Is It Haram to Drink Gatorade Which Might Potentially Have Alcohol?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question

I drank Gatorade which potentially has alcohol whilst being in doubt. I saw on its Twitter page it’s not halal and the same as a person’s findings from their customer service online. But the tweet was only for the US but I’m in UK and people criticized the person’s findings as they saw it as inadequate as customer service may be uneducated on nuances of halal/Haraam. I did thorough research and saw a statement it complied with government regulations for non-alcohol but may have traces of naturally occurring alcohol.

I researched that this was permissible. I was still doubtful but drank it. A day later I find it may have traces of ethanol. It seems likely to me it’s likely Haram. I did drink it doubtfully which was unwise but I didn’t know 100% it has alcohol-I would never intentionally drink alcohol. Will I still be punished?

Answer

I hope you’re doing well, Insha Allah. May Allah bless you for your concern to do the right thing.

Naturally-occurring alcohol is not impermissible–unless in amounts that intoxicate; or drink for intoxication; or drunk as an intoxicant; or in some other reprehensible manner. [Kasani, Bada’i; al-Muhit al-Burhani; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Kindly check these links:
A Guide for Consuming Various Meats, Foods, Alcohol, Animal By-Product Ingredients, and Cosmetics
Can Medicines Containing Alcohol Be Taken to Prevent Disease?
Can We Use Deodorants, Creams, and Perfumes That Contain Alcohol?
Drinking Alcohol: Are My Prayers Not Valid for 40 Days?
Is It Permissible to Consume Food to Which Alcohol Has Been Added for Flavor?

How To Be Cautious

Note that caution isn’t through worry and overdoing things “just in case.” Rather, caution is through following reliable knowledge, soundly.

Kindly check these links:
Should I Eat at Restaurants With Food Cross-Contamination Problems?
How Cautious Should I Be When Buying Food? [Video]
Avoiding Haram Ingredients.
Is Doubtful Contamination or a Small Amount of Contamination Excused?

And Allah is the giver of success and facilitation.

[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus, and then in Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), as well as his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance in order to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of: Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.