Is Red Wine Vinaigrette Halal to Consume?
Question
I had a question regarding food. Is it permissible to consume red wine vinaigrette? I ordered a vegetarian sub, and it included this sauce, which was listed as vegetarian. Would this be allowed?
Answer
Alhamdulillah, wassalatu wassalamu ala rasulillah, wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajmain.
1. The Shar‘i Basis
Allah says:
“O you who believe, indeed wine, gambling, idols, and divining arrows are an abomination from the work of Shaytan, so avoid it.” (Surat al Ma’idah 5:90)
Wine is prohibited because it intoxicates. However, the Prophet ﷺ permitted vinegar and praised it, saying:
“What an excellent condiment vinegar is.” (Reported by Muslim)
This shows that vinegar itself is halal, even if it originally came from wine, once it is no longer intoxicating and has fully changed.
2. Understanding the Transformation
If wine fully turns into vinegar, it is no longer wine in name, nature, or effect. It does not intoxicate and is treated as a new substance with a new ruling.
What matters in Sharia is the final state of the substance, not the stages it passed through.
3. Relevant Usul Principle
الاستحالة تغيّر الحكم
A complete transformation changes the ruling.
When a prohibited substance fully transforms into something else and the cause of prohibition is gone, it takes the ruling of its new form.
Final Ruling
Red wine vinaigrette is permissible to consume if the wine has fully transformed into vinegar and contains no intoxicating alcohol. If it is true vinegar and non-intoxicating, then it is halal.
And Allah knows best.