Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
E-codes like E471 and E481 can be either halal or haram depending on their source. If they are plant-based or synthetic, they are halal. If derived from pork or animals not slaughtered according to Islamic law, they are haram. Because labels often lack clarity, the safest choice is to eat foods certified halal or marked vegetarian.
Responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
I commend you for your concern, which shows your care to stay away from that which is haram. However, let me come directly to the question.
Many food additives, such as E-codes (E470, E471, E481) and mono- and diglycerides, are not automatically haram. Their ruling depends on the source. If they come from plants or are made synthetically, they are halal; but if they are derived from pork or animals not slaughtered according to Islamic law, they are haram.
The challenge is that food labels often do not specify the origin. In such cases, the ingredient is regarded as doubtful. E471 is especially important to verify, since it can come from either plant or animal sources.
If a product is labeled halal certified, vegetarian, or 100% plant-based, you can generally trust it to be safe.
For Muslims who wish to guard their faith and practice caution, the best approach is to choose foods that are clearly labeled halal or vegetarian, or to contact the manufacturer for confirmation.
In many regions, such as Europe, plant-based emulsifiers are widely used due to vegetarian and vegan demand, but certainty is always better than assumption. As the Quran reminds us, “Eat from what is lawful and pure”(Al-Baqarah 2:168)
Out of love for Allah and concern for your spiritual well-being, avoiding doubtful matters is the surest way to keep your diet wholesome, nourishing both body and soul.
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