Does Intentionally Eating Something That Is Strictly Prohibited (Haram) Take Me Out of the Fold of Islam?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
Recently, out of curiosity, I tried a bacon sandwich. I knew it was haram, but I still went ahead anyway. I’ve always been a person who’s been cautious with such things, I’m a very religious person otherwise, Alhumdulilah. But regretfully, out of peer pressure and curiosity, I had tried haram food. I regret it now, and I don’t know how to repent. I regret my actions and want to make sincere repentance to Allah. But I read an online article somewhere that, eating is such a huge sin that it can take you out of the fold of Islam if done intentionally. Please guide me in the light of Hanafi fiqh.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
Your eating that which is strictly prohibited (haram) knowingly and intentionally is a major sin from which you must sincerely repent to your Creator.
Peer Pressure
Peer pressure is not an excuse to disobey Allah Most High. He is the One who created you out of His bounty and blessed you with Islam and countless other blessings. Not them.
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “There is no obedience to the creation in the disobedience of the Creator.” [Tabarani]
Additionally, you should very deeply think whether these friends are people you want to continue to keep their company.
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “A person is upon the way of life of their closest friend. So let each of you carefully consider who they befriend.” [Tirmidhi]
The Fold of Islam
The only thing that would take someone out of the fold of Islam is for them to reject belief in something that is a requirement for them to enter Islam. [Tahawi, al-Aqida al-Tahawiyya]
Despite being a major sin, one does not leave the fold of Islam by eating pork, even if done intentionally and knowingly.
However, if someone rejected the fact that pork is strictly prohibited (haram), this would take them out of the fold of Islam because they are essentially rejecting a clear-cut verse of the Noble Quran.
Allah Most High says, “Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I do not find in what has been revealed to me anything forbidden to eat except carrion, running blood, swine—which is impure—or a sinful offering in the name of any other than Allah. But if someone is compelled by necessity—neither driven by desire nor exceeding immediate need—then surely your Lord is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Quran; 6:145]
To summarize, the difference here is between an action and a belief. Believing pork is permissible to eat is disbelief, whereas eating pork whilst believing it to be prohibited is a major sin but not disbelief.
Sincere Repentance
The only way to absolve oneself of major sins is to repent sincerely to Allah Most High. No matter how grave the sin, the door of repentance is always open – on condition that it is sincere repentance.
Sincere repentance is that which meets the following conditions:
- Sincere remorse for committing that sin
- Immediately stopping the sin
- Resolving never to commit the sin again
[Nawawi, Riyadh al-Salihin]
If such conditions are met, one’s sin is certainly forgiven, and one should not have any doubt on this matter.
Imam Ghazali explained that the person who sincerely repents should not have any doubt that their sin is forgiven, just as someone who drank water would have no doubt that their thirst is quenched. [Ghazali, Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din]
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.
He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.
In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
