In Arabic, Halal (also sometimes spelled halaal) is a meaning anything that is ‘lawful, legal, licit, legitimate, permissible, allowable, permitted, allowed, admissible, authorized, or acceptable to all aspects of  daily life and betterment of social context. Its opposite is haram, which means unlawful or prohibited.

Halal and haram are universal terms that apply to all facets of life. However, generally we use these terms only in  relation to  food  products, meat  products,  cosmetics,  personal  care  products, food ingredients, and  food  contact materials.

All foods are considered halal EXCEPT the following, which are haram :

• Swine/Pork and its by-products
  
• Animals improperly slaughtered or dead before slaughtering
  
• Alcoholic drinks and intoxicants
  
• Carnivorous animals, birds of prey and certain other animals
  
• Foods contaminated with any of the above products

Foods containing ingredients such as gelatin, enzymes, emulsifiers, etc are questionable (Mashbooh) because the origin of these ingredients is not known.