Answer
Wa`alykum As-Salamu Wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuh.
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:
1- Monoglycerides and diglycerides are emulsifiers used in the food industry.
2- Monoglycerides and diglycerides are halal if they are taken from halal animals or plant. If the source of Monoglycerides and diglycerides is not known, we have to contact the company for further information..
As regards your question, we would like to cite for you the following:
Almighty Allah has blessed His servants by creating all kinds of provision on earth for them and He has permitted them to eat everything that is halal (permissible) and good.
Allah says,
“O mankind! Eat of that which is lawful and wholesome in the earth, and follow not the footsteps of the devil. Lo! He is an open enemy for you.” (Al-Baqarah 2:168)
However, Allah forbids a limited number of foods that are bad and can be detrimental to one’s health.
It is the duty of every Muslim to seek what is halal and keep away from haram not only as regards food but also in all the other affairs of his life.
Monoglycerides and diglycerides are emulsifiers used in the food industry. Emulsifiers are food chemical substances which keep oil dispersed in water or water droplets dispersed in fat.
They can be halal or haram depending on their source. Emulsifiers can be extracted from animals or plants.
For example: gum Arabic, egg yolk (lecithin), mono and diglycerides, bile salts, soya bean, etc. are all sources of emulsifiers. Emulsifiers containing lecithin are OK for Muslims to eat. If the emulsifier is mono or diglycerides, you have to find out their sources.
Recently, food manufacturers started labeling the source of mono and diglycerides. But if the source is not mentioned, then the only way to find out is to ask the bakery or the food manufacturer of the product that you want to consume.
Moreover, there are several books about food ingredients, food additives, and preservatives in the West and their status in Islamic dietary laws. You can consult such books which will be helpful in this regard.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.
Source: www.islamicity.com