Can You Consume Items Like Blue Agave Inulin That Are Also Used to Make Alcohol?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Can a product made from a substance that can be used to make alcohol, such as grapes or barley, but is not alcoholic, such as a derived product or processed product, be consumed?
I’m curious about “blue agave inulin,” a substance derived from the tequila-making plant.
What happens if the product is alcoholic or has a medical or health purpose?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are well.
Consumption of Blue Agave Inulin
Yes, blue agave inulin can be consumed because it is low-glycemic, non-digestible, fermentable in the gut, and a plant-based fiber that completely dissolves in cold or warm water.
Medical Use of Agave
It can also be used for medicinal purposes.
Fermentation of Agave
If the sugars in agave are also fermented to make tequila, one will not be allowed to consume it as it has turned into alcohol, just like honey, fig, wheat, barley, or corn; if fermented can turn into an intoxicant.
The ruling regarding alcoholic content in products, such as the one you describe, is that they are permissible so long as they do not contain wine derived from grapes.
Related:
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Did Imam Abu Hanifa Distinguish Between the Legal Rulings for Wine and Beer?
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
