Halal Food Guide - Alcohol
Alcohol. Wine, beer, spirits, liqueurs... It's not something I really miss in my life, but sometimes when we celebrate something (birthday, anniversary etc.) and having a nice meal, it would be nice to have something nice to drink too, not just ordinary juice or Coke ;)
I want to dedicate this post to pregnant and breastfeeding girls too, to show how not to feel like you're missing out when all your friends enjoy their booze ;)
image source: http://firstthingsfirst.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/no-alcohol-15.jpg
Why Muslims don't drink alcohol?
Well, that's a matter of argument. Technically, it is not mentioned in the Qur'an as "haraam".
Only flesh of swine, blood and flesh of animals that died not being sacrificed in the name of Allah (One God) are specifically mentioned as forbidden.
But...
Any intoxicants are called Satan's work, made to create enmity between people and push them away from God, therefore they are to be avoided. (5:90-91)
While it is not mentioned as "haraam", it is called sinful:
They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: "In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit." (2:219)
Also, God instructs people not to approach prayer while being intoxicated (4:43). As Muslims have an obligation to pray five times a day, that doesn't really leave time for drinking ;)
Basically, there is an agreement that alcohol is considered forbidden, since Allah calls alcohol a sin.
It's often arguable whether even the smallest amounts found in foods are forbidden - like using vanilla extract. To be on the safe side, I avoid foods that have any kind of alcohol on the list of ingredients.
But, as previously, we still find the ways to enjoy ourselves ;)
- non-alcoholic beer
When I went to the supermarkets to do my research, I was actually surprised how much choice they offer nowadays. All the beers pictured above are 0% alcohol.
Some of the "alcohol-free" products, however, require more caution - most, like the Kopparberg cider above, claim to have "no more than 0.5% alcohol". It's more of "low alcohol" rather than "alcohol-free", therefore it should be avoided.
- fancy soft drinks
That's in my local Sainsbury's - whole section of fruity non-alcoholic alternatives.
Feel Good range offers some fantastic juice drinks, and now also non alcoholic cocktails.
Shloer has been our favourite for a while now. It's a great alternative to sparkling wine - sparkling grape juice, available in white, rosé and red. During my research I also spotted the "celebration" edition.
- wine
As for wine, there's only one 100% halal certified wine in the UK market. If you browse the alcohol-free varieties in the major supermarkets, you'll only find that they're actually low-alcohol ("no more than 0.5%", like with the beers above). I came across this product while visiting Halal Food Festival in London last year, and you can find out more on their website: http://www.halalchampwine.com/
31 comments
This is really interesting. I am pretty much tea total though choice not religion
ReplyDeleteI love those non-alco "beers" they do taste like the normal ones sans alcohol! Wish they had Kevser wines in supermarkets!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, I don't really drink and don't miss it
ReplyDeleteWhilst I respect other people's religions and cultures I personally find it difficult to understand how drinking the odd glass of wine could be called "sinful" whilst subjecting women to appalling levels of discrimination in Muslim countries is not? Are men forbidden to drink alcohol too or just women? However education is so important, and I have always been curious about other traditions, I hadn't realised the difference between Halal haraam and forbidden non haraam Halal food and drink so thank you for the explanation :)
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comment :) Everyone is forbidden to drink, men and women equally. I personally gave up alcohol by choice, as my Husband was never drinking and I think it was a matter of me respecting his beliefs. As for discrimination of Muslim women - I completely agree, it should be considered "sinful". I don't feel oppressed ;) but I do realise that in many countries it goes all wrong. I wouldn't want to speak on this topic, as I'm not a scholar, but from what I've learnt they go pretty much against the actual teachings of Islam. Anyway, I just posted this for informative purposes, not only for Muslims but for anyone who chooses not to drink but looks for more variety of fancy drinks :)
DeleteI miss drinking after over 2 years of pregnancy and breastfeeding, but I have also got used to having fun without it!
ReplyDeleteI don't really drink throughout the year. I enjoy Baileys at Christmas but apart from that we love Shloer because like you said, it's like having a sparkling wine that the children can enjoy with us :)
ReplyDeleteI gave up alcohol in January and found it really tough! Having said that, I think if you give something up for religious reasons then you have a whole different view of it and do it from a different perspective. Hats off to you and thank you for explaining why Muslims don't drink - I never actually knew and felt pretty ignorant about it.
