Is drinking Bone Broth made from the bones of an animal that was not slaughtered according to Shari'a (non halal meat) halal or haram?
Ruling on drinking broth made from the bones of dead animals
Question: 304448
Summary of answer
It is not permissible to buy the bones of dead animals and cook them, and to drink their broth, whether the bone is still intact and remains as it was, or it is ground up and broth is made from the powder, which is sold in dried form, and so on.
Answer
Table Of Contents
Firstly:
Ruling on cooking dead animals (those that are not slaughtered in the manner prescribed in Islamic teachings) or parts of such animals
If an animal is not slaughtered in the manner prescribed in Islamic teachings, meaning that it was strangled, stunned, drowned or died a natural death, then it is “dead meat” (maytah) and it is haram to eat it, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
{ Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine…} [al-Ma’idah 5:3].
This applies to all parts of the dead animal, so it is not permissible to eat it or to cook it and drink the broth. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) commanded the Companions to empty pots in which there was the meat of domesticated donkeys.
If the bones of the dead animal are ground up and this broth is made from them, then there is no doubt that it is haram, because these bones are part of the dead animal, so it is not permissible to eat them.
Secondly:
Ruling on selling dead meat
It is not permissible to buy or sell dead meat, because of the report narrated by al-Bukhari (2236) and Muslim (1581) from Jabir ibn ‘Abdillah (may Allah be pleased with him), that he heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say in the year of the conquest, when he was in Makkah: “Allah and His Messenger have forbidden the sale and purchase of alcohol, dead meat, pork and idols.”
So it is not permissible for the Muslim to buy any part of dead animals, bones or otherwise.
Thirdly:
The impurity (najasah) of the bones of dead animals
The bones of dead animals are impure (najis), like their flesh, according to the majority of jurists, in contrast to the Hanafi jurists and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, who say that they are pure (tahir), assuming that they are completely free of flesh, fat, moisture and grease.
According to the view of the majority, the broth made from these bones is impure (najis).
It says in Zad al-Mustaqni‘: All the parts of [the dead animal] are impure, except for the hair and the like.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The words “except for the hair and the like” include the wool of sheep, the hair of camels, the feathers of birds, and the hair of goats and cattle, and so on.
Exempted from that are the following:
1. The bones of dead animals, according to the view favoured by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him), and it is also one of the two views of the [Hanbali] madhhab. What is quoted as evidence for that is the fact that even though bones can feel pain and other sensations, they contain no life in a perfect sense, and blood does not go through them, and a bone cannot have any life except when it is part of the body. Thus it is like nails and hair, and so on, and it is not like the rest of the body.
It may also be said that the basis for determining the purity or impurity of any part of the body is blood, and living creatures that do not have circulatory systems are regarded as pure.
But what appears to be the case is that the view of the [Hanbali] madhhab on this issue is the correct view, because the difference between bones and creatures that do not have a circulatory system is that the latter are independent, living beings; as for bones, they are regarded as impure by way of connection to the rest of the body. Moreover, bones can feel pain, so they are not like nails or hair. Furthermore, the idea that blood does not flow through bones is debatable, because what appears to be the case that there is blood in the bones, as may be seen in some bones."(Ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘ (1/93).
Conclusion: It is not permissible to buy the bones of dead animals and cook them, and to drink their broth, whether the bone is still intact and remains as it was, or it is ground up and broth is made from the powder, which is sold in dried form, and so on.
And Allah knows best.
Source:
Islam Q&A
Was this answer helpful?