who did not deem enough the prohibitions laid down in the Quran felt the necessity to add to the list of prohibited animals those that appeared unsightly. One should remember that the cuisine of populations living in different regions of the earth differs greatly. Given the fact that there are no restrictions stated in the Quran, other than the four items mentioned above, we are free in our choices.As one clearly sees in the verses, man’s attributing to religion those things that do not exist in the Quran is tantamount to raising arms against God; a slander against God, a betrayal of religion. Being instrumental in causing people to turn their backs to religion is a capital sin. EATING RICE WITH THREE FINGERSMany other things extraneous to religion’s scope have been introduced to it, ranging from table manners to menus under the guise of sunnas.Here are some of the additions: regarding table manners, a meal must be consumed seated on the ground. Whether it is rice or other dishes, man must use three fingers and not a fork and spoon. When seated on the ground, the right leg should be bent from the knee while the left should be placed under the buttocks. It is absolutely required that the right hand be used, for Satan is believed to eat with his left hand. On the menu of the Prophet the following existed more often than not: chicken, beef, squash and eggplant. As America had not yet been discovered during the lifetime of the Prophet, potatoes, tomatoes and corn were outside the confines of the sunnas. In other words, a person who ate squash was performing a meritorious act while the potato eater would be deprived of this blessing. Numbers also were important: water should be drunk in three gulps; it is also claimed that a meal should be served in one single container in which persons around should partake, according to the sunna. (Yet in Sura |