ReplyDeleteThank you x While I'm not trying to convince anyone that they shouldn't drink, I just wanted to write a bit of an informative post.
DeleteI slowly gave up alcohol about three years ago, when things got serious with my (now) Hubby, and I guess it made it a bit less of a shock when it eventually became part of the deal with the religion.
I like the odd drink but only really on special occasions as I can't handle hangovers anymore! x
ReplyDeleteI drank a lot of that Bavaria stuff when I was pregnant...
ReplyDeleteThe non alcoholic beers are great but I didn't know that Kopperberg did a zero alcohol range, sound lovely :-) x
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I don't drink alcohol and haven't for years now I'm a huge fan of Shloer and J20 in it's place :) x
ReplyDeleteThis is such an informative post, I didn't realise there was so many none alcoholic drinks around. I don't drink due to the medication I am on
ReplyDeleteTHanks so much for the info - I do have a drink every now and again but I love the non alcoholic versions to drink when I'm at home with the kids x
ReplyDeletei don't drink (well, extremely rarely, once every couple years, if that) but for some reason i just don't see the point in alcohol free beer, haha. most of it doesn't taste that nice alcohol or not! i don't drink fizzy drinks either, but i am rather partial to some lightly carbonated elderflower presse or rose lemonade from time to time.
ReplyDeleteA great post, and a really interesting one. I had no idea that there are 0% alcohol beers at all!
ReplyDeleteWe are not big on drinking, and actually only drink one type of wine, so usually I go for the fancy juice. I love the feel of "having a drink" (you know, the fancy bottle and glass. It feels more special somehow) but without having to actually have a drink so I found it to be a great solution.
Exactly my point - when you're at a party or even at home celebrating, it's nice to have something a bit fancy. When we feel like having some special meal at home, we usually get a bottle of Shloer and drink from wine glasses ;)
DeleteI hardly drink any alcohol these days and I really do not think I am missing out.
ReplyDeleteI totally don't get it why so many people make such a huge deal out of it.
so interesting blog especially I'm visiting warsaw for two weeks and halal food is really hard to find ,in addition to that the temptation to eat a paczki is huge however I heard that there is alcohol and pork fat in it so my question is: are paczkis halah or not? and thank you for helping.
ReplyDeleteHi there!
DeleteYeah, eating halal can be a bit hard in Poland, but I think you might get some stuff in Warsaw since they have a mosque there. As for paczki - yeah, the traditional recipes call for a bit of alcohol, because they're deep fried and it helps the dough to absorb slightly less fat. And some people choose to fry them in lard - hence the pork bit. Unfortunately in most cases they won't be halal, unless you can get someone to make them for you avoiding the alcohol and frying in vegetable oil.
Enjoy your time in Poland! :)
I think you will find that the Fosters Radler is also 0.05% Alcohol.
ReplyDeleteOh, I must have missed that - will have a better look at it next time!
DeleteThank you so much this is very helpful
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your work. I'll come back for more
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work :) from TheStillery, a stuart bar in Florida
Hi. Great blog - thanks. Just to let you know Kopparberg "alcohol free" is actually no more than 0.05% vol alcohol, not 0.5% as mentioned above. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you for spotting my mistake, will correct it!
DeleteExcellent blog. I too am totally tea total and have been since 1999. No smoking or drinking not even the stronger stuff?!! I'm Muslim but still did all the usual things young people do. I stopped out of necessity not just trying to live a purer life as a Muslim. Thanks again. Peace
ReplyDeleteBecks Blue, on the label says not more than 0.05% alcohol. I would have classed this as Harem, but I have seen it openly on sale away from tourist areas in UAE and Saudi Arabia. I'm not an Islamic scholar, but if these countries are selling it, surely it must be Halal
ReplyDeleteCorrection Kopperberg Pear Cider and mixed Fruit has 0.05% alcohol ...not 0.5% as stated. It's so negligible that it is stated as alcohol free .However bread gas 1.9% alcohol produced as part of baking! So 0.05% is fine.
ReplyDeleteI came across while searching for non-alcohol shloer.
ReplyDeleteA non muslim friend of mine gave me as a festive season gift. I don'tnwant to offend him so I accept it.
Searching further I found out that it is halal.
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