H.E. Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the Academy, participated in the Makkah Halal Forum, entitled “Sustainable Development through Halal Industries”, held at the Makkah Chamber Center for Exhibitions and Events, in the presence of several officials, businessmen, and interested parties, where he delivered a speech at the opening session of the Forum, held in Makkah, on Tuesday, 26 Sha’aban 1446, corresponding to 25 February 2025.

The Secretary General expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the Crown Prince, the Government, and the people for this blessed invitation and generous sponsorship of this conference at this historical stage that our Ummah is passing through. His Excellency also conveyed the greetings and thanks of H.E. Sheikh Dr. Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid, President of the Academy, Imam-Khatib of Grand Mosque of Makkah and member of the Council of Senior Scholars, as well as of the Academy’s members and experts for the invitation to participate in this Forum that presenting and promoting a bright and profound Islamic conceptualization on this industry.

His Excellency spoke about the changes that have taken place in the Halal industry in today’s world, pointing out that they are among the new developments that many people do not know about, but some scholars are well known as the most reliable and recognized scholars, as Allah said: “It is He who has sent down to you, [O Muhammad], the Book; in it are verses [that are] precise – they are the foundation of the Book – and others unspecific. As for those whose hearts are deviating [from truth], they will follow that of it, which is unspecific, seeking discord and an interpretation [suitable to them]. And no one knows its [true] interpretation except Allah. But those firm in knowledge say, “We believe in it. All [of it] is from our Lord.” And no one will be reminded except those of understanding.” Aal-Imran 3:7. Therefore, these things known in Arabic as “mutashabihat” or ambiguous verses are known by Allah and are known by the grace of Allah to those who are well-grounded in knowledge, to whom Allah grants the ability to recognize these new developments.

His Excellency emphasized that dealing with new developments requires collective ijtihad beyond individual ijtihad. This underscores the importance of the jurisprudential councils as authoritative legal authorities qualified to issue appropriate legal opinions after seeking the help of specialists and experts who provide them with accurate perceptions of these issues and developments, based on the well-known fundamentalist rule: “Judgment of a thing is part of its perception. His Excellency pointed out that the rulers of Muslim countries have established the General Authorities for Food and Drugs and the General Authorities for Standards and Metrology to enable established scholars to understand the issues and developments in the halal industry in preparation for issuing the appropriate Sharia rulings for them. Hence, a jurist or mufti should not address fatwa on these new developments unless he has a sufficient understanding of their nature, effects, and consequences.

Furthermore, His Excellency also spoke about the role of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy in explaining the Sharia rulings on issues and novelties, affirming: “As you know, the Academy is the Ummah’s leading Sharia reference, which represents the greatest institution for the aspired collective Ijtihad in this era, because its members include the Ummah’s best scholars and its leading jurists and experts who meet to study issues and novelties and perform authentic and effective Ijtihad in them to provide effective scientific solutions and state the appropriate Islamic rulings for these issues and novelties. Therefore, the general food and drug authorities in the Islamic world should to the Academy’s resolutions and to its members to issue the appropriate Sharia rulings on these issues and novelties, given that these resolutions and recommendations are considered the wisest, blackest, and most reliable because they are issued by the established scholars of Sharia and prominent people with specialization and experience in nutrition and medicine.”

His Excellency also called for cooperation between jurists and specialists through jurisprudential councils and accredited Sharia boards and away from individual Ijtihad in public matters, which should be decided only by the people worthy of Ijtihad, i.e., the authorities, Sharia councils, and boards, clarifying that the public issue has many different dimensions that exceed the ability of the individual to comprehend, understand, and visualize it, which makes him in need the help of other specialists and experts so that the fatwa he issues is correct, and also pointed out that the Academy has a long history in this field, as it has issued several rulings on slaughtering animals and poultry, as well as on transmutation and dilution, dairy products, and milk banks. His Excellency stressed the importance of institutions and companies that issue halal certificates to refer to the decisions and recommendations of jurisprudential councils and sharia bodies as qualified authorities to clarify the rulings of sharia in the issues and developments of the halal industry in this era.

His Excellency concluded his speech by calling on the participants of the Forum to get the best out of the Academy’s book of Resolutions and Recommendations, available on the Academy’s website in three languages: English, Arabic, and French. This book contains the resolutions and recommendations issued by the Academy on various issues and questions, especially the new developments in the Halal industry, Islamic finance, and others. His Excellency praised the respect, appreciation, and acceptance of these resolutions in the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, as they are considered a reference for the Saudi Food and Drug Authority in the field of animal and bird slaughter, among others.

In his speech, His Excellency also warned institutions and companies that want to take the lead and issue halal certificates or labels about the importance of recalling and fearing Allah, recalling what Allah said: “And do not say about what your tongues assert of untruth, “This is lawful, and this is unlawful,” to invent falsehood about Allah. Indeed, those who invent falsehood about Allah will not succeed.” An-Nahl, 16:116. In other words, it is not permissible for a non-specialist, unqualified person to say that this food is halal or haram without proper information knowledge, and knowledge of Allah’s rules. His Excellency also warned against those enthusiastic people who dare to deviate from Allah’s word and that there is no difference between those who make halal what is forbidden and those who forbid what is halal, as both are dangerous to Islam.

At the end of his speech, His Excellency called on everyone to work together to achieve integration and cooperation between Sharia scholars and specialists in other fields, and that the sustainability of Halal has no future if the scholars are alone in issuing fatwas without referring to the people of specialization and expertise, and has no future if the people of specialization and expertise are alone in issuing fatwas to address the statement of halal without returning to Sharia scholars and people of knowledge, stressing that there is an urgent need for scientific centers that train a generation of scholars to combine this legal knowledge and real professional knowledge who carry this concern of integration between these different disciplines and also return to collective ijtihad.