What is cannabis, why is it relevant to the Muslim community in the West, and is cannabis consumption even Halal? Is this a modern debate within the Muslim community, or a tale as old as our religion itself? What are Islamic scholars saying about cannabis consumption and industry? Are the health benefits true or is there no value to the plant? What can you do if you know someone whose developed an unhealthy habit? We sit with all these questions in our discussion with Ishaq Ali, a cannabis industry veteran and co-founder of Halal Hemp. Tune into the episode for a deep dive into this topic, and journey with us as we explore these questions.

Today we talk with Tariq and Jalel of the Islamic Services of America, a major certifier and educator in the global Halal industry. We take a deep dive into Halal certification, the complexities involved in creating Halal standards especially when you consider differences in Madhahib, and even broach more modern topics of discussion, including lab-grown meats, and cannabis.

In this episode, we discuss Halal Meat Certification with Shaykh Jabir Tarin of HFSAA, the Halal Food Standards Alliance of America. HFSAA is a well-known and respected Halal certifying body that started in the San Francisco Bay area, and now certifies Halal restaurants across many metropolitan areas of the US. We talk about the process of getting certified, explore differences between hand and machine-slaughtered Halal, and reflect on how far the Halal meat industry and food scene have come over the last few decades.