Assalamu alaikom, yesterday ,I was fasting to make up some of the days I missed in Ramadan and my mom prepared a dessert for us where she used store bought dough, which I never buy myself because I doubt that some of the ingredients might be haram. I would also never eat anything I doubt, so I was eating it unknowingly and even when I found out I finished the piece that I was eating even though I had my doubts. Did I sin in doing so and does this affect my fast for that day because I might�ve consumed something haram? Thank you.

Alhamdu-li-llah wa as-Salatu wa as-Salamu ‘ala Rasool-il-llah,

I commend you for your pious caution. May Allah grant you more. However, regarding this particular issue, I feel that this may be bordering on excessiveness. The companions of the Prophet were simpler people, and, as authentically reported by Abu Dawood, when they went to Persia, they ate the cheese of the Zoroastrians, while knowing it is made of the enzymes extracted from the animals they eat, which are not lawful for us to consume. They did that because those enzymes are najis (filthy) through proximity, not in their essence, and they are used in trivial amounts that should be exempt. Allah says in reference to the Messenger PBUH,
“وما أنا من المتكلفين”
“And I am not of those who are excessive/ superfluous.” May Allah reward you for your feelings of unease, but you didn’t do wrong, because it is extremely unlikely that this dough will have anything haram.

Allah knows best.

Asslaamu 3alaykum Warahmatullaahi wa Barakaatu There\'s this prenatal vitamin that contains Vitamin A. The vitamin contains gelatin which comes from pig. Could you please let me know if this prenatal vitamin can be taken? Can the ruling of the vinegar be applied here? Jazaakum Allaahu Khairan

Alhamdu-li-llah wa as-Salatu wa as-Salamu 'ala Rasool-il-llah,
If there is no alternative to a particular medicine, and you are told that you can't open the capsule and only swallow the contents inside, you may take those capsules. That is because the complete transformation of the porcine derivatives of Gelatin is controversial. The ruling is therefore the avoidance of such products in food, and in medicine as well unless there is no alternative to a particular medicine, then it may be consumed.
Allah knows best.

Is selling rum raisan ice cream flavor harram (rum) artificial flavor?

Alhamdu-li-llah wa as-Salatu wa as-Salamu ‘ala Rasool-il-llah,
There are two different types of such flavor: one uses rum and the other doesn’t. If actual rum was used, then it is forbidden to consume, and subsequently forbidden to sell. If not, then it would be halal.
Allah knows best.

Assalamo Alaikom, Many of nowadays food products have some e-numbers (colors, conservatives and so on) as a part of their ingredients. These e-numbers can be from an animal source, pork, insects or plants. Different websites on the Web indicate different e-numbers as Halal and Haram or Mashbooh; so confusing. The questions are: -Do I have to consider these e-numbers when buying my food? I read a comment somewhere on the Web that it is OK once the material is transformed chemically. -If these numbers matter, is there an authenticate list of the Haram e-numbers? Some lists on the Internet say halal if from plant source for many e-numbers. But most of the products do not indicate the source of the e-numbers. Should I consider them as Mashbooh and avoid them? I live in Europe and by avoiding products with these e-numbers, pork and beef which is not slaughtered according the islamic rules, I have nothing left to eat. I heard that I can say Basmala and eat such beef or chicken meat? Is that true? I buy sometimes a vegetarian pizza but it is baked in the same place with another pizza with pork. Maybe it touches or so. Can I eat such a pizza. This pizza is vegetarian but it has sauces and so. These sauces may have some of the e-numbers. What should I do? What I am looking for is a guide for me and my brothers with me here and all over the western world. Thanks for your efforts. With best regards,

All praise be to Allah and may His peace and blessings be on His final and greatest messenger, Muhammad.
Dear Enquirer,
Thank you for your trust in us as well as your keenness to follow the guidance of Allah and His Messenger. May Allah give us and you consistency and steadfastness on His path.
Let me first tell you that there will always be halal alternatives. Many people choose to be vegetarian or even vegan for their health and many do for religious reasons, such as certain groups of the Buddhists and Hindus. Therefore, if it comes down to becoming vegetarian for the sake of Allah and out of compliance with His true deen, I don’t think that would be a price any sane person would hesitate to pay. Also, many people avoid eating out all together, because it is unhealthy.
Thankfully to Allah, this is not the case. You will always have fish to eat. Also, you may eat all halal and kosher foods.
As for meats, I would choose for abstinence from all meats except the halal or kosher products. This is because there is enough data out there to make us doubt whether the meat is slaughtered and whether it was slaughtered by someone whose meat we can eat.
As for the other food ingredients, I would recommend for you to avoid:
1- Lard (which is almost obsolete).
2- Animal shortening (which is almost obsolete).
3- Gelatin (except in medicines if there were no alternatives).
4- Glycerin (except in medicines if there were no alternatives).
5- Liquor, when not otherwise defined. That is different from chocolate liquor, since the word liquor just means liquid, but when mentioned alone, it refers to Alcoholic beverages.
As for the other products, such as lecithin, mono and diglycerides, and the various enzymes, I would consider them permissible to consume for the following reasons:
1- It has been authentically reported by Abu Dawood and others that the companions after the opened al-Mada’en ate from the cheese of the Zoroastrians. It is made by the enzymes extracted from their animals which are not permissible for us even if they slaughtered them.
2- Many of the ingredients that are controversial get transformed and the transformation changes their ruling according to the majority.
3- Najasah of the dead and non halal animals usually pertains to the animate body parts that have tissue life, not the parts that have vegetable like life such as the hair, teeth, bones, and fluids aside from the known excrements.
4- Najsaat are different in their grades, with the najasah by propinquity being a weaker one. Many times the najasah of enzymes is because of their touching of the dead tissues of the dead animal.
5- Trivial amounts are usually exempt in sharia, and that may apply to the emulsifiers and enzymes that are used in very small amounts to accelerate certain chemical pathways.
May Allah purify your heart and stomach, and the rest of your organs from all evil and every spiritual or physical filth.
Allah knows best.

