Halal Awareness for Children

Halal has become the lifestyle in the world. For Muslim consumers, halal product means that the products has met the requirements laid down by the Islamic shariah law. As the Muslim populations increasing throughout the world, the awareness on consuming Halal also goes in the same parallel trend. Halal is not only covering food consumption, but also for non-food products such as cosmetics, toiletries, pharmaceuticals, leather products, perfume and fragrances, brushes and so on. The services such as banking, entertainment, tourism, and logistic are also related to Halal requirements (Rahim, 2013).

It is important for muslim to know about halal and why it matters their life. Especially about food, Allah SWT said in Quran surah Al-Baqarah: 172 "O you who believed, eat from the good things which We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah if it is [indeed] Him that you worship." and Al-Baqarah: 173 "He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of wine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is forced [by necessary] neither desiring [it] nor transgressing ]its limit]. there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is forgiving and merciful."  Both show that Halal education is needed especially for muslim as consumers.

The best period to educate is in children era.  Children period of human is the most appropriate time for somebody to get education includes halal awareness. It should be given by parents for children as it is a crucial thing for us as muslim. This following five points will show you how to build halal awareness among children:

1. Show them. Show them that you’re aware before you tell them what awareness is. Children are good imitators. Many people failed because they used to tell their children without even show them how. Start with simple things such as read ingredients and make sure about halal logo in your food packaging, or make conversation about halal with your spouse -for the example. Let your children see.

2. Let and teach. Sometimes, it is important for children to make a decision by their self. Bring your children in shopping time, and ask them to help you choose a product. Whether they choose the ‘halal’ one, appreciate it. “Alhamdulillah, thank you for choosing me the halal one, Honey.” But when they choose the non halal one, or product with no halal logo, that’s a right time to tell them. Say something good and correct it, “Alhamdulillah, thank you for helping me, Dear. But this one has no halal logo. How if we choose another?” -and don't forget to smile.

3. Make dua. Dua is our weapon as muslim. Start every single thing with dua. We know that we can’t ensure the halalness for every product. For the example, we eat fried chicken in a restaurant, We don't know; is it halal? is it slaughtered properly based on syariah? Then, dua completes our effort. Dua is an indicator that we’ve tried our best and we act tawakkal as Allah commands us in the Quran. Involved your children in dua activity, build the sense of tauhid in all of their activity. Later, this simple thing will significantly affect their future. InshaaAllah.

4. Right and Obligation. Help your children to learn moral reasoning about halal. Children usually questioning everything. Why we can't eat those things? why we have to aware about halal? why. why, why. Specifically, they usually ask ‘why’ for every single thing. Do not ever feel too lazy to answer their question. Remember that you're helping them to build awareness. Use creative ways to tell about right and obligation as a muslim, and show the beauty of Islam :) One more thing, remember to use concrete explanation. Make it easy for them to understand.

5. Story. Story telling is a great choice to educate children and raising their halal awareness. It elaborates audio, visual, and also kinesthetic. You can make your own story, or search it on the internet. In addition, it is also important for you to tell them about sirah nabawiyah and another islamic story especially that linked into halal.

         

Well done, happy raising awareness! :)

Rahim NF, Shafii Z, Shahwan S. 2013. Awareness and perception of muslim consumers on non-food halal product. Journal of Social and Development Sciences 4:478-487.

  Rizky Sahla Tasqiya, student of Family and Consumer Sciences

Halal Product Management | Syariah Economy | Bogor Agricultural University