Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
Since you ate a dish containing bacon mistakenly, you need not feel guilty; for Allah does not take us to task for such slip-ups and unintentional acts, and make sure in the future that you eat only at places that you can trust.
In his response to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
As far as Islamic Shari`ah is concerned, a Muslim is allowed to eat halal (lawful) food prepared by any human being as long as it is clean, healthy, and prepared with halal ingredients.
A Muslim is required to eat what is halal (lawful) and tahir (wholesome). So, if a Muslim wants to eat in a restaurant that serves halal and non-halal food, he should be keen to make sure that he eats halal items.
Since you ate a dish containing bacon mistakenly, you need not feel guilty; for Allah does not take us to task for such slip-ups and unintentional acts.
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) also said, “My Ummah is excused of their unintentional mistakes and forgetfulness as well as what they are coerced into.” (Ibn Majah)
So, you simply need to ask for forgiveness from Allah and make sure in the future that you eat only at places that you can trust. It may be a good idea to avoid altogether places where they serve haram items as well as halal – provided that you have alternatives.
Read also:
Does Halal Food Need to Be Blessed?
Is Food Coloring Derived from Cochineal Insect Halal?
Can Muslims Serve Alcohol in Non Muslim Countries?
Can I Gift Non Halal Stuff to Non Muslim Parents?
Buying Pork and Feeding It to Non Muslims: Permissible?
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.