Eating & Drinking
Questions and Answers
- Question: On the package
of meat that is produced in Muslim countries by non-Muslim companies,
it says, “slaughtered according to Islamic laws”. Are we allowed to eat that
meat? Can we eat that meat, if it comes from Muslim companies in non-Muslim
countries? And what is the ruling, if the source is non-Muslim company from
a non-Muslim country?
Answer: The writing [on the package] has
no value at all. If the producer is a Muslim or it was produced in a place
where Muslims are in the majority and it is not known that the producer is
a non-Muslim, then it is permissible to eat it.
But if the producer is a non-Muslim or it was produced in a place where Muslims
are not in the majority and it is not known that the producer is Muslim, then
it is not permissible to eat it.
- Question: We enter some super markets
in Europe and find meat in tin containers produced by a European company with
the writing on the package that conveys the sense of it being “halãl”
or “slaughtered according to Islamic laws”. Is it permissible to buy and eat
such meat?
Answer: The writing [on the package] has
no value if it does not lead to certainty [that it is actually halãl].
- Question: Meat companies slaughter
a large number of chickens at one time [that is, simultaneously]. Now
if the person running the slaughtering machine is a Muslim, who says takbír
and says the name of Allãh only once at the time of slaughtering all
the chicken [simultaneously], is it permissible for us to eat those chickens?
If we have doubt about these chickens being halãl, can we [ignore
that doubt and] eat them and consider them pure (tãhir)?
Answer: If he repeats the name of Allãh
as long as the machine is continuing to slaughter, it is sufficient. In the
event of doubt about its being halãl (a doubt which arises concerning
the mentioning of the name of Allãh), it can be considered pure and
be consumed.
- Question: Is it permissible to buy
meat thinking that it is slaughtered according to Islamic laws from a super-market
owned by a Muslim who [also] sells alcoholic drinks?
Answer: Yes, it is permissible; and it
is halãl to eat, even if it previously came from a non-Muslim
as long as there is a likelihood that the shopkeeper has ascertained that
it was slaughtered according to the shari‘a laws; but not if there
is no such likelihood.
- Question: Some of the cheese
manufactured in non-Muslim countries contain rennet extracted from
the calf or other animals. We do not know whether the rennet was taken from
the animal that was slaughtered according to Islamic laws; neither do we know
that it has transformed into something else. So is it permissible to eat such
cheese?
Answer: There is no problem in eating
such cheese.
- Question: Gelatin is used in
a number of drinks and food items in the West. We do not know that gelatin
has been extracted from a vegetable or an animal source; and that if it is
from an animal, is it from its bones or from the tissues around the bones;
neither do we know if the animal was one that is halãl for us
or harãm. Are we allowed to eat such gelatin?
Answer: It is permissible to eat if the
doubt is whether it has been extracted from an animal or vegetable. But, if
it is known that it was derived from an animal, then it is not permissible
to eat without ascertaining that the animal was slaughtered according to sharí‘a.
This prohibition applies, as a matter of obligatory precaution, even if it
was extracted from animal bones.
Of course, if a chemical change occurs in the original ingredients during
the process of manufacturing the gelatin, there is no problem at all in eating
it. Similarly, even if one has doubt whether the animal was slaughtered Islamically
or not, still there is no problem in adding the gelatin [made from that animal]
to the food in such a minute amont that it is completely absorbed in it.
- Question: Commercial fishing vessels
place their huge nets [in the sea] and catch tons of fish which
are then sold in the markets. It is well known that modern methods of fishing
are based on catching the fish alive, and that the fishermen throw the dead
fish back into the water for fear of contamination.
Therefore, is it permissible for us to buy such fish in the markets of non-Muslims?
Is it permissible for us to buy such fish from Muslims who are not considerate
of religious laws? In both the cases to ascertain that this particular fish
in front of me was taken out of the water alive, should seek the advice of
an expert and reliable witness to testify to that fact which may prove
difficult, impractical, and unrealistic.
So, is there a solution for practicing Muslims who face difficulty in ascertaining
whether or not the meat of chicken, cow or sheep is halãl, and
therefore take to eating fish instead?
