Halal Labels as Symbolic Capital: A Philosophical Reconstruction and Analysis of Uṣūl Al-Fiqh

Abstract

The industrialization of halal certification following the enactment of Law No. 33 of 2014 has transformed the halal label from a marker of ḥukm sharʿī (religious-legal ruling) into a market instrument that accumulates economic, social, and reputational value. This article reinterprets the phenomenon through Pierre Bourdieu's framework of symbolic capital, while critically juxtaposing it with the uṣūl al-fiqh (Islamic legal theory) apparatus particularly maqāṣid al-sharīʿah (objectives of Sharīʿa), al-ʿurf (custom), and maṣlaḥah (public interest) to address how the halal label's transformation into symbolic capital occurred, and what ethical-legal consequences this holds for religious authorities. This research employs a qualitative hermeneutical-critical library approach with content analysis across three source layers: regulatory materials (the Halal Product Assurance Law, Ministry of Religious Affairs regulations, and MUI fatwas), market data (the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2022–2023), and classical (al-Ghazālī, 1992; al-Shāṭibī, 2006; Ibn ʿĀshūr, 2001) and contemporary (Bergeaud-Blackler, 2017; Bourdieu, 1986; Fischer, 2012) literature. Findings show three main things. First, the halal label shifted in function from ʿalāmat al-ḥukm (marker of legal ruling) to ʿalāmat al-sūq (marker of market value), converted into symbolic, social, and economic capital through a Bourdieu-style misrecognition mechanism. Second, this accumulation risks transforming the aims of ḥifẓ al-dīn (preservation of religion) and ḥifẓ al-māl (preservation of property) into tabdīl al-maqṣid (inversion of purpose) a reversal of Sharīʿa's objectives under the logic of capital accumulation. Third, uṣūl al-fiqh through al-ʿādah muḥakkamah (custom as legal precedent) and sadd al-dharīʿah (blocking harmful means) offers internal critical instruments for evaluating such commodification. The article ultimately proposes an ethical-substantive reconstruction of halal's meaning, grounding it in taqwā (God-consciousness) and iḥsān (moral excellence) rather than mere packaging logos.