Food and drink mixed with alcohol

The first is where the alcohol is fully absorbed into the food or drink and has disappeared in it, in such a way that its essence is no longer present and no trace of it can be detected in the drink (or food) in terms of colour, taste or odour. There is nothing wrong with eating or drinking such things at all. 

Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

If alcohol falls into water and is completely absorbed in it, then someone drinks it, he is not regarded as drinking alcohol and the hadd punishment for drinking alcohol is not to be carried out on him, because nothing of its taste, colour or odour remained. 

End quote from al-Mustadrak ‘ala Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (3/12). 

The second scenario is where the essence of the alcohol remains present or its traces may be detected in the mixture, in terms of taste, colour, odour or flavour. In this case it is haraam to consume this food or drink, because of the presence in its ingredients of a percentage of alcohol that has not been fully absorbed. 

The presence of alcohol in this food or drink makes it prohibited, even if the percentage of alcohol is very small. 

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen said: If this alcohol is mixed with something and is not fully absorbed into what it is mixed with, and does not disappear into it, then that thing becomes haraam, because this mixture is affected by it. 

Vinegar 

When wine turns to vinegar by itself, without any deliberate treatment needed for it to be changed, it is permissible to eat, drink and handle it, according to the consensus of the scholars, because of the hadeeth quoted above.

But if the wine has become vinegar because of deliberate treatment, by adding vinegar, onions, salt etc., or by any other process, in this case the scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them) differ as to whether it is permissible.

The Shafi’is, Hanbalis and some of the Maalikis say that it is not permissible to deliberately change wine to vinegar because then it is not pure. The evidence (daleel) for this is the hadeeth of Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked whether wine could be changed to be used as vinegar. He said, ‘No.’” (Reported by Muslim).

Abu Talhah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about some orphans who had inherited some wine. He said, “Pour it away.” He was asked, “Could they not make it into vinegar?” He said, “No.” (Reported by Muslim).

The reason for this is:

Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, has commanded us to avoid wine. Keeping it and treating it until it turns into vinegar means handling it and being involved with it by storing it and benefitting from it, and this is not permitted.

It is permitted for a Muslim to buy vinegar from someone who is selling it, unless he realizes or comes to know that it was produced by means of a deliberate process. ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “… There is nothing wrong with a man buying vinegar from the people of the Book, if they sell it, so long as he knows that they did not deliberately process it from wine.” (Al-Mughni, 8/330)

And Allaah knows best.

(Bidaayat al-Mujtahid li Ibn Rushd, 1/461; Kashshaaf al-Qinaa’ li’l-Bahwati, 1/187; Fath al-Qadeer li Ibn al-Hammaam, 8/166; al-Majmoo’ li’l-Nawawi, 1/225; al-Mughni li Ibn Qudaamah, 8/319).