Is Prasadam Halal?

بسم الله الصلاه والسلام على رسول الله

What is Prasad/Prasadam?

Prasāda (Sanskrit: प्रसाद), prasadam or prasad, holds significant religious importance in Hinduism. It typically consists of vegetarian food specially prepared for devotees as an offering of gratitude and devotion to a god, following prayers and thanksgiving ceremonies.

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The most famous opinion regarding the prasad is that it is prohibited and the ayah which is quoted by prominent scholars as an evidence for that is,

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ

Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allāh.. (Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:3)

[note : there are couple of other aayaat which state the same, the ayah or part of the ayah is repeated several times in the Qur'an, refer 2:173, 6:145 and 16:115]

But in our humble opinion, the ayah 5:3 (or the others aayaat quoted above) cannot be taken as an evidence and draw ruling for the prohibition because the context of the ayah is about ‘non vegetarian food/animals’ and that this particular part of the ayah is talking about ‘the slaughter’ , the ayah continues,

وَٱلْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَٱلْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَٱلْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى ٱلنُّصُبِ

and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars...

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

“And that which has been slaughtered as a sacrifice for other than Allah.”

• Therefore, the animals on which a name other than Allah was mentioned upon slaughtering it, is impermissible, because Allah made it necessary to mention His Glorious Name upon slaughtering the animals, which He created. Whoever does not do so, mentioning other than Allah's Name, such as the name of an idol, a false deity or a monument, when slaughtering, he makes this meat unlawful, according to the consensus.

But, here we are not talking about ‘non-veg or slaughtering of an animal!’, because Prasadam is usually a sweet (vegetarian food) thus the ruling cannot be applied to sweets or vegetables or fruits. And obviously you don't slaughter sweets, fruits or vegetables.

In Islam, merely placing a sweet, a fruit, or a vegetable before an idol does not affect the food or its permissibilty. In other words, even though Prasad is involved in Hindu religious rituals, their permissibility for Muslims remains valid since it hinges on the individual Muslim's intention while consuming them.

Imam ʻAli (علیہ السلام) was given a gift on the Nayrooz festival (Persian festival) and he asked, 'What is this?' They replied, 'Oh, Ameer al-Momineen, today is Nayrooz day.' So he said, 'Then make every day Nayrooz (meaning he loved the food).'" [Al-Bayhaqi: As-Sunan Al-Kubra]

ʻAishah (رضی اللہ عنہا) was asked about what non-Muslims slaughter for their feasts and then offer some of it as gifts for Muslims. She said, "Do not eat from what has been slaughtered for that day, (or feast) but eat from their vegetables/fruits." [Al-Qurtubi, Ibn Abi Shaybah]

And similar reports we find from the companions of the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم)

Hence, it is Halal for a Muslim to consume Prasadam. However we would also like to remind that they should consume it with the intention of accepting the invitation or offering, rather than viewing it as an endorsement of the sanctity of the religious ritual in which the Prasad was originally offered.

The Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) accepted lunch invitations and dinner invitations from non-Muslims and that is a recommended act as well.

Lastly, if the Prasadam consists of meat, for example the Hindus dedicated the animal to some idol, then this becomes Haram without any doubt. But, this is a rare case.

الله اعلم وعليكم السلام