I have been hearing mixed fatawa on the issue of alcohol in food. Some foods — such as vanilla ice cream — contain very tiny amounts of alcohol from the vanilla extract which is used. If you ate tons of this food you there would still not be enough alcohol in the food to get you drunk. Is it permissible to eat these foods?
Sh. Uthaymeen gave a fatwa which said: \”If a small quantity of alcohol is so submerged in something else that is has no tangible or theoretical effect, then the substance keeps the ruling that is in accordance with its own attributes. As for the hadeeth that states 'Whatever intoxicates in large quantities, then a small quantity of it is forbidden\', this refers to a certain beverage that intoxicates when someone drinks a lot of it but not when he drinks a little. It is unlawful to drink a small quantity of such a beverage, because even though a small quantity cannot make a person drunk, it can lead to drinking larger quantities.\” Also, a fatwa allowing this can be found on islamtoday.com
(http://www.islamtoday.com/showme2.cfm?cat_id=2&sub_cat_id=561) Jazzakum Allah Khair

All praise be to Allah and may His peace and blessings be on His final and greatest messenger, Muhammad.
Dear Enquirer,
It is important to know that khamr is not only Alcohol and Alcohol is not all khamr. The khamr that was present during the time of the messenger of Allah was made mainly of dates and grapes, thus the Hanafi scholars limit the use of the term �khamr� to drinks made of them, but they still forbid intoxication by any drink.
The majority of scholars � and that is clearly the stronger position � consider all intoxicants to be khamr, for the Prophet (Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said:
” كل مُسْكِر خَمْر ، وكل مُسْكِرٍ حَرَام.”
�Every intoxicant is khamr and every intoxicant is haraam.� [Reported by Muslim] Thus, the majority would consider haraam any amount of a beverage that intoxicates, whether it is fermented from cooked juices or from uncooked materials like honey, wheat, barley, millet, or figs. This is the right position based on the following hadeeth reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim:
عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى قَالَ : بَعَثَنِي النَّبِيُّ  أَنَا وَمُعَاذَ بْنَ جَبَلٍ إِلَى الْيَمَنِ ، فَقُلْتُ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ، إِنَّ شَرَابًا يُصْنَعُ بِأَرْضِنَا يُقَالُ لَهُ الْمِزْرُ مِنْ الشَّعِيرِ ، وَشَرَابٌ يُقَالُ لَهُ الْبِتْعُ مِنْ الْعَسَلِ ، فَقَالَ : ” كُلُّ مُسْكِرٍ حَرَامٌ .”
Abu Musa said: The Prophet (Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sent me and Mu�adh ibn Jabal to al-Yaman, and I said: O Messenger of Allah, there is a drink that is made in our land called al-mizr, and made from barley, and another drink called al-bit�, and made from honey. He (Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: �Every intoxicant is haraam.�
At the time of the prophet (Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) solid or gaseous substances that cause intoxication were not known, so when they became first known (hashishah = cannabis) to the Muslim scholars, the most learned of them did not hesitate to include them under the terminology of khamr, so they became automatically forbidden by the textual proofs that forbid khamr, or at least they included them under the ruling of khamr by analogy (Qiyas).
Imam Ibn Taymeah said:
�وأما المحققون من الفقهاء فعلموا أنها [الحشيشة] مسكرة ، وإنما يتناولها الفجار ، لما فيها من النشوة والطرب ، فهي تجامع الشراب المسكر في ذلك. والخمر توجب الحركة والخصومة ، وهذه توجب الفتور واللذة ، وفيها مع ذلك من فساد المزاج والعقل ، وفتح باب الشهوة ، وما توجبه من الدياثة مما يجعلها من شر الشراب المسكر ، وإنما حدثت في الناس بحدوث التتار. وعلى تناول القليل منها والكثير حد الشرب ، ثمانون سوطا ، أو أربعون إذا كان مسلما يعتقد تحريم المسكر ”
�The verifying scholars recognized that it [hashish=cannabis] is an intoxicant, and only consumed by the wicked, because of the euphoria it brings, so, it is like intoxicating drinks. Khamr causes increased energy and quarrels, whereas this causes lassitude and enjoyment, but it still has the characteristics of corrupting the mood and intoxicating the mind as well as exacerbating lustful desires and causing one to have no jealousy for his household. All of this would make it even worse than intoxicating drinks. This [the appearance of hashish in Muslim lands] came along with the advent of the Tatars. The one who consumes a little or a lot of it deserves the punishment prescribed for drinking: eighty or forty lashes, if he were a Muslim who believes in the prohibition of intoxicants.� [al-Fatawa al-Kubra: 3/423]
