Is Wine Vinegar Halal?

Muslims may be uncertain whether to drink wine vinegar based on its name and components. They might think as vinegar contains wine it might not be halal.

Wine vinegar is halal when wine naturally transforms into vinegar without people needing any active alteration. Scholars disagree on whether it is acceptable or not if the wine has intentionally been altered.

What is Vinegar?

Wine vinegar is a type of vinegar derived from wine. It can be made from red or white wine and is used as an ingredient in salad dressings, marinades, and other recipes.

The most popular kinds of wine vinegar are red or white wines that have been fermented with a particular type of bacteria, enabling them to be bottled without undergoing any additional processing.

This is what the Shaikh in the video was talking about. No additional processing is done in the manufacturing of wine vinegar making them halal.

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Rulings On Vinegar

Scholars have different perspectives on wine vinegar. The majority of people believe that wine vinegar is halal if the wine was not additionally processed to make vinegar. Wine vinegar is halal if it happens organically.

However, the scholars disagree as to whether it is permitted if the wine has intentionally been turned into vinegar by any additional processing involved.

As narrated by Anas bin Malik:

“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked whether wine could be changed to be used as vinegar. He said, ‘No.’”
[Reported by Muslim]

You can also look into this fatwa by dar-alifta:

Vinegar is generally lawful [halal] based on the words of the Prophet (pbuh): “Vinegar is the best sauce” [Recorded by Ahmed and At-Tirmdhi. Acetification is that process in which a liquid transforms from bitterness into acid. Based on this, if wine or any other liquid has transformed into vinegar, whether by itself or manufactured, it is lawful [to consume).
The fact that it contains this negligent amount of alcohol, does not make it unlawful. This is because any drink that has been mixed with a minute amount of an intoxicant, does not lead to intoxication even if one consumes large quantities of the drink. The drink is lawful and does not fall under the prohibition mentioned in the primary texts.
[source]

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How To Make Wine Vinegar

Wine vinegar is made from wine, which is fermented to convert it into alcohol. The alcohol is then concentrated by evaporation and turned into wine vinegar. This can be done in a variety of ways.

You can watch the video as well:

FAQs

Does wine vinegar contain alcohol?

There is some alcohol present in wine vinegar. Although acetic acid is the actual cause of the sour taste, tiny amounts of alcohol remain in the vinegar.

Can Muslims have vinegar?

Mostly pure vinegar is halal. They are surely made from wine but the process is allowed in Islam. The majority of Muslim scholars consider it halal.

How much alcohol is in wine vinegar?

Sugar is fermented by microorganisms during the making of wine. Bacteria really consume the wine’s alcohol during this second fermentation process, consuming it all but completely. Alcohol can be anything from 0-2%.

Does all vinegar start as alcohol?

The original source, or the material from which the vinegar was created, determines the type of vinegar. Some vinegar is made from fermented grape wine, which has alcohol and oxygen as its basic ingredients.

Final Thoughts

In the research, I found out that all kinds of vinegar are halal. Although the fermentation of vinegar starts with alcohol, the final product doesn’t have alcohol in amounts that can intoxicate you.

The vast majority of scholars agree that wine vinegar is halal and was consumed by the Prophet of Allah, peace be upon him, as well, and is okay for Muslims to consume.

And Allah Knows Best.

What is Vinegar?

Rulings On Vinegar

How To Make Wine Vinegar