Poison in the name of protein
By: Dr Aftab jan
In the land of Kashmir, where the mountains stand tall in dignity and the rivers run clear as glass, one would expect honesty and purity to flow into every aspect of life, including the food served to people. But behind the walls of certain hotels, wedding kitchens, and market stalls, there is a reality so bitter and shameful that it turns the stomach before the first bite.
This reality is the betrayal of trust — feeding people food that is not only harmful to their health, but doubtful in its halal status, using deceit that poisons both body and soul. Rotten meat, chicken stored for months in freezers with the ice burnt into its flesh, kababs and rista reheated from yesterday’s leftovers, and oil used so many times it becomes black and thick like tar — these are not rare mistakes, they are routine practices.
To make matters worse, in some cases even the very source of the meat is unknown — no one knows if it was slaughtered according to Islamic law, or if it even came from an animal permissible to eat. This is not feeding people, this is gambling with their health, their faith, and their lives.
Rotten meat is not just meat with a bad smell — it is a corpse filled with invisible killers. As meat begins to decay, bacteria like Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria multiply in its fibers, releasing toxins that cannot always be destroyed by cooking. The eyes and nose can be fooled with heavy spices and masala, the nose tricked with frying, but the stomach will recognize the poison. Yet in many kitchens, this trick is the daily method.
Meat that has already turned is soaked in vinegar or colored to look fresh, then minced and turned into kebabs or rista so the texture hides the truth. Chicken that has been frozen for months is thawed, partially cooked, frozen again, then cooked finally for sale — a dangerous cycle that allows bacteria to thrive. The freezer itself may not be cold enough because of power cuts or cost-cutting, and yet the meat is still sold as “fresh.”
When customers come, they see the shine of oil, smell the aroma of spices, and trust the smile of the cook. They do not see the blackened oil that has been used dozens of times, each time becoming more toxic. This reused oil contains dangerous compounds like acrylamide and trans-fats that slowly damage the heart, clog the arteries, and feed cancer cells.
Yet for some sellers, fresh oil is “too expensive,” and the health of the people is cheaper than a few liters of clean oil. Kababs and rista are prepared in large batches for weddings or busy days, and whatever is left over is reheated the next day with extra oil and masala to hide the age. Goshtaba, which should be a dish of pride in Kashmiri culture, is sometimes nothing more than old, reheated meat swimming in poisoned fat. This is not hospitality — this is cruelty disguised as generosity.
And then there is the question that cuts deeper than health: Is the meat even halal? In the rush for cheap supply, many sellers buy from sources without asking if the slaughter was done according to Islamic law, or even if the animal itself was lawful to eat.
Some do not care to ask because the answer might disturb their profit. Yet in Islam, the command is clear — the food must be both halal (lawful) and tayyib (pure). Feeding someone meat from an animal that was not slaughtered in the name of Allah, or meat from a forbidden animal, is a direct sin. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “Whoever deceives us is not one of us.” What greater deception could there be than to feed a Muslim haram food in the name of halal, to hide rotten meat in rich gravy, to sell doubt as trust?
This is not only a sin against health, it is a sin against faith. The Qur’an says: “O mankind, eat from whatever is on earth [that is] lawful and pure, and do not follow the footsteps of Shaytaan.” (Al-Baqarah 2:168) — lawful and pure are both conditions. Even if the meat is halal in slaughter, if it is rotten, contaminated, or dangerous, it is no longer pure, and feeding it is feeding corruption. And if it is haram in source, then every bite is a curse that enters the body, darkening the heart and making prayers harder to accept. The Prophet ﷺ also said: “A body nourished with haram will not enter Paradise.” What answer will a seller give on the Day of Judgment when Allah asks why he fed His servants what He had forbidden?
The pain of this betrayal is not abstract — it is real, it is daily, and it is heavy. Imagine a mother who has worked for weeks, saving enough to take her children for a meal at a restaurant. She believes she is giving them a treat, a memory of happiness. Instead, she gives them chicken stored for months in a broken freezer, cooked in dirty oil.
By night, her children are crying from stomach pain, vomiting, or burning with fever. Imagine an elderly man at a wedding, eating kebab with joy, not knowing it was made from meat already spoiled. That night, he lies in a hospital bed with food poisoning, his body too weak to fight. Imagine a poor laborer buying a plate of kabab from a street stall, not knowing it is made from meat of unknown origin — perhaps not even from an animal permissible in Islam. He eats it with gratitude, but what enters his body is not blessing, it is harm. This is not only physical pain — it is the pain of betrayal, the pain of being treated as less than human.
The sellers who do this hide behind excuses. They say, “Customers want cheap food, so we must cut corners.” They say, “The meat is cooked, so it is safe.” They say, “It smells fine after frying, so it’s okay.” But these are lies they tell themselves to silence their conscience. Islam makes it clear: you cannot sell something with a hidden defect without informing the buyer. You cannot feed someone food you would not serve to your own family. You cannot play with the health of the people for profit. This is not business — this is oppression.
The Food Safety Department exists to prevent exactly this, but too often their presence is like a shadow — seen sometimes, felt rarely. Inspections are infrequent, sometimes announced in advance, giving time for businesses to hide the evidence for a day. There are whispers of corruption, where fines disappear or warnings are enough to keep offenders in business.
This silence is dangerous. If inspectors fail to enforce the law, they too share in the sin, for they are the guardians of the people’s health. Their duty is not only to collect fines but to stop the sale of rotten meat, shut down suppliers of doubtful meat, test the quality of oil in restaurants, and demand proof of halal sources. Inaction is not neutrality — it is participation in harm.
Every day this continues is another day of silent poisoning. Rotten meat does not kill instantly — it kills slowly, through repeated sickness, through long-term damage to the liver and kidneys, through heart disease and cancer. And haram meat does not harm only the body — it harms the soul, cutting off blessings, making prayers heavy, closing the doors to acceptance. The Qur’an warns: “And do not throw yourselves into destruction with your own hands.” (Al-Baqarah 2:195) When sellers knowingly give such food, they are pushing their customers into destruction.
Kashmir’s markets must be cleansed not only of dirt but of dishonesty. Sellers must understand that every plate they serve will testify for or against them on the Day of Judgment. A keabab made with clean, fresh, halal meat will stand as a witness of honesty.
A kabab made from rotten, doubtful meat cooked in dirty oil will stand as a witness of betrayal. Customers must learn to demand proof of freshness and halal sourcing, to avoid places with a reputation for greed over care. And the Food Safety Department must remember that their duty is not a job but a trust — an amanah — from the people and from Allah.
We cannot allow greed to turn our kitchens into traps. We cannot let our culture’s proud dishes become vehicles of disease. The beauty of Kashmir means nothing if its people are sick in body and weak in spirit. Our hospitality must be real — serving food that is both halal and pure, prepared with care, free from hidden dangers. We must remind ourselves of the hadith: “It is not permissible for a Muslim to sell such a commodity that has a defect, except that he makes it clear to the buyer.” If we feed each other in truth, Allah will put barakah in our homes and our health. If we feed each other in deceit, we will eat from our own destruction.
Every bite we take will either be a blessing or a curse. And when we stand before Allah, the excuses will vanish. The smell of deceit cannot be hidden from the One who knows all. Rotten meat, stored chicken, reused oil, haram sources — all will speak on that Day. The question is, when we are asked, will we answer with clean hands and a clean heart, or will we stand ashamed, knowing we traded health and faith for a handful of coins?
