Can I carry pork?

I'm going to Korea again and a colleague there asked me to bring dried meat for her. At first I wasn't sure what kind of meat she meant. But I was pretty sure that she wanted the kind of meat that is not halal for me... which is pork.

So I asked another colleague to help me buy the meat since she was the one who introduced that dried meat to my Korean colleague. In the process, I wondered how I'm going to carry that meat. I think I can carry pork since I never heard any restrictions against carrying it. The restrictions are specifically against eating it. Unlike alcohol... we can't drink it, we can't eat it, we can't hold it, we can't carry it, we can't buy it, we can't serve it, we can't sell it... The last two, I saw a lot of muslims doing it. Maybe they don't sell it, but they are the cashiers at the supermarket. I wonder if they know the hukum...

Ok, back to my story...

I was in doubt, so I turned to an 'ustaz' friend of mine. His answer was clear and straightaway answered my question :)

Thank you Ipin...

* his answer, in Malay

*****

Membawa babi tidak haram. Membawa dengan niat untuk memberi makan kepada bukan Islam juga tidak haram. Yang haramnye ialah memakan babi. Itu je.. make sure kamu jaga kebersihan, sebab mende tu najis berat. Kalau pegang pun tak haram, cuma kena basuh dengan cara yang betul.

Berbanding dengan arak, ia telah dimaklumkan secara jelas di dalam hadis diharamkan segala yang melibatkannya.

Bacalah Al-Fatihah dengan khusyuk supaya tindakan kita di pandukan ke jalan yang lurus.

*****

Short, simple and straight to the point. That's why I always like to ask him...

So in conclusion, we muslims CAN carry pork. What we cannot do is eat it. But, please make sure you 'samak' properly afterwards.

Still I was a bit worry about having to carry the meat. I've never done anything like this. But... I am very fortunate to have understanding colleagues here... My team member will help me carry the meat since they know that pork is not halal for me. I am very much grateful :)

Please correct us if we are wrong.

An advice from Ipin * In Malay

Biasakan menghayati Al-Fatihah bila berdepan dengan perkara-perkara yang shubahah & meragukan.