Is it permissible to take medication with pork products or have pig valves?
Many doctors ask if something has elements of pig or alcohol can they prescribe it?
I ask if there is an alternative available. If there is, then it is a no-go area. We have to take the alternative, even if it has 80% of the efficacy of the one with alcohol in it.
If there is no alternative, and someone has a chronic disease with no cure, except this which contains some haram elements in it, then they are allowed to take this medicine. But we need to do the assessment in the first place. You need to go through the details.
Using pig valves in heart surgery
Some doctors ask if they can use pig valves instead of cow valves during heart surgery. If the cow valve is available and will be effective then they should use it. However the cow one has less lifespan, whereas the pig one lasts longer, it depends on the case. If the patient is weak, fragile and elderly and their situation is not stable, then using the cow valve will create more harm for him than the pig one. If the patient is otherwise young and fairly stable, the cow one would be a better option.
In general it is haram but I cannot issue a fatwah without the specific details of each situation. We act in accordance with general guidance as best as possible.
Nasal flu vaccine and pork gelatine
Is gelatine halal?
Many people ask if they can let their children have the nasal flu vaccine as it contains porcine gelatine?
The nasal vaccine
Each year, the influenza virus, the flu, causes illness, time off work, hospital admissions and deaths. This year, with the Coronavirus pandemic, it is even more important to ensure we look after ourselves and take the flu vaccine if eligible.
According to nhs.uk:
Flu vaccination is important because:
If you’re at higher risk from coronavirus, you’re also more at risk of problems from flu, if you get flu and coronavirus at the same time, research shows you’re more likely to be seriously ill.
Interestingly, it has been postulated that cross-reactivity between the influenza virus and Coronavirus may help to provide some immunity and/ or lessen the severity of a SARS-Cov-2 infection.
There are 2 main routes of receiving the flu vaccine, by injection or by nasal spray. The nasal spray is reserved for children only, who can spread flu quite quickly, with a few exceptions. The nasal flu vaccine is considered effective at preventing flu and us easy to administer amongst children. But is it permissible?
Is gelatine halal?
The Arabic term for transformation is Istihaala.
Istihalah, from the Fiqh point of view, is defined as changing the nature of a substance so that it is completely transformed physically and chemically. Through this process, an impure or haram substance becomes permissible. The transformation should result in a change of the physical properties of the substance such as taste, colour or texture and be irreversible.
According to the Islamic Organization for Medical Science gelatine undergoes a complete transformation and is different from the substance from which it was derived.
Its chemical properties differ from the original substance from which it was extracted. Gelatine is derived from collagen, a tissue protein of animal origin, through the process of hydrolysis, a chemical reaction that breaks the collagen molecule down to create a sticky gel. It is not ordinarily possible to re-synthesise collagen once it has been transformed to gelatine. The structure of the molecules is different. [i]
Fatwas around gelatine:
- Some scholars (particularly within the Hanafi and Maliki schools, and many modern scholars including the European Council for Fatwa and Research) accept that gelatine undergoes istihālah and is therefore halal even if sourced from pork or non-zabihah animals.
- Other scholars (especially in the Shafi’i and Hanbali schools, and bodies like the Permanent Committee in Saudi Arabia) argue that gelatine is not a complete transformation and therefore remains haram if sourced from pork or non-zabiha animals.
Based on the Hanafi opinion, foods and medication containing gelatine, even porcine gelatine are permissible.