an easier example to understand is the transformation from alcohol to vinegar. Similar chemical structure (-OH) is present in both however due to the change vinegar is no longer alcoholic.

Walaimum Salaam brother,

I understand that you made the comment a while ago.

The chemical formula of vinegar is CH3CO-OH and we know what the Prophet (sallallau alaihi wa sallam) said about vinegar.

Alcohol, any of a class of organic compounds characterised by one or more hydroxyl (―OH) groups attached to a carbon atom of an alkyl group (hydrocarbon chain).

Although the -OH that gives alcohol its alcoholic nature is retained even when alcohol has changed to vinegar, vinegar is Halal even though it has been derived from alcohol.

“I heard Allah’s Apostle saying, ‘Both legal and illegal things are evident but in between them there are doubtful (suspicious) things and most of the people have no knowledge about them. So whoever saves himself from these suspicious things saves his religion and his honor…”

As there is no unanimous decision due to disagreements in this topic, gelatin is doubtful and therefore from this hadith, one can clearly see that it should be avoided.

Dear Abu Majeed,

Thank you for your answer to this question. I would like to share a few points of view and some scientific data with you that have influenced my view on this subject.

As we all know we are allowed to eat meat from a cow, but not from a pig (2:173) as it is impure (6:145). Even though both are called meat and both are rich in proteins, they are different in many ways. This means that by definition meat is not a pure substance. Chemical analysis supports this.

This also goes for Gelatin [1]. Just like meat being a mixture of similar proteins (/peptides) of which the pork-kind-of-mixture is forbidden for us, gelatin also is NOT a pure substance. If you download the article I refer to above, you will see that bovine gelatin and porcine gelatin both contain the same amino acids (table 1), but in different amounts. Just like meat contains proteins, fat etc, but in different amounts. This means that obtaining gelatine from pork (or beef) is not al-Istihaalah. The remaining substance is a mixture and not pure. In the case of a watery alcohol mixture that turns into vinegar, the forbidden part (alcohol) is replaced by acetic acid, so the resulting mixture does not contain alcohol and is allowed. For pork meat this is not necessarily the case: we do not know the reason why the Quran describes pork/swine as impure. So we can not know if this impurity is neutralized in the process of making gelatin. For all we know pork-gelatin could be a concentrated mixture of the impure pork meat contents…

[1] http://www.researchgate.net/publication/236971151_differentiation_of_bovine_and_porcine_gelatin_based_on_spectroscopic_and_electrophoretic_analysis/file/60b7d51a894bdce685.pdf

similar results were found by medical Journal of Health and Healing, stating that the structure of amino acids found in the gelatin are almost identical with the ones found in its source

i.e. if it is made of pork, you are eating a set of amino acids typical for pork that are not any similar to the set of amino acids found in beef

so do not be deceived – the process of istihala clearly was incomplete and our Prophet upon him be peace told us to avoid that which is doubtful

I just wanted to know about the ruling on eating collagen sourced from pork.
Thanks

Jazakallah khair.
Syed

Interesting article, there does seem to be subtle indication though that ‘science’ is on the side of the new fatwa. I remember once speaking to a shaykh trained in hanafi fiqh from sham, about the issue of smoking being haram. The shaykh who had also learnt from the indian sub continent was quick to point out that people jump to conclusions when it comes to the legal basis of rulings and the knowledge of the ulema about developments in science and how those developments effect the original ruling. The shaykh said that in spite of all the scientific evidence that has amounted regarding the catastrophic effects of smoking, he said that after discussing with leading hanafi scholars from the sub continent, that their considering the ruling to still be makrooh(i don’t know whther thay say it is tahreemi or tanzeehi) was in awareness of the scientific developments and was in his eyes still a strongly justifiable ruling according to the principles of the hanafi madhab. In short he was trying to explain to us not to ‘knock’ those ulema or think that they are somehow ignorant of modern developments.

In light of that, i found the following extract on the issue of gelatin. You will see in the last paragraph that it would be erronous to think that the traditional fatwa on gelatin is being expressed only by those who have defficient knowledge of chemical transformation, rather there seems to be an indication of the opposite, ironically!

GELATINE
Gelatine is not a naturally occurring protein, but is derived from the fibrous protein collagen, which is the principal constituent of animal skin, bone, sinew and connective tissue. A very complex chemical procedure is undertaken to extract the gelatine from its raw stage and make it usable for consumption and otherwise. A detail follows on how gelatine is extracted from animal hides in 8 different stages to form the final product.

