Question:
Asalaam wa Alaikum,
I will like to buy from Amazon and one of the ingredients is organic cane alcohol. Please let me know if this is halal.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Sugar cane alcohol is made from fermented sugarcane juice, which is then distilled to produce Ethyl Alcohol. Sugar cane alcohol has many uses that range from alcohol production to food applications.
Such extracts which contain cane alcohol as a solvent, is used as an additive in beverages etc. Firstly, one should seek alternative brands or products which are free from alcohol.
If there are no alcohol-free alternatives, it will then be halaal to consume such products/medicines that contain the cane alcohol extract as it is not made from grapes or dates, on condition that it is not intoxicating and only consumed in minute amounts.
Synthetic alcohols and alcohols besides those which are not extracted from dates and grapes in foods, as a carrier or solvent in very small amounts are permissible to use and consume as long as it is not used to intoxicate.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Arshad Ali
Darul Iftaa, Jaamia Madinatul Uloom (Trinidad)
