Vanill extract is mde of alcohol. Is that haram to eat these products?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
We
live in a western country. They use vanilla extract to bake many products here
such as cookies. Vanill extract is mde of alcohol. Is that haram to eat these
products?
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Vanilla extract alcohol
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
There are about 150 varieties of vanilla, though only two are
used commercially--Bourbon and
Tahitian. Vanilla extract is made by percolating or macerating chopped vanilla
beans with at least 35% ethyl alcohol and the balance water mixture. While the
Federal Food and Drug Administration has specific regulations in the
There are no regulations on the quality of the beans, so
beans can range from premium-quality to the driest cuts and splits containing
only small amounts of natural vanillin. Although 35% is the standard alcohol
requirement, premium vanilla extracts often contain a higher percentage of
alcohol in order to extract more flavor from the beans. More alcohol is acceptable
with the FDA; less than 35% is not.
Although the absolute majority of ‘vanilla extract’ does
contain a significant amount of alcohol, there are a few numbered companies
which do manufacture and market vanilla extract without alcohol.
Your Question: Is that
haram to eat these products?
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3679 Narrated by Aisha
I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws)
say: “Every intoxicant is haraam; if a quantity of anything causes
intoxication, a handful of it is (also)
haraam.”
If the vanilla extract has alcohol amongst its contents,
then indeed it would not be lawful for a believer to consume that product.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister