Section Eighteen
Food and Drink
Al-At’imah and Al-Ashribah
Included in this section is what is eaten or drunk through the mouth as well as what goes into the interior of the body through the nose or throat in exceptional cases, and it covers what is inhaled and smoked and enters into the vessels of the body, which are all included under the terms ‘taking ‘or 'ingesting’. In the sections regarding possession of the allowed things, it was mentioned what is forbidden to be eaten from animals, but there remain certain matters that we shall explain here.
1305. It is forbidden to ingest the following:
1- Inherently-impure things, whether solid or liquid, except in compelling cases – this was mentioned in the purity section. It is also forbidden to take allowed pure things that have become impure before purifying them – this was detailed in the purity section.
2- Substances causing drunkenness or affecting the mental powers, whether liquid , such as alcoholic beverages and beer and other chemical or natural fluids that cause drunkenness, such as ‘ industrial alcohol’ (fluids used in wound-cleaning, building work etc., but used by some instead of alcoholic beverages), however small the amount drunk, or solid, such as drugs.
It is also forbidden – as an obligatory precaution – to ingest grape juice if it was boiled over fire without two thirds of it having been evaporated off, but if two thirds of it has been evaporated off, it becomes allowed to eat and drink it. And if it, or any other fruit juice, has been boiled, or prepared for boiling, by any means other than by fire so that it becomes alcoholic beverage, in this case it will be definitely forbidden to drink and shall not be allowed unless it changes into vinegar.
3- Whatever leads to harm to the soul or body to an extent appreciable to any sane person who would strive to stop it befalling them, even if it was not considerable, such as taking preparations that lead to the embryo abortion, or to a loss in a bodily function, such as blindness and paralysis and all ailments that are less dangerous than that, such as losing one eye, limping, kidney failure and the like. Also forbidden is any cause of harm which the sane people strive not to fall into, such as tobacco, whether by smoking it or chewing it, in the light of what has been established by the specialists in terms of the many harmful effects that result from it. This is in addition to the prohibition of taking anything that leads to annihilation and death, such as poisons and the like.
There is no difference, regarding the prohibition of ingesting a harmful substance to the extent described above, between things in which harm is known and certain and those in which harm is thought possible, even if probable to an extent appreciable to the sane so that it causes fear. There is also no difference between the case where the effected harm is quick and direct and the case where the body is liable to harm after some time. Also, there is no difference in taking a large or small quantity if – in both cases – it leads to harm, but if a small quantity poses no danger of harm, then it is not forbidden to take it.
4- The soil mixed with water called ‘mud’, even pure soil and pure sand as an obligatory precaution, regardless of it being harmful or not. It is also forbidden to take the pure residues of animals even if they are ruled as pure, including camel’s urine as an obligatory precaution, also blood that is ruled pure, such as that left from the slaughtered animal, even blood which exists in the vessels found in the meat pieces – if it is in an appreciable quantity – after it comes out as a result of the cutting, but not if the quantity is small where the meat pieces are only slightly stained by it.
5- Substances owned by others: it is forbidden to eat or drink them without their acceptance.
1306. It is allowed to ingest what the Shari’ah has prohibited to avoid something that causes fear of harm or calls for medical treatment to takes place, according to the following situations:
1- Protecting one’s self from death from hunger or thirst.
2- Protecting one’s self from falling into weakness that prevents one from meeting one's normal needs, something which leads to intense difficulty that cannot normally be withstood.
3- Protecting one’s self from the causes of illness to the extent that it is not allowed to expose one’s self to them as described previously, or for fear of the existing illness worsening, becoming more complicated or the treatment becoming longer or harder.
4- Substances on which treatment from illness depends if the harm resulting from it (the illness) is something which sane people strive to protect themselves from, so this does not include simple passing pain that is not difficult to withstood, such as occasional headache, occasional itch/rash, stomach pain and the like which people have become used to in their lives one way or another. In addition, allowing forbidden substances in the four above situations is not limited to fear for one’s self, but it is also allowed to take a forbidden substance in cases where one fears for a sacred soul who is dependent on one, such as the fear of a pregnant woman for her embryo and the breastfeeding woman for her baby.
5- Whatever safety from what he fears depends on, in both situations of being forced and dangerous, for himself, his honour or appreciable assets, or for a sacred soul who is important to him, such as his wife and children where abstaining from protecting them causes very intense difficulty that cannot be withstood; the same goes for the rest of believers if his obligation to protect them is more important - or of the same importance - as taking the forbidden substance.
1307. It is not allowed to commit a forbidden thing in the situations 1, 2 and 3 of the previous entry (no. 1306), which can go under the title of ‘state of being compelled’, unless this state is forced on him, so if out of his free will he placed himself in the way of what he fears, these forbidden things will not be allowed for him unless after his repentance and firm decision not to fall into similar acts. Also, it is not allowed to commit these forbidden things for anyone who has openly rebelled against the infallible Imam (as) or his special or general appointed representative/deputy, nor to bandits who transgress on Muslims’ streets and their public security, until after their repentance.
Also, in every case where the danger, evil or intense difficulty can be stopped through allowed things, it is not allowed for the person to commit a forbidden thing at all.
It is also not allowed to commit a forbidden act for treatment from illness unless the medicine or treatment is limited to this option alone, except for drinking the urine of the three animals: camels, cows and sheep/goats in all their kinds, for medical treatment.
1308. It is allowed for the ill to seek treatment by things that cause harm if this is to prevent what is more harmful, such as amputating a limb to stop the spread of a disease that leads to death, and so on.
1309. Where it is allowed, when compelled to do so, to take other people’s assets without their permission, it is obligatory to pay compensation for what one takes, as explained in the section on compensating for damage (section 13).