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Fatwa CenterRuling on gelatin from cows not slaughtered according to the Sharee‘ah
Question
Assalamu Alaikum, My question is has a few parts: I work in a supermarket filling shelves with produce. There are some aisles that have meat products in cans which we personally dont eat ourselves (because it may be haram as we dont know if the meats here in Australia have been cross contaminated with other haram meats during production). Also I have to put certain apples juices into shelves yet during the production of these apple juices they get filtered through cow gelatin but in the final product they is no traces of the gelatin at all. Say for arguments sake, and the view which we follow, that this gelatin is haram as it hasn't completely changed from its original form and that the cow wasn't slaughtered according to sharia is this juice halal to consume? As the company says there is no traces of it in the final product. Is there a difference of opinion on this? Furthermore, if this juice is infact haram, can i contain to work in this supermarket and fill it in and then take out a certain amount from my pay that I attribute to the filling of this juice. The reason for this is that there are only a very few aisles i can actually work in since all other ones have pork and Alhamdullillah my supervisors have afforded me this opportunity to only work the aisles that have no pork. If i were to tell them I can no longer fill the juice aisle too or these juice products they will tell me we cannot help you anymore and i will lose my job. Please note, dealing with this juice is only a small percentage of my job, the rest is mainly other juices and halal products inshaALLAH. Recap: Is this juice halal/haram? Arguments sake say it is haram, can I work with it? If not, should i just give a percentage of my pay lillaah due to working with it? Is filling the meat in cans allowed? JazakALLAAHu khair
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
We have already clarified in Fatwa 86671 that the ruling of gelatin is the same ruling as the animal from which it is extracted. You have mentioned that it is extracted from a cow but you are not sure whether or not it is slaughtered according to the Islamic rites.
If we assume that it is not slaughtered according to Islamic rites, then that substance has been transformed. Indeed, we have clarified in Fatwa 90953 that if an impure or forbidden substance has been transformed to another substance, it becomes pure and lawful according to the most valid view of the scholars.
Therefore, it is permissible for you to assume the job you have mentioned.
You seem to have acquired Waswaas (obsessive whispers) about this matter, so you should disregard them so they do not end up getting worse.
Allaah Knows best.
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