Is It Permissible To Eat Food Prepared by Non-Muslims?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question 

Is it permissible to eat food prepared by non-muslims, if one isn’t certain that they purify themselves prior to cooking?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

It is permissible to eat food prepared by non-muslims as long as the food itself is lawful.

It is narrated by Anas bin Malik (Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) was invited by a Jewish man to eat barley bread and gravy and He accepted.” [Ahmad]

This permissibility applies regardless of the presence of ritual and/or physical impurity or lack thereof of the cook.

Some Reasons

One reason for the above answer is that non-muslims are not required to follow the rules of the Sacred Law; their only obliged to accept faith. Therefore, it is not obligatory for them to purify themselves. 

Another reason is that non-muslims or humanity in general for that matter, even though not required to follow the rulings of purification, are generally cleanly people. To assume that people carelessly walk around with filth on them is wrong. Even if they did have physical impurities on them, it does not affect the food and those who handle food are required to wash their hands by health regulations.

Hope this helps

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.