Raw Material

Raw materials intended for medicinal use and food production are generally skin and bone of pig or calf. Some plants use animal tendons, ligaments, bones, cartilage’s and hooves. In the case of animal hides, the prime source of gelatine, leather tanneries wash them in lime solution and chemicals are added to dissolve the hair from the surface. The hides are then sent through various machines which remove traces of meat from underneath the hide and then split the hide horizontally into a number of thin sheets. The top sheets are used in leather production as it has the grain pattern on the surface whilst the bottom layers, known as split hides, are used in gelatine production.

Chemical Treatment

Animal hides are preserved in lime solution [pH 13-14] The hides are chopped into pieces 6-8 inches in size and allowed to soak in caustic soda solution. Approximately 1% strength is used, reducing a little in the warm summer months. The soak in caustic soda lasts about 2-3 weeks which has the effect of breaking down [denaturing] the protein, enabling it to be extracted into hot water.

Washing

Following the soak, the hide pieces are pumped into special washing equipment. Acid is added to acidify the hides [pH 1.5-2.0] and then washed to remove impurities and salts for 8 hours.

Extraction

The washed hide pieces are pumped into large extraction tanks where hot water is added and temperature maintained at about 50c. The hides break down slowly in the slightly acid solution [pH 3.0-3.5] to form gelatine. This is drained off once at certain strengths and then fresh hot water is added at a higher temperature to give another extraction. 3 further extractions are made, producing gelatines of different physical properties, [e.g. setting strength and viscosity].

Purification

The gelatine solution drained from the heated hide pieces is then purified. The first stage is filtration and the final stage is through a 2 micron filter to give a solution of high clarity. The gelatine is then de-ionised in order to remove excess salts not removed during washing.

Evaporation

Following purification, the gelatine solution is evaporated in large vacuum evaporators to a strength of about 30%.

Sterilisation

Before drying, the Gelatine is sterilised to remove all bacteria. The conditions used are standard in the Food industry – 140c at 4 seconds minimum.

Drying

The Gelatine solution is chilled to make it set, and then placed in a drying tunnel for 2-3 hours. It leaves the tunnel dry, and is broken into granules for storage purposes.

Availability

Gelatine is commercially available in sheets, shreds, flakes or coarse powder. It is white or yellowish, has a slight but characteristic odour and taste and is stable in dry air but subject to microbial decomposition if moist or in solution. It is insoluble in cold water but swells and softens when immersed gradually absorbing 5 to 10 times its own mass of water. In hot water it dissolves to form a thick colloidal mucilage which forms a jelly on cooling. Gelatine varies widely on quality and is usually graded in jelly strengths.

Uses

In its raw form it is used for the treatment of brittle finger nails and other non fungal defects but proof of efficiency of such treatment is lacking. It is also used in the preparation of many pastes, throat pastilles, vaginal pessaries and rectal suppositories. Gelatine is the main ingredient in all hard and flexible capsules. Many older tablet formulations still contain gelatine as a binding agent. The most important value in therapy is as an easily digested adjuvant food-when supplemented, it is very widely used for various forms of malnutrition, gastric hyperacidity and ulcer, convalescence and general diets of the sick.

Edible Gelatine is used throughout the food industry, for example in confectionery, ice-creams, jellies, chocolates, sweets, jams, pastries, desserts, dairy products and the meat industry. It acts as a stabilising and smoothing agent in foods. Gelatine is also used in the manufacture of rubber substitutes, adhesives, cements, lithographic and printing inks, photographic plates and films, matches, sizing papers and textiles.

Islamic Law Regarding Gelatine

If the source of Gelatine is derived from a Halaal source then its usage is permissible, whilst if the source is Haraam or Mashqook [doubtful] then it will be considered Haraam. The hide matrix or gelatine protein is basically a piece of skin, which is hydrollised, washed, melted and extracted, purified, evaporated, sterilised, chilled, dried and granulated for further shelf life and easy use. Alkaline treatment tends to remove amide groups present on certain amino acid residues on the collagen protein chains resulting in a lowering of the isoelectric point and consequently an alteration not a transformation of the chemical and physical properties of the protein occurs. Despite the above method of changing a raw product into gelatine under tremendous chemical pressure still retains much of its chemical equation. The collagen triple helix structure is lost during this procedure but the resultant Gelatine product retains the original coil structure. The aspect of Tabdeel-e-Mahiyyat does not take place.