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Fatwa CenterEating ants which fall in food
Question
Please let me know if it is permissable to eat ants that die in cereal or cakes etc.(it happens a lot at my house. Also are wel allowed to eat them if they are alive?
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 is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
Some jurists 
from the Maaliki School of jurisprudence, explained in details the issue when an animal which has no running blood is mixed with food; the summary is that they divided the issue into two parts:
1- If the animal falls in the food while alive, then it should not be eaten with the food unless one intends to make it permissible to be eaten as if slaughtered according to the Islamic rites by eating it. Of course, this kind of animal should be among the animals that we are allowed to eat.
2- If the animal falls into the food and dies in it: there are two cases: A- When the food is distinguished from the animal, then one may eat only the food.
B- When the animal cannot be distinguished from the food and is mixed with it. If the animal is less than the food, then it can be eaten along with the food. If the animal is more than the food or equal to it, then the food should not be eaten. In case there is a doubt whether the animal is less or more than the food, then it may be eaten along with the food, as we cannot throw the food based on a doubt.
Therefore, in order to avoid any hardship, the questioner may act according to the above details. Allaah Says (what means): {…and has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty.}[Quran 22:78].
Other jurists have other opinions on this issue, but it is generally based on the issue of the permissibility or non-permissibility of eating ants.
Allaah Knows best.
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