Is Plastic Impure As It Contains Animal By-Products?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question 

Is plastic impure as it contains animal by-products?

 

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Plastic is not considered impure regardless of the possible presence of animal by-products; this is due to the following reasons:

1) Incidental Presence of Animal By-Products

The presence of animal by-products in the plastic – if any – is incidental. That which is present incidentally is overlooked as opposed to that which is intended. [Ibn Nujaym, al-Ashbah wa al-Nazair]

2) The Chemical Transformation of the Animal By-Products

Due to the fact that any animal by-products go through a chemical transformation in order to be incorporated into the plastic – the animal by-products are no longer impure. This is due to a process called istihala or chemical transformation in which an impure object is no longer considered impure due to its core characteristics or its essence being transformed. [Tahtawi/Shurunbulali, Hashiyat Maraqi al-Falah]

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.