Flash
News!!

In a feeding frenzy last week, netizens made a meal of the rumour that SANHA certifies pork as Halaal, naudhu-billah, with the common thread of circulating the same single photographic image on social media first posted by an anonymous person. This is no different to the discredited anonymous false claim a few weeks ago by a brother who allegedly works in Woolworths, and his friend, that Haraam lard was used in their baking. To-date they are still basking in their anonymity after raising the hackles of the community. Amongst those leading the gluttony last week, was a garrulous radio mufti who falsely declared that SANHA had issued a certificate for pork sosaties, an infamous extremist group who went on their usual raucous rant with a same-day public statement and a dogged “do gooder” who opined that people should not publicise the message and avoid fitnah but paradoxically did precisely the opposite with his social media publicity. There were some SANHA subscribers too who wanted answers but their concern was to verify information rather than eating the flesh of their brothers by joining the unholy feeding frenzy of fitnah. We appreciate their sincerity of purpose, Jazakumullah Khairan.

FACTS OF THE MATTER

1. Checkers Cape Gate in Cape Town’s Haraam butchery appended a BBQ marinade label with our logo on several packs of pork sausages. Our logo was authorised for use to a certified supplier of sauces and marinades and not to any Checkers outlets for their meat products.
   
   
2. The label carrying our logo clearly shows the ingredients of the marinade only without any mention of pork.
   
   
3. The Cape store was immediately investigated and found to have a roll of stickers for the marinade that were erroneously supplied. This was confiscated and uplifted by our representative who also verified that no product with our logo was on sale or in stock. He further confirmed and returned with photographic evidence that the remaining stickers for use did not contain our logo.
   
   
4. As a precautionary measure, random checks were undertaken at several other Checkers stores nationwide. No such product was found with the sticker carrying our logo.
   
   
5. SANHA, in its 25 years of service to the Ummah, neither certifies any Checkers or other supermarket chain stores that sell both Haraam and Halaal meats, nor encourages Muslims to patronise such supermarket butcheries. It has also called out previously to other certifying bodies to withdraw certification from such stores. Click here for our statement on this: http://www.sanha.org.za/flashnews/2016/flashn112.html
   
   
6. Checkers has formally tendered a written apology to SANHA for the error and taken measures to prevent any recurrence which includes sensitivity training for their staff.
   
   
7. The Theological Director of SANHA, Moulana Muhammad Saeed Navlakhi participated on a national radio program where listeners were able to get an in depth understanding of the case in question.

Click here to listen: https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/Sb2iq*l

It is said that the biggest lies begin with "they say".

Muaz bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) if we would be held to task for the things that we say, he replied, “Does anything cast people on their faces into Hellfire, more than the harvests of their tongues?” (Ahmad, Tirmizi)