Is Medication Containing Magnesium Stearate and Stearic Acid Permissible?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
If the medication contains magnesium stearate and stearic acid, which is potentially more often than not derived from animals, would it be haram to consume?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
Leading contemporary Hanafi scholars have said any product that contains stearic acid and its derivatives, such as sodium stearate, magnesium stearate, etc., will be permissible to use due to going through chemical transformation (istihalat al-‘ayn) and widespread affliction (‘umum al-balwa).
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.
Related Answers
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersAcademy?
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.
