Answer
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
There is no need to worry about ordering meals that have red wine for the alcohol in wine vinegar is not the same as found in wine or alcoholic drinks.
In his response to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
I empathize with your situation and pray to Allah to grant you ease, comfort and relief. I also pray to Allah to help you overcome the challenges you are facing and make it easy for you, your mother and your dad.
I would urge you to turn to Allah invoking His mercy and calling upon Him by using His most beautiful names such as Al-Rahman, Al-Raheem, Yaa Shafi, Yaa Lateef.
Now coming to whether you can order meals that may contain wine vinegar the answer is. There is no need to worry about it for the alcohol in wine vinegar is not the same as found in wine or alcoholic drinks; it has undergone chemical transformed in such that it does not have the effect of intoxication. Here is an answer posted online by the experts:
“Does red wine vinegar have alcohol? Although there may be some traces of alcohol in the vinegar but it is nothing to worry about. The same traces of alcohol that are left in vinegar are also contained in foods like fruit juices or stewed fruit.
The trivial amount of alcohol that remains in vinegar is so low that you cannot be seriously affected by it, as if you consumed an alcoholic beverage.” (See Does red wine vinegar have alcohol?)
It should comfort for you to know Islam is a natural and easy religion to practice. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has warned us against being rigid in practicing Islam, and he said, “Whoever makes it rigid will become overwhelmed by it (and thus will end up giving it up altogether).” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
In conclusion, you don’t need to worry about ordering such meals.
Almighty Allah knows best.
Source: www.askthescholar.com