Question
Assalamualaikum,
I pray this is email finds you in the best of health and Imaan.
I attend the Paths to Piety event hosted by Mufti Abdurrahman Mangera where I was grateful he answered a question for me.
My question concerned whether breastfeeding vitamins were permissible if they contained bovine from a halal source. I have been advised by a healthcare professional to take them, but only really consume HMC certified foods.
Mufti Mangera to my understanding suggested I contact the company to request (a) the certifying body and (b) the source/part of bovine.
I received the below response and the attached certification. I have not heard of the authority, so cannot comment. But given the certification states that only Hides/Skin is used, based on the response given on the day, I deem this permissible?
Just to be cautious, I’d be grateful if I could run this by Mufti Mangera to double check before I take these.
JazakAllah khayr, May Allah reward your efforts in this world and the hereafter. Aameen.
Answer
We would first advise looking into vitamin products which are certified halal by organisations we are familiar with. You may want to look into Hashmats Health as their website states their products are certified by HMC.
As for the certificate provided in the question, as we are not aware of their criteria for certifying products halal we cannot comment with certainty on the halal status of the products. There are many companies which certify products as halal but their criteria often do not meet shari’ahs minimum standard for halal. Due to this uncertainty, it is always best to opt for the HMC option suggested above. This does not however mean that the products in question are unlawful to consume. Rather, the status is unknown.
According to a minority position, if a product is sourced from bovine hide or bone it would be permissible to consume even if the animal was not slaughtered according to shar’i methods. This is a minority position and is not usually adopted. The likes of Mufti Taqi however, have permitted acting upon this position in cases of medical need where capsules are made from bovine gelatine. Hence, if the HMC version are not suitable for whatever reason, and there are no alternatives available, you could use these products based on the fact that there is at least a halal certificate, and that according to some scholars even if the product was not slaughtered correctly one would still be acting upon the position of some scholars.
For a more detailed discussion on gelatine sourced from bovine hide and bone see:
https://www.hashmatshealth.com/pages/our-certifications
الدر المختار وحاشية ابن عابدين (رد المحتار) (5/ 73)
وجلد ميتة قبل الدبغ) لو بالعرض، ولو بالثمن فباطل، ولم يفصله ههنا اعتمادا على ما سبق قاله الواني فليحفظ (وبعده) أي الدبغ (يباع) إلا جلد إنسان وخنزير وحية (وينتفع به) لطهارته حينئذ (لغير الأكل) ولو جلد مأكول على الصحيح سراج، لقوله تعالى {حرمت عليكم الميتة} [المائدة: 3]- وهذا جزؤها
قوله ولو جلد مأكول على الصحيح) وقال بعضهم: يجوز أكله؛ لأنه طاهر كجلد الشاة المذكاة، أما جلد غير المأكول كالحمار لا يجوز أكله إجماعا؛ لأن الدبغ فيه ليس بأقوى من الذكاة وذكاته لا تبيحه فكذا دبغه أفاده المصنف ط
البحر الرائق شرح كنز الدقائق ومنحة الخالق وتكملة الطوري (1/ 109)
وَفِيهِ مَسْأَلَةُ جِلْدِ الْمَيْتَةِ بَعْدَ الدِّبَاغِ هَلْ يَجُوزُ أَكْلُهُ إذَا كَانَ جِلْدُ حَيَوَانٍ مَأْكُولِ اللَّحْمِ قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ نَعَمْ؛ لِأَنَّهُ طَاهِرٌ كَجِلْدِ الشَّاةِ الْمُذَكَّاةِ وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: لَا يَجُوزُ أَكْلُهُ، وَهُوَ الصَّحِيحُ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى {حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ} [المائدة: 3] ، وَهَذَا جُزْءٌ مِنْهَا «وَقَالَ – عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ – فِي شَاةِ مَيْمُونَةَ – رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهَا – إنَّمَا يَحْرُمُ مِنْ الْمَيْتَةِ أَكْلُهَا مَعَ أَمْرِهِ لَهُمْ بِالدِّبَاغِ وَالِانْتِفَاعِ» ، وَأَمَّا إذَا كَانَ جِلْدُ مَا لَا يُؤْكَلُ كَالْحِمَارِ، فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَجُوزُ أَكْلُهُ إجْمَاعًا؛ لِأَنَّ الدِّبَاغَ فِيهِ لَيْسَ بِأَقْوَى مِنْ الذَّكَاةِ وَذَكَاتُهُ لَا تُبِيحُهُ فَكَذَا دِبَاغُهُ. اهـ
فقه البيوع 307:1
وبما أن عظم حیوان غیر مذگی طاهر، وأن جلده يطهر بالدباغ، فإن الجيلاتين المتخذ منهما طاهر، ويجوز استعماله في غير الأكل باتفاق الحنفية. أما استعماله في الأكل، فالصحيح المفتی به عند الحنفية أنه لا يجوز، ولكن هناك قول عند الحنفية والشافعية في جواز أكله. ويسوغ العمل به للتداوي بالكيبسولات المتخذة من الجيلاتين، بشرط أن لا تكون متخذة من جلد الخنزير أو عظمه. أما في غير التداوي، فينبغي الاجتناب من أكله، ما لم تثبت استحالتها. أما البيع والشراؤ، فيجوز في غير المتخذ من الخنزير، لأنه طاهر حسبما ذكرناه، والانتفاع به ممکن بطریق مشروع. والله سبحانه وتعالى أعلم.
Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow
Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel