être halal (applied to a person)

English translation: being Muslim means being halal

10:07 Oct 5, 2016
French to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Religion / Islam
French term or phrase: être halal (applied to a person)
Context: an academic-style report on different attitudes towards and expressions of Islam based on a survey.

Sentence: "La consommation de viande halal fait l'objet d'un intérêt important pour les musulmans, qui l’identifient de plus en plus au simple fait d’être musulman : être musulman, c’est être halal (par opposition à « haram »)."

My question is about whether the term "to be halal" could be applied to a person in the same way in English. For me it is something only used to decribe produce, not people.
I'm not sure that it's even standard in French. Perhaps it should be used with quotations?
Does the phrase "to be Muslim is to be halal" seem too odd or is this something an English-speaking Muslim person might say?


Thanks for your help!
Una D.
France
Local time: 12:42
English translation:being Muslim means being halal
Explanation:
I think that the whole point here is summed up very neatly in the last part : être musulman, c'est être halal: "being muslim means being halal".

The improtant thing to retain here is the essence of the intention of the French. I see no other reading but that they are synonymous. The choice of "être" for a person is deliberate and I think that near personification with the verb is the key to an accurate rendering of the original.

Also, it works equally well in English, en toute simplicité anyway, as far as I can see :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halal

"Halāl (Arabic: حلال‎‎ ḥalāl, "permissible"), also spelled hallal or halaal, is any object or action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term covers and designates food and drink as well as matters of daily life.[1] It is one of five Ahkam—fard (compulsory), mustahabb (recommended), halal (allowed), makruh (disliked), haram (forbidden)—that define the morality of human action in Islam.[2] Mubah is also used to mean "permissible" or "allowed" in Islam."


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Note added at 51 mins (2016-10-05 10:58:54 GMT)
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As something which is "halal" designates, in French or in English, not only objects, but also actions, then of course "être" is highly evocative of behaviour but goes further in that it strieks at the essence of one's being (behaviour, actions, what one says, what one does, what one eats, the way one dresses, etc.).

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halal

Dans l'Islam, le mot ḥalāl (arabe : حلال [ḥalāl], « permis », « licite ») désigne tout ce qui autorisé par la charia, la loi islamique1. Cela ne concerne pas seulement la nourriture et les boissons, mais également les habitudes de vie, la « morale musulmane2 ».

Généralement, dans l'islam, toute action est considérée comme permise à moins qu'elle ne soit interdite par les Écritures islamiques3,4. Dans ce cas, elle est dite harām.
Selected response from:

Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 12:42
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5being Muslim means being halal
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
4eat halal
Shabelula
4observing the rules of Islam in all things
B D Finch
3follow the halal (dietary) rules/guidelines/principles
Ana Vozone
3...is to be a practicing believer
Marc Brunet
Summary of reference entries provided
fyi, hth
writeaway

Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
follow the halal (dietary) rules/guidelines/principles


Explanation:
Being a muslim is following....

Ana Vozone
Local time: 11:42
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  B D Finch: What is not forbidden (haram) is permitted (halal).
46 mins

neutral  Tony M: It's nothing to do with what the people eat, but what they themselves ARE; haram = unclean in the Biblical sense
9 hrs
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16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
eat halal


Explanation:
I think so. I follow the Jewish rules and I say of myself as "eating kosher"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 39 mins (2016-10-05 10:47:33 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

or in a broader sense yes, "be" halal maybe


Shabelula
Italy
Local time: 12:42
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Italian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Tony M: t's nothing to do with what the people eat, but what they themselves ARE; haram = unclean in the Biblical sense
8 hrs
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36 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
observing the rules of Islam in all things


Explanation:
http://www.habibihalaqas.org/2012/04/keeping-it-halal.html
"This is just some advice from one sister to another, to every girl who has non-Mahram "friends" with whom she freely chats to; every girl who sincerely wants to marry for the sake of Allah, but has found herself falling in to the haram in her quest; to all my sisters out there who make excuses as to why they can't keep it halal. "

https://islamictext.wordpress.com/dogs-in-the-maliki-madhab/
"The problem is balconies are still kind of in your house so is is Haram or halal to keep a puppy in a (attached to house/part of house garage) garage or balcony."



