Black Ivory Coffee
Question
The black ivory coffee beans are extracted from plants and then they are fed to an elephant and after the elephant’s digestive food processing, the beans come out as baked beans which are extracted from the elephant’s waste, people use these coffee beans to make coffee after the beans have been thoroughly cleaned.
So basically my question is that is it Halal to eat these beans because it has been extracted from the elephant’s waste and had been cleaned?
Answer
Wa‘alaykum as-salām wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuhu,
The coffee beans become permissible (ḥalāl) due to istiḥālah, the process where an impure substance undergoes a substantial transformation in its form and characteristics during digestion in the elephant’s digestive system. After being excreted, the beans must undergo thorough cleaning to remove any impurities that may have come into contact with them during digestion.
Once the beans are cleaned thoroughly, ensuring no impurities remain, they are considered permissible (ḥalāl) for consumption. This follows the principle in Islamic jurisprudence that a substance becomes permissible once purified from impurities.
Therefore, based on istiḥālah and the described cleaning process, black ivory coffee beans, having been cleansed of impurities and transformed through digestion, could be deemed permissible (ḥalal) to consume. It is essential to ensure the cleaning process is meticulous to guarantee they are free from any remaining impurities before use.
يحرم أكل لحم أنتن لا نحو سمن ولبن شعير في بعر أو روث صلب يؤكل بعد غسله، وفي خثي لا. مرارة كل حيوان كبوله وجرته كزبله. (در المختار – 1 / 349)
And Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala knows best.