Is Parmesan Cheese Halal?

Many Muslims wonder about the status of Parmesan cheese – a hard Italian cheese known as Parmigiano-Reggiano – and whether it is halal (permissible) to eat. The concern stems from the way Parmesan is made: it traditionally uses animal rennet, an enzyme taken from the lining of a calf’s stomach. These calves are not usually slaughtered according to Islamic law, which raises doubts about the cheese’s permissibility. So, is Parmesan cheese halal? To answer this, we need to understand the Islamic rulings on rennet and how different scholars view cheese made with it.

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Why Do Muslims Question If Parmesan Cheese Is Halal?

The ingredient in question is rennet, known in Arabic as infāḥa. Rennet is a substance extracted from the stomach of a young animal (like a calf or lamb) and is used to coagulate milk in cheesemakingislamqa.info. The Islamic concern arises when rennet comes from an animal that was not slaughtered according to Sharīʿah (Islamic law). Meat and edible parts from improperly slaughtered (non-zabiha) animals are considered maitah (carrion) and are unlawful to consumeislamqa.info. Scholars have differed on whether rennet falls into that category of impurity or not.

If the rennet is taken from a halal animal that was slaughtered Islamically, then all schools of thought agree that such rennet is pure and cheese made with it is halalislamqa.info. In the case of Parmesan, however, the rennet typically comes from calves that were not slaughtered per Islamic guidelines. This scenario puts Parmesan cheese in a gray area where the ruling depends on scholarly interpretation. Traditional Islamic jurists examined whether something like rennet – an enzyme with no flowing blood – is affected by the animal’s improper slaughter. The key question is: does the rennet become najis (impure) due to coming from a dead animal, or is it still considered pure? The answer isn’t black-and-white; it varies between Islamic schools of thought.

In practical terms, many observant Muslims avoid cheeses like Parmesan unless they are certified halal or made with vegetarian/microbial rennet. Others rely on classical opinions that permit such cheese. To understand why there is a difference, we need to look at the Hanafi school’s unique stance on this issue, especially the opinion of Imam Abu Hanifa – and then compare it with other schools.

Imam Abu Hanifa’s Ruling – The Hanafi Opinion on Cheese Rennet

In the Hanafi school of Sunni Islamic law, there is a well-known leniency regarding cheeses made with rennet from non-zabiha animals. This view is attributed to Imam Abu Hanifa (the founder of the Hanafi school) himself. According to Imam Abu Hanifa’s ruling, rennet from a lawful animal remains halal and pure even if the animal was not slaughtered according to Shariahmuftisays.com. In other words, he considered the enzyme extract (infāḥa) to be a substance that does not carry the impurity of death, since “no blood flows through the rennet” and it isn’t a living organ that dies with the animalseekersguidance.org. By this reasoning, the rennet doesn’t become impure when the animal dies, so it can still be used to make “halal cheese from non-zabiha animals.” Under this Hanafi opinion on cheese, the presence of calf rennet in Parmesan would not make the cheese haram.

Imam Abu Hanifa’s two chief students, Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad (the sahibayn), disagreed with their teacher on this point. They argued that while the rennet itself might be pure, it sits in the stomach fluids of the calf, and those fluids do become impure if the animal wasn’t slaughtered properlymuftisays.com. According to the students’ view, if the rennet is liquid it cannot be purified and the cheese would be impure; if the rennet is solid (more like dried curd) one could technically wash it off and then use itmuftisays.com. This more cautious stance of Abu Hanifa’s students is closer to the strict opinions in other schools. However, within Hanafi fiqh the fatwa (official ruling) typically follows Imam Abu Hanifa’s original position in this casemuftisays.com. That means most Hanafi jurists throughout history have given Muslims leeway to consume cheese made with rennet from non-Islamically slaughtered animals (excluding pig rennet, which is haram by unanimous agreement).