The position of giving all drugs the name of khamr is stronger and supported by the Prophet�s saying �Every intoxicant is khamr.�
That is the first part that needed clarification, which is that khamr refers to all intoxicants.
As for Alcohol, there are so many types of Alcohol. The Alcohol that was present in the khamr during the time of the Messenger of Allah, and in modern time alcoholic beverages is Ethyl Alcohol, or more precisely, Ethanol.
The word Alcohol was not used during the time of the Messenger, and we need to know some about it to clarify any confusion that may result in mistaken judgment.
Obviously, and as admitted by the western scientists, the word has an Arabic origin. The al� in alcohol indicates the Arabic descent, for �al-� in Arabic is a definite article corresponding to �the� in English.
The origin of the word cohol may have to do with �kuhl�, which is a fine powder mostly made of antimony, and was mainly used in cosmetics. It could also have come from Ghawl//Ghool, a word used in the Quran to refer to the after effects of wine.
Alcohol is made from natural product processing, such as the fermentation of carbohydrates or reductive cleavage of natural fats and oils, or manufactured from petroleum�s hydrocarbons. So, not all Alcohol is made by the fermentation of carbohydrates like the case during the Prophet�s time.
Alcohols are derivatives of hydrocarbons in which one or more of the hydrogen atoms have been replaced by a hydroxyl (-OH) functional group. Hydrocarbons are compounds which contain hydrogen (H) and carbon (C) only. There are many types of Alcohol, such as Ethyl Alcohol (the type present in alcoholic beverages), Methanol, which is used in various products, such as anti-freeze, Glycol and Iso-Propyl Alcohol, which are toxic and intoxicant, but there are types of Alcohol, such as the completely denatured Alcohols, which are not intoxicant, because Alcohol simply means hydroxylated hydrocarbons. It is always safe however to consider all Alcohols intoxicant, whether they are natural or synthetic, because the very vast majority of Alcohols is.
Vanilla extract is a solution containing the flavor compound vanillin. Pure vanilla extract is made by extracting from vanilla beans in an alcoholic solution. In order for a vanilla extract to be called pure, the FDA requires that the solution contain a minimum of 35% alcohol and 13.35 ounces of vanilla bean per gallon. This extract is then added in small amounts to ice cream and other food products.
The ruling depends on a few factors:
• First, If a large quantity of a substance intoxicates, then a small quantity of that substance is forbidden. Conversely, if the large quantity did not intoxicate, then that substance is not forbidden for the reason of intoxication. That is confirmed by the following hadeeth
” ما أسْكَر كَثيرُه فقَليلُه حَرَام ” “Whatever intoxicates in large quantities, then a small quantity of it is forbidden.”
[Related by Abu Dawood, an-Nasaey and others authentically]
Now, does the ice cream made with vanilla extract intoxicate? No one would say that. So, when does it become an intoxicant? If you extract the Alcohol from that extract in the ice cream and isolate it, then it becomes intoxicant and forbidden to consume even if it were trivial in amount, because more of the same will result in intoxication.
• Second, would the mixing of Alcohol with the food products make them impermissible or filth? According to the stronger position (of the minority), Alcohol is not physical filth. Thus, it doesn�t turn the mixture into filth. Even, if it was filth, submersion in a large quantity of tahir (pure substance) according to the stronger position, will not affect the ruling of the pure substance unless one the characteristics of Alcohol prevailed (color, smell or taste).
Does mixing it with another substance change the ruling of the new substance even if it was not filth? Yes, if it made the new substance intoxicant.
• Third, would it be permissible for Muslims to add Alcohol to food products? No - as in the case of turning Alcohol into Vinegar - that would not be permissible for Muslims, though, it would be permissible for them to consume it if it was added by others, and most certainly if it occurred naturally in a food (even bread goes through fermentation) so long as the consumed substance is not intoxicant even in large quantities.
Based on the aforementioned, we believe that it is permissible to use food products that contain the vanilla extract.
I hope this answer is satisfactory.
Allah knows best.