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Resolutions of Iftaa' Board


Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(128): “Gelatin Extracted from Pork Bone or Skin, or from Impure Substances is Impure”

Date Added : 27-10-2015

 

Resolution No.(128),(6/2009): “Gelatin Extracted from Pork Bone or Skin, or from Impure Substances is Impure”

Date:1/8/1430 AH, corresponding to 23/7/2009 AD.

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

During its third session held on the above given date, the Board reviewed the letter of His Excellency the Director General of the Food and Drugs Administration, which reads as follows:

 

Could your Grace clarify the ruling of Sharia as regards the use of some products that contain vitamins which are manufactured from raw materials that contain gelatin extracted from pork. The gelatin is used for coating these vitamin in order to preserve their consistency when mixed with the rest of the ingredients of these products. It should be taken into consideration that these products are used as supplements, not medication.

After thorough studying and deliberating, the Board decided what follows:

Gelatin extracted from pork`s bone or skin, or from impure substances is impure. Allah, The Almighty, Says (what means): “Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah.” {Al-Maida'/3}. He also Says (what means): “Say: "I find not in the message received by me by inspiration any (meat) forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it, unless it be dead meat, or blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine,- for it is an abomination - or, what is impious, (meat) on which a name has been invoked, other than God’s." {Al-An`am/145}.

Accordingly, it is impermissible to use the gelatin manufactured from the extracts  of pork or impure animals for manufacturing medications or food  supplements, or for coating them, because alternative extracts could be taken from animals that are permissible to eat according to Sharia, such as cows, fish, or gelatin extracted from vegetables. However, it is permissible to take medications that contain the gelatin extracted from pork or impure substances in case of dire necessity, or in case there is no other  lawful alternative. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Grand Mufti of Jordan,Dr. Nooh al-Qhodat

Vice Chairman of the Iftaa` Board,Dr. Ahmad Hilayel

Sheikh Abdulkareem al-Khasawneh/ Member

 Sheikh Sa`eid Hijjawi/ Member

               Dr. Mohammad Khair al-Eesa/ Member

Judge Sari al-Ass`ad/ Member

      Dr. Abdurahamn Ibbdah/ Member

Dr. Mohammad Okla/ Member

        Dr. Abdunnasir Abulbasal/ Member

              Executive Secretary of the Board/ Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh

 

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Is it recommended (mustaḥabb) for the one offering  a voluntary sacrifice (uḍḥiyyat taṭawwuʿ) to eat from its meat?

In the Name of Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is highly recommended (Mustahabb) for the person offering a voluntary Udhiyah (sacrificial animal) to eat from its meat, but it is not an obligatory requirement (Wajib). Allah the Almighty says {what means}: "So eat of them and feed the needy who do not beg and the beggar. Thus have We subjected them to you that you may be grateful." (Al-Hajj/ 36)
 
"So eat of them": This directive is an encouraging recommendation, not a binding command.
 
The Qani’ (the needy who do not beg): Refers to a poor person who refrains from asking people for help out of dignity.
 
The Mu’tarr (the beggar): Refers to a poor person who explicitly asks others for assistance. And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law regarding one who purchases a sacrificial animal (uḍḥiyah) and it then develops a defect before slaughter?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
If a defect that invalidates the sacrifice (uḍḥiyah) arises after its purchase — for example, if one purchased a sound, defect-free animal, and it then developed a limp, blindness in one eye, or a similar defect before slaughter — it does not fulfill the requirement of a valid uḍḥiyah, according to the Shāfi'ī school.
It is stated in Asnā al-Maṭālib fī Sharḥ Rawḍ al-Ṭālib (Vol.1/P.535): "Even if the limp develops [in the animal] while the knife is upon it, it still does not fulfill the requirement, because it is lame at the moment of slaughter — this is analogous to a case where a sheep's leg breaks and one hastens to slaughter it [in that condition]."
The Ḥanbalī school, however, held that if the one offering the sacrifice purchased the animal while it was sound and defect-free, and a defect then befell it afterward, the sacrifice remains valid and there is no obligation to replace it.
It is stated in Masā'il al-Imām Aḥmad, one of the Ḥanbalī reference works (Vol.8/P.4021): "I said: If a person purchases the sacrificial animal while it is sound, and it is then afflicted with illness, blindness in one eye, or a broken limb [before slaughter]? He [Imam Aḥmad] said: It is said that it still fulfills the requirement. Isḥāq said likewise, because he purchased it while sound, and the defect befell it only afterward, so it remains sufficient on his behalf." [End of quote]
Accordingly, a sheep afflicted with a defect that invalidates the sacrifice does not fulfill the requirement of a valid uḍḥiyah — whether the defect arose after purchase or during the slaughter itself — according to the Shāfi'ī school. However, there is no objection to following the Ḥanbalī position on this matter [as a valid alternative]. And Allah, the Most High, knows best.

What is the ruling on a person in a state of major impurity (junub) or a menstruating woman (ha'id) reciting the Quran from memory?

It is not permissible for a menstruating woman, a postpartum woman, or a person in a state of major impurity to recite anything from the Quran, whether from memory, from the Quran, from a phone, or a computer. It is also not permissible for them to touch the Quran, based on what was reported from Ali bin Abi Talib that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was not prevented from anything regarding the Quran except major impurity (janabah). (Reported by al-Tirmidhi who said it is a hasan sahih hadith). Menstruation and postpartum bleeding are analogous to major impurity (janabah) as they are all major impurities (hadath akbar).
For those mentioned, it is permissible to mention Allah and supplicate even with verses from the Quran, provided they do not intend them as recitation of the Quran, but intend them as remembrance (dhikr) or supplication (du'a). And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Is it permissible to give multiple mudds (portions) of fidyah to a single person?

Yes, it is permissible to give multiple mudd of fidyah to a single person, because each day of fasting is considered an independent act of worship.

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