Answer: There is no problem in buying
it from Muslims or non-Muslims; as there is no problem in eating it, if they
are satisfied that the fish was caught by the method mentioned above and that
it belongs to the category of scale fish.
- Question: At times we find the name
or picture of fish on the cans and come to know that the fish is a scale fish.
So, is it permissible for us to rely on the name or the picture in determining
the category of fish, knowing well that a wrong statement of this kind would
put the manufacturers in great loss or even more serious [situation] than
just a loss?
Answer: If one is satisfied it is the
truth, it is permissible to act upon it.
- Question: Is it permissible to eat
lobster, in all its varieties, by following the pattern of shrimp?
Answer: It is not permissible to eat lobster.
- Question: Is it permissible to buy
a fish from a Muslim who is not a Shi‘a while we have no knowledge whether
it is from the category of scale fish or not?
Answer: It is permissible to buy it but
one cannot eat it unless he makes sure that it is from the category of scale
fish.
- Question: Is it permissible to eat
halãl food which has been steam cooked with the steam of meat
not slaughtered according to Islamic laws?
Answer: It is not permissible since the
food, as mentioned in the question, will be considered impure (najis)
because of coming into contact with the wet parts from the steam of the impure
meat.
- Question: If wine is served at a
table, it is harãm for a Muslim to sit at that table. What
is meant by “table”? Does this apply to the entire group [that has gone to
the restaurant and some are being served alcohol] even if the tables are more
than one? Or does it only apply to one table [and not the group], in the sense
that if there are two separate tables, it would be permissible to sit [at
the table on which alcohol is not being served, even if they are part of the
same company]?
Answer: The criterion is one table. However,
one should know that the prohibition of sitting at a table on which wine or
intoxicant drinks are being served is based on precaution; of course, eating
and drinking at that table is harãm based on obligatory precaution.
- Question: A Muslim enters a café and
sits down at a table to drink tea, then a stranger comes at the same table
to drink wine. Is it obligatory upon the Muslim to stop drinking tea and leave?
Answer: Yes, as mentioned earlier, it
is obligatory to move away from that table.
- Question: Is it permissible to drink
beer that says “alcohol free” on it?
Answer: It is not permissible to drink,
if “beer” means the drink made from barley that causes mild drunkenness. But
if it means a drink made from barley that does not cause mild drunkenness,
there is no problem in it.
- Question: Alcohol is used in
the production of many drugs and medications: Is it permissible to take them?
Are they considered pure (tãhir)?
Answer: They are pure; and since the alcohol
used in them is so minute that it dissolves in them, it is therefore permissible
to take them also.
- Question: There is this vinegar
that is made from wine, in the sense that it was wine and then, through a
manufacturing process, changed into vinegar. Therefore, the label on the bottle
reads: “wine vinegar” as opposed to the vinegar made from barley or other
items. One of the signs [of differentiating between “wine vinegar” and the
wine itself is that] the bottles of this vinegar are displayed in the area
of vinegar, and it has never happened that these bottles are placed on the
shelves of wines. Moreover, there is no difference between such vinegar and
the vinegar made from dates for example. So, can this wine which has turned
into vinegar be considered vinegar under the rule of change (istihalah)?
Answer: If the name “vinegar” can be applied
in the view of common people upon that product, as has been assumed in the
question, the same rule governing vinegar would apply to it. [That is, it
is pure as well as permissible.]
- Question: The manufacturers of food
and sweets as well as of the food packed in cans are required to mention the
ingredients of the items being sold. To prevent the food from going bad, manufacturers
add preservatives to them; these preservatives could be from animal
source and are listed by alphabetical codes like “E” alongside a number like
“E 450” or “E 472,” etc. What is the ruling in the following situations?
- When one does not know the origin of these preservatives?
- If one sees a list issued by those who have no idea of the rule of
chemical transformation (istihãlah: a purifying agent) that
says that the items described by so and so alphabet and/or number are
forbidden because they come from animal source?
- When one does preliminary research and is satisfied that the preservative
agent does not retain its original form but transforms in characteristics
and changes into another substance?
