Is wine vinegar halal?
Yes, according to most scholars, wine vinegar is halal. Once wine has fully turned into vinegar it is no longer an intoxicant, so it takes a new ruling. Some scholars from the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools are stricter when the vinegar was made on purpose from wine, so a minority of Muslims prefer to avoid it.
Vinegar itself is praised
The Prophet ﷺ asked his family for something to eat with his bread, and they only had vinegar. He ate it and said, "What a good condiment vinegar is" (Sahih Muslim 2051). So vinegar as such, whether from apples, rice, malt or grapes, is a good and permissible food.
Why the wine doesn't stay haram
Wine is forbidden because it intoxicates. When it turns into vinegar, bacteria change the alcohol into acetic acid. The result tastes sour, can't make anyone drunk, and is a different substance. Scholars call this kind of complete change istihalah (transformation). Allah allows us the good things and forbids what is harmful:
Where scholars differ
All scholars agree that if wine turns into vinegar on its own, the vinegar is halal and pure. The difference is about vinegar made deliberately from wine:
- Hanafi school: it's halal, whether it changed naturally or was made on purpose.
- Shafi'i and Hanbali schools: a Muslim shouldn't turn wine into vinegar. When Abu Talha asked about wine he held for orphans, and whether to make it into vinegar, the Prophet ﷺ said "No" (Sunan Abi Dawud 3675; see also Sahih Muslim 1983). Many in these schools say vinegar made this way is not pure.
- Maliki school: views are mixed, with many allowing the vinegar while disliking the act of making it.
Many contemporary scholars and halal certifiers in the West accept commercial wine vinegar, since a non-Muslim factory made it and the alcohol is gone or only a negligible trace remains. This topic also comes up in Can I cook with wine as a Muslim if the alcohol burns off?
Wine vinegar vs. cooking with wine
Don't mix the two up. Wine vinegar is a finished, non-intoxicating product. Wine added to a sauce is still wine, even if some alcohol cooks off. The same goes for flavorings that use alcohol as a solvent; see Is vanilla extract haram because it has alcohol? For the basic rule on alcohol, see Can Muslims drink alcohol?
- The Prophet ﷺ praised vinegar as a good condiment.
- Wine that has fully become vinegar is no longer khamr.
- Majority view: commercial wine vinegar is halal.
- Shafi'i and Hanbali scholars are stricter about deliberate conversion.
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