Flash
News!!

South Africa goes to the polls in the next few days to elect their representatives for local government. The common rallying cry from the campaigning parties has been service delivery. Some promise better delivery while others remind voters of the incumbents failure to deliver on promises.

27 years ago, following the country’s most important and historic first truly democratic election, after liberation from apartheid, the Muslim community faced new challenges in regards to Halaal assurance and dietary choices. The new democratic order saw the repeal of international sanctions resulting in a flood of imported goods, the opportunity to export products and the deregulation of the meat industry allowing for imports and its free movement.

There was an acceleration of urbanisation and globalisation resulting in wider career & trade opportunities, increased consumer spend and changes in shopping & eating trends. To address these challenges, our leadership of visionary Elder Ulama identified the dire need for an independent and cohesive national Halaal certification body. The institution would apply the highest Shari’ah (Islamic law) standards and be above cultural, geographic and petty politics. It would refuse to serve vested business interests, and would operate as a self-sustaining non-profit entity that does not burden community with another begging bowl.

BIRTH OF SANHA - 25TH ANNIVERSARY

Alhamdulillah! (Praise be to Allah), after two years of vigorous engagements, the vision became a reality. SANHA was thus born and registered this month in 1996. From that humble beginning, 25 years later, SANHA has become not only the country’s premier Halaal certification authority, but also an organization of high standing acknowledged by the international Halaal community. SANHA certifies over 2500 establishments and tens of thousands of products across a broad spectrum, from home industries to multinational corporations.

SANHA has achieved international accreditations and enjoys recognition from the Malaysian Government Islamic Department (JAKIM), The Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) also known as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, Ministry of Public Health - Qatar, the Gulf Accreditation Centre (GAC) - Saudi Arabia and the Emirates International Accreditation Centre (EIAC) based in the UAE. These acknowledgments and accreditations facilitates and supports exports to those countries. SANHA also enjoys recognition and support from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and has participated in several trade missions abroad.

We continue striving to uphold service delivery excellence.

GRATITUDE! GRATITUDE! GRATITUDE!

We thank Allah, for one can never express enough gratitude for His innumerable bounties. Believers who show genuine and sincere gratitude are promised by Allah Ta’ala Himself in the Quran, Surah 14, Verse 7:

“And remember! Your Lord caused to be declared (publicly): “If ye are grateful, I will add more (favours) unto you…”

A person who does not truly appreciate the good that people do for him can never be truly grateful to Allah. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “The one who is not grateful to people cannot be grateful to Allah”. (Abu Dawood, Hadith 4811).

We owe our Ulama elders, various individuals, organisations, establishments, consumers and our dedicated staff an unpayable debt for their unstinting support, pro bono services, donations in kind and words of encouragement over the years. We are eternally grateful for your confidence, loyalty and sincere association, which has enabled us to reach this momentous milestone. Words alone cannot truly convey our heartfelt appreciation. Jazakumullah Khairan.

We are grateful to have been entrusted with the privilege of serving you. It is a responsibility we take seriously and pledge to do our utmost in protecting, developing and preserving the mission of Halaal.

As we look forward to the years ahead, we wish everyone good health, peace and prosperity. Aameen!

INVITATION

Help to inspire our team to strive further for excellence in the service of Halaal. Over the weeks to come, we hope to share a few details of the incredible journey. We invite you to share your comments, well wishes and even constructive criticisms, some of which will be shared with our readers.

Mail to: pro-kzn@sanha.org.za