Answer:
- It is permissible to eat the food containing those preservatives.
- If it is not ascertained that it is from an animal source —even if such
a claim is made— it is permissible to eat it. Similarly, [it is permissible]
if it is ascertained that [it is from an animal source] but one is uncertain
whether it comes from an impure mayta and that its amount mixed
in the food stuff is so minute that it is completely absorbed in it in
the view of common people.
- There is no problem in applying the rule of purity and permissibility
whenever the chemical change is proved in the form that it transforms
into another substance and in the view of common people nothing of the
original substance remains.
- Question: It is requested of you to
answer the following two questions:
- In itself is gelatin considered pure (tãhir)?
- If we have doubt whether or not istihãla (chemical change)
has occurred [in the process of manufacturing the gelatin] because of
uncertainty about the concept and the extent of applying the rule of istihãla,
do we extend the previous knowledge (istishãb) that gelatin
is still impure?
Answer:
- As for the gelatin derived from animal source, if the impurity
of the origin is not established (for example, if there is a probability
that the animal was slaughtered according to Islamic laws), it will be
considered pure; however, it should not be added to the food, except in
such amounts that it would be completely absorbed. [That is, it is pure
(tãhir) but should be used in food items in very minute
quantities only.]
This [latter caution] is for a case where it is neither established that
the animal was slaughtered according to Islamic rules, nor had istihãla
taken place. [If any of these two issues were established, then there
would be no restriction in using gelatin in food items.]
The above ruling does not differ whether the gelatin was derived from
parts of the animal that has feeling (like cartilage, gristle) or has
no feeling (like bones). This ruling about parts with no feeling is based
on obligatory precaution. However, if its impurity was established (for
example, it is known that it comes from an essentially impure animal or
from the cartilage of an animal not slaughtered according to Islamic rules,
or from its bones without purifying them, in which case it would be considered
mutanajjis by coming into wet contact with an impure item), then
considering it pure and permissible for use in food items depends on establishing
istihãla. And in this matter [whether istihãla
took place or not], one should refer to the common perception of the people.
We have explained its criterion earlier.
- [Istishãb is a principle that says that in case of doubt
one should extend the previous knowledge about that particular issue until
proven otherwise.] The principle of istishãb is neither
applicable in cases of doubt concerning the concept [of the law], nor
in cases of the law themselves—as has been proven in its appropriate place
in the Science of ‘Usûl. However, since the issue of impurity (najãsat)
is related to the generic concept in a common man’s perspective and extension
of judgement about najãsat depends, in the eyes of sensible
people, on continued existence of its elements — this makes the doubt
about occurrence of istihãla (whether its application is
limited or broad) into a doubt about continued existence of impure elements
[in the gelatin]. And this is a matter of application of the law. There
is therefore no problem in applying the principle of istishãb
in this case. Allãh knows the best.
- Question: We are unaware of the ingredients
of food sold in shops in Western countries: it might be free from those ingredients
that are forbidden to us or it might contain them. Are we allowed to eat such
items without looking into their ingredients, or inquiring about them?
Or is that not allowed to us?
Answer: It is permissible [to eat such
food] as long as it is not known that it contains meat, fat, and their derivatives
that are forbidden to us.
- Question: Is it permissible to use,
in our foods, oils derived from fish that are forbidden to us? What
about using such oils for other matters?
Answer: It is not permissible to eat such
oils but their other usage is permissible. Allãh knows the best.
- Question: Is it permissible for a Muslim
to attend a gathering where intoxicant drinks are being served?
Answer: Eating and drinking in those gatherings
is forbidden. However, the prohibition in attending such gatherings is based
on compulsory precaution. But there is no problem in attending such gatherings
for the purpose of forbidding the evil (nahi ‘anil munkar), if one
is capable of doing that.
- Question: Is it permissible to eat
lobster, crayfish, and snails?
Answer: Is it not permissible to eat from
marine animals anything except fish that has scale; shrimp is considered from
that category [of permissible sea animals]. But other than fish, like lobster,
and similarly the fish that does not have scale is forbidden. Allãh
knows the best.
