The system of guidance sent by God has come to determine the goals of worldly and hereafter happiness and success for humanity. so that the caravan of humanity can reach the heights of perfection in the light of its light. In the end, he should gain divine pleasure and make himself worthy of eternal life in heaven. which is the ultimate goal of the philosophy of human creation. There are factors that cause people to go astray from the path of guidance, one of which is eating haram (forbidden).
The effect of forbidden food on the human soul
Effect of forbidden food:
Forbidden food has a negative effect on the human soul and takes a person off the path of guidance. Like dirty and contaminated food has a negative effect on the body and causes illness. That is why in the verses and hadiths they emphasize eating halal food and forbidding eating haram food. The wesdom tells us to avoid eating dirty and contaminated food so that it does not destroy or weaken our immune system, or to keep our bodies healthy. For this reason, human reason dictates not to eat forbidden food so that our soul remains healthy. Let's eat halal food so that our soul is not captured by Satan and carnal desires.
God says in the Holy Qur'an: " O mankind! Eat of what is lawful and pure in the earth, and do not follow in Satan’s steps."[1] In another verse, He says: “He...makes lawful to them all the good things and forbids them from all vicious things”[2], Imam Ali (a.s) says in Nahj al-Balagha: “And do not put into your stomachs morsel of the Haram food, for you are in the eyes of the One who forbade you from disobedience and made easy for you the paths of obedience”.[3] Eating forbidden food has such a negative effect on the human soul that it not only takes the believer away from the path of guidance, but also leads them on the path of error to the point that even if they know the truth, they fight against it. The evidence of our example is those who came to the battle of Imam Hussain (a.s) in the event of Ashura. Many of them knew the Imam and also knew that the Imam was right, but because their stomachs were filled with forbidden food, and their body was formed from the forbidden food, their souls were also impure to the extent that they knew Imam. But they came to fight Imam Hussain (a.s).They martyred him with all his companions as well as his family members and captured the rest. [4]
Conclusion:
The emphasis on halal in the Islamic education system is due to the fact that the haram food affects the human soul. Just as dirty and inappropriate food affects the human body. Therefore, to take care of our body's health and safety, we must keep it clean. Also, our duty is to take care of the health of our soul by not eating forbidden food. Because if we do this, it will defile our soul and prevent us from refining it, which is emphasized in the Quran and Islamic teachings.
References:
[1] Quran [2–168] يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ كُلُوا مِمَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ
[2] Quran [7–157] ... وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ...
[3] Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 151 وَ لَا تُدْخِلُوا بُطُونَكُمْ لُعَقَ الْحَرَامِ، فَإِنَّكُمْ بِعَيْنِ مَنْ حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَعْصِيَةَ، وَ سَهَّلَ لَكُمْ سُبُلَ الطَّاعَة
[4] Bihar, V. 8, P.45 كُلُّكُم عاصٍ لِأمري غيرُ مُستَمِعٍ قَولي فقد مُلِئَت بُطونُكُم مِن الحَرامِ و طُبِعَ على قُلوبِكُم