Halal and haram

27 April 2003

The meaning of the Arabic word ‘halal’ is ‘(that which is) allowed, permitted or permissible’. Possible transcriptions of the word include ħalâl, ḥalāl and ħala:l.

In Arabic it is spelled حلال. The root of the word is h-l-l, or حلّ in Arabic script. That verb has meanings like to untie, unbind, unfasten, unravel, solve, decipher.
Source: "A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, by Hans Wehr, edited by J M. Cowan, 1976.
The meaning of the adjective is probably connected with derived verb stem IV, 'aktaba (source: Teach yourself Arabic, A.S. Tritton, 1958), which among other things can mean "to declare lawful, legally permissible, allow".

The opposite of halal is haram, for which in the dictionary I find both ħaram (حرم) and ħara:m (حرام).
ħaram means forbidden, prohibited, but also taboo, holy, sacred, sacrosanct. ħara:m means forbidden, prohibited, unlawful; offense, sin; inviolable, taboo; sacred, sacrosanct. The root and verb from which it derives, ħaruma (حرم) means to be forbidden, unlawful, etc.