Is the Mere Possibility of Cross-Contamination Enough to Render a Product Prohibited?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

If there is a possibility of cross-contamination with other ingredients that may be impermissible, would the products still be fine?

For example, the manufacturer says: “we can’t promise that there won’t be any cross-contamination during the manufacturing process because our labs follow different cleaning procedures depending on the product.”

Answer

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

You can deem any products produced by these factories to be permissible for consumption because of the following principle:

“Certainty is not lifted by a doubt.” [Majalla]

Which is, in turn, based on the following verse of the Quran:

“Most of them follow nothing but conjectures. Surely, conjectures are of no avail in the matter of truth at all.” [Quran, 10:36]

[Al-Du’ass, Al Qawa’id al-Fiqhiya]

The certainty that these products were untarnished by impermissible ingredients is not voided by doubts regarding a possible contamination.

And Allah knows best.

[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani 

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found.

Then, he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.

He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.

He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.