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 47 mins (2016-10-05 10:55:09 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halal
"Halāl (Arabic: حلال‎‎ ḥalāl, "permissible"), also spelled hallal or halaal, is any object or action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term covers and designates food and drink as well as matters of daily life.[1] It is one of five Ahkam—fard (compulsory), mustahabb (recommended), halal (allowed), makruh (disliked), haram (forbidden)—that define the morality of human action in Islam.[2] Mubah is also used to mean "permissible" or "allowed" in Islam."

Also see https://goo.gl/kYbtcY

B D Finch
France
Local time: 12:42
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8
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48 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
être musulan, c'est être halal
being Muslim means being halal


Explanation:
I think that the whole point here is summed up very neatly in the last part : être musulman, c'est être halal: "being muslim means being halal".

The improtant thing to retain here is the essence of the intention of the French. I see no other reading but that they are synonymous. The choice of "être" for a person is deliberate and I think that near personification with the verb is the key to an accurate rendering of the original.

Also, it works equally well in English, en toute simplicité anyway, as far as I can see :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halal

"Halāl (Arabic: حلال‎‎ ḥalāl, "permissible"), also spelled hallal or halaal, is any object or action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term covers and designates food and drink as well as matters of daily life.[1] It is one of five Ahkam—fard (compulsory), mustahabb (recommended), halal (allowed), makruh (disliked), haram (forbidden)—that define the morality of human action in Islam.[2] Mubah is also used to mean "permissible" or "allowed" in Islam."


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 51 mins (2016-10-05 10:58:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

As something which is "halal" designates, in French or in English, not only objects, but also actions, then of course "être" is highly evocative of behaviour but goes further in that it strieks at the essence of one's being (behaviour, actions, what one says, what one does, what one eats, the way one dresses, etc.).

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halal

Dans l'Islam, le mot ḥalāl (arabe : حلال [ḥalāl], « permis », « licite ») désigne tout ce qui autorisé par la charia, la loi islamique1. Cela ne concerne pas seulement la nourriture et les boissons, mais également les habitudes de vie, la « morale musulmane2 ».

Généralement, dans l'islam, toute action est considérée comme permise à moins qu'elle ne soit interdite par les Écritures islamiques3,4. Dans ce cas, elle est dite harām.

Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Local time: 12:42
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard: I tried "I am halal", and it got plenty of hits. One was "I am halal in the kitchen and haram [forbidden] in bed".
1 hr
  -> Haha!

agree  Daryo: ".. as well as matters of daily life" => the simplest literal translation works perfectly well, no need to go wandering off on a tangent trying to avoid non-existing false friends ...
2 hrs

agree  B D Finch
2 hrs

agree  Tony M: Yes, I have heard my Muslim friends use the expression in exactly this way.
8 hrs

agree  David Hayes
1 day 19 hrs
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
...is to be a practicing believer


Explanation:
Puisque le contexte fournit le premier attribut considéré a) "(to be) a moslem""
il ne reste plus qu'à définir ce qu'embrasser cette religion implique pour vraiment y appartenir (condition sine qua non d'après la définition donnée) c.a.d. b) "s'acquitter des observances que cette religion exige"
Dans ce cas, "to be a practicing believer" suffit à définir le statut b) de façon succinte, quitte à en développer le thème par la suite...

Qu'en pensez vous? :-)

Marc Brunet
Australia
Local time: 21:42
Native speaker of: French
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Reference comments


40 mins peer agreement (net): +3
Reference: fyi, hth

Reference information:
Halāl (Arabic: حلال‎‎ ḥalāl, "permissible"), also spelled hallal or halaal, is any object or action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term covers and designates food and drink as well as matters of daily life.[1] It is one of five Ahkam—fard (compulsory), mustahabb (recommended), halal (allowed), makruh (disliked), haram (forbidden)—that define the morality of human action in Islam.[2] Mubah is also used to mean "permissible" or "allowed" in Islam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halal#Lifestyle_and_tourism

writeaway
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  philgoddard
1 hr
agree  Daryo
7 hrs
agree  Tony M
8 hrs
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