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Permissibility Of Nutmeg/ Jaifal
Nutmeg or jaifal is a spice commonly used in pakistani food, often in garam masala spice mix aswell. I’ve recently found out it is narcotic in composition and can have intoxication effects in large quantities ( amounts that are never used in food), u would realistically puke before u ingest enough food to intoxicate u with nutmeg. It’s pretty hard to eat even enough raw nutmeg considering its very strong flavour and toxic side effects of overuse . I suspect that the latter is the reason it is not as commonly abused as other narcotics with less severe side effects. Would it then come under haram category or intoxicants. It is prudent to mention, it’s a very hard spice to avoid if u eat out in even muslim countries or maybe even a relatives house considering its ubiquity. Avoiding using it yourself in cooking would be easy but avoiding it while eating out would be a very stressful affair.
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7 Replies
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Permissibility Of Nutmeg/ Jaifal
updated 6 hours, 34 minutes ago
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Please note, if something is haram it will remain haram regardless of difficulty in life (unless to save life).
This life is test and you may have to give up ease to pass the test.
With that said, in cooking process , chemicals in spices transform or evaporate. Hence there is no issue in it.
Please watch the video from 1:16:26
Discussion 36849 • Reply 36854
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Alcohol During Food Cooking - Ask Ghamidi
According to various research, alcohol can retain in food upto 60% depending on alcohol concetration, cooking time etc.In the video
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Thankyou for replying! I still have a few questions though. From what I can find, neither alcohol nor nutmeg change their chemical composition in the process of cooking but alcohol can burn off if simmered long enough ( I cannot find information about nutmeg though). What does happen however is that intoxication becomes impossible from eating foods with them simply because one physically cannot consume that much food without inducing vomiting .”hence a large amount of the food can still not cause intoxication much less a small amount. Does that mean nutmeg in its raw form will be haram in any quantity ur not nutmeg added as a spice to foods?
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if what you say is correct, then raw nutmeg will be considered haram. However, i have never heard nutmeg being used as active toxicant.
Since using it as spice in food will not cause intoxication even in large quantities so its fine for use.
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Yes it’s isn’t used as an active intoxicant often at all since ( from what I understand according to my research):
– its effects are a bit like pain relief and languidness ( opioid like) in more controlled quantities ( used in traditional remedies apparently )
– the amount that can lead to intoxication ( which, for these purposes, I defined as impaired judgement/ loss of reasonable behaviour )- can also easily lead to other toxic effects like vomiting ,stomach pains and bad hallucinations making it very easy to poison or even kill yourself with (starting from 2 tsp of raw nutmeg as single dose)
– lastly it has a very strong flavour
These qualities make nutmeg intoxication seem more like poisoning then the traditional “high” experience , infact it can make it a lethal one.Most reports I found were of teenagers trying to find a hallucinogenic agent (that they found out online) that led to hospital visits or sickness.
Lastly I found many herbs and spices have some kind of psychoactive agents including saffron , parsley, dill, mint and others but they don’t necessarily cause intoxication ( nutmeg I think has higher concentrations though along with saffron which has been tested as an antidepressant )- I mean u would have to go really out of your way to achieve that.
Long post but I thought I might aswell share what I learned so someone can correct me if I’m wrong .
This is a useful read :https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/nutmeg-high
medicalnewstoday.com
Nutmeg 'High': Is it possible?
Nutmeg is a popular spice, but consuming it in larger amounts can give a person a “high” similar to that of some hallucinogenic drugs. This high is called nutmeg intoxication.
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Thanks for the share. I found it interesting.
it says some people find it intoxicating or poisonous. Since vast majority never got intoxicated or donot use it as intoxicant, i dont think it will be considered haram. Because rule are not made for minorities.
Here is the key though, if vast majority start using it as intoxicant then it may be considered haram.
Secondly alcohol is present in bread as byproduct of fermentation process but we dont consider it haram because neither people get intoxicated from bread nor people use it as mean for intoxication.
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Thankyou for an interesting perspective and a great point about alcohol found in bread and other fermented products( kimchi, Sauerkraut etc). I wonder if the same example can be applied to alcohol utilised as a solvent in homeopathic medications and food (vanilla extract and other additives), certainly their purpose is not to serve as an intoxicant. Your comment regarding the vast majority makes me consider that the social use of something as an intoxicant ( such as recreational use of alcohol, cocain, heroin and even marijuana) plays into the context of what the Quran is trying to prohibit.
Medical opioids ( ex.morphine, fentanyl and even really mild ones such as tramadol) used in medicine as as painkillers are certainly the most confusing grey area as they are hard to replace as the most potent painkillers we have ( esp for surgeries, people with terminal illnesses and where NSAIDs are contraindicated ). They also definitely cause a euphoric high in atleast some people and these people have high tendencies to become addicts which is why they are highly regulated in first world countries and opiate epidemics are still a thing. Even though their medical use tries to strictly dose and regulate them appropriately to prevent such effects ( but addiction can still occur in people with chronic pain who are desperate for medications)… socially people do abuse them ( heroin is non medical opiate) which makes them very dangerous. I do not know where they come on the haram halal spectrum but they definitely should used under the strict supervision and prescription of a physician.
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i will request @Irfan76 sb for his scholarly opinion too.
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