Not a day goes without seeing unfair accusations and attacks against someone who maintains his/her service truly. Unfortunately, they, now, accuse our brothers of extortion in SANHA (South African Halal Certification Body) and the president of SANHA, Moulana Saeed Navlakhi, who engage in certification work with dedication and knows what he is doing.
As our brothers from SANHA and we have been stating for a long time “the Mudddai (the claimant) is obliged to prove his claim”. As GIMDES and the World Halal Council (WHC), we are always with SANHA as an institution and Moulana Saeed Navlakhi as its president. We always support him that he did not turn certification service into a business. Those who make such claims should not forget the following verse: “And those who harm believing men and believing women for [something] other than what they have earned [i.e., deserved] have certainly borne upon themselves a slander and manifest sin.” (Surah al-Ahzab, 58). They should also remember this hadith: “…but if anyone attacks a Muslim saying something by which he wishes to disgrace him, he will be restrained by Allah on the bridge over Jahannam till he is acquitted of what he said.” (Abu Dawud, Kitabul Adab, 36/4883). There is also a rule in Fiqh; if the claimant cannot prove his/her claim, then s(he) is punished with the punishment of Kazif (slander) and his/her witness for something will not be accepted again.
We, WHC Members and SANHA have been calling these people by saying “Let’s prove your claims. If we are committing such a disgraceful crime, we are ready to leave this position.”. However, there has been no one to demonstrate proof. These slanders caused nothing, but wandering around on social media and confusing people.
Should a Muslim leave his missions because Shaytan (devil) performs his missions? Throwing slanders is a sin, but what about spreading it? Whereas, Allah (SWT) says in the ayah: “O you who have believed! If there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.” (Surah al-Hujurat, 6).
Have we ever searched for the news that we encounter? Or, did we share this news with others even without reading the whole information? Then, we should remember this hadith: “It is enough falsehood for someone to speak of everything he hears.” (Muslim, Muqaddima 5). We should also remember this ayah: “And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart – about all those [one] will be questioned.” (Surah al-Isra, 36).
When someone fires a spark, a Muslim cannot be the hand of evil that turns it into the fire. The Muslim is obliged to extinguish it. We cannot increase the unrest in the society like ramblers. We are responsible to transform darkness into the Nur (light) by considering the hadith: “The true Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe, and the Muhājir (emigrant) is the one who abandons what Allah has forbidden.” (Al-Bukhari, Iman 4,5 Riqaq 26; Muslim, Iman 64-65).
Once again we would like to declare that we are always with SANHA and our brother Moulana Saeed Navlakhi. Such claims are hollow, unqualified claims, as a lie has no legs. We expect all our Muslim brothers and sisters to be more sensitive and to prevent the spread of slanders, not to cause it. The ultimate result of an unsubstantiated claim is just a disappointment for the claimants. Once again, we have witnessed that “The tree that bears fruit will be stoned”.