Dar Iftaa: Using Pig Derivatives in COVID-19 vaccine Halal

The Egypt's Dar al-Iftaa announced today that the its permission for Muslims to use COVID-19 vaccines, even if a vaccine’s formula contains pig derivatives since  these derivatives can undergo chemical treatments and obtain what is called in Islamic jurisprudence Istihala.

According to Dar al-Iftaa, Istihala means the chemical transformation of the properties of a substance resulting in the removal of its impure nature. In addition, the majority of Hanafi and Maliki scholars, as well as Imam Ahmed in one of his opinions, have proclaimed that Istihala renders any impure substance pure.

Meanwhile, The chemical composition are transformed into another state, and therefore there is no judgement based on the impurity that it once was. This contributed to solving many problems in the past, especially in many medicines.

Earlier, a report by the Associated Press spoke of concerns about the vaccination campaigns against Coronavirus, due to religious objections to the use of pork products in preserving vaccines, which turned into a controversy over the vaccines deprivation .

COVID-19 Vaccine

On other hand, “Pork products are not part of their Covid-19 vaccines,” said spokespersons for the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca. But limited supply and pre-existing deals worth millions of dollars with other companies mean that some countries with a large number of Muslims, such as Indonesia, will receive vaccines as being free of gelatin, which have not been approved yet.