Multaqa al-Abhar and the Hanafi Tradition

It’s worth noting that this lenient ruling is well-attested in authoritative Hanafi texts. For example, Multaqa al-Abhar – a renowned compendium of Hanafi law by Ibrahim al-Halabi – presents Abu Hanifa’s opinion as the preferred view on this mattermuftisays.com. In Multaqa al-Abhar and its commentaries, scholars mention that “the rennet (infaha) and milk of a dead (unslaughtered) animal are pure according to Abu Hanifa (…this is the rajih or dominant view)”muftisays.com. This shows how Imam Abu Hanifa’s cheese ruling fits within the broader Hanafi tradition of looking at the essence of the substance: since rennet is basically an enzyme and not blood or flesh, it isn’t treated as carrion. Historically, Hanafis pointed out that some Companions of the Prophet ﷺ would eat cheese made by non-Muslims (such as the Magians of Persia) without issueislamqa.infoislamweb.net. This further bolstered the Hanafi view that such cheese is halal.

Importantly, Hanafi scholars do advise caution despite allowing it. They acknowledge that other jurists view it as doubtful, so they often say it is better to seek vegetarian or halal-certified cheeses when availableseekersguidance.orgislamqa.org. Nevertheless, if one follows the opinion of Imam Abu Hanifa, Parmesan cheese can be considered halal to eat, because its rennet, coming from a calf (a halal species), is not inherently impure or forbidden in his analysisislamqa.org. This Hanafi allowance essentially permits halal cheese from non-zabiha animals under certain conditionsmuftisays.com – a relief for Muslim cheese lovers, especially in non-Muslim lands where finding fully halal cheese can be difficult.

Differences in Other Schools of Thought

While the Hanafi position (via Imam Abu Hanifa) provides a lenient verdict on rennet, other Islamic schools of thought have taken a more cautious stance on cheeses like Parmesan. Here’s a brief look at how the major schools view animal rennet from non-zabiha sources:

• Maliki: The majority of Maliki scholars consider rennet from an unslaughtered animal to be impure (najis), which means cheese made with such rennet is not permissibleislamweb.net. They argue that if an animal’s meat is unlawful due to improper slaughter, all parts of that animal – including enzymes like rennet – share the same ruling of impurityislamweb.net. (A minority report suggests Imam Malik himself may have viewed it as pure, but the dominant Maliki position deems it impermissible, to be safe.)
• Shafi’i: The Shafi’i school also maintains that cheese is haram if made with rennet from non-halal slaughtered animals. They treat the rennet akin to any other part of a dead animal, falling under the Quranic prohibition of maitahislamqa.info. Some Shafi’i jurists have discussed tiny exceptions (for instance, rennet taken from a young lamb that had only consumed milk before it died), but in general, Shafi’is today require the rennet source to be halal-slaughtered. If it’s unknown, many Shafi’i followers err on the side of caution and avoid the cheese.
• Hanbali: The Hanbali school’s principal view aligns with the Maliki and Shafi’i stance – i.e. rennet from an unslaughtered animal is impure, so such cheese would be unlawful. However, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal had two opinions reported on this issueislamqa.info. One opinion agrees with Abu Hanifa (that rennet doesn’t die with the animal and is thus pure), and indeed some later Hanbali scholars like Ibn Taymiyyah favored this permissive viewislamqa.infoislamqa.info. Nonetheless, the more common Hanbali position in practice is to avoid non-zabiha rennet. Many contemporary Hanbalis will only consume cheese if the rennet is halal (or if it’s microbial/plant-based).

Because of these differences, you’ll find that some Islamic authorities declare most commercial cheeses haram, while others (often Hanafis or those taking Ibn Taymiyyah’s view) say they are halal as long as the ingredients are from a halal animal species. This is why there is variation in practice: for example, a Hanafi Muslim might eat regular Parmesan cheese based on Imam Abu Hanifa’s rulingislamqa.org, whereas a Shafi’i Muslim might only eat it if it’s certified halal or uses vegetarian rennet.

Conclusion

In summary, Parmesan cheese can be considered halal according to the Hanafi school of thought, especially based on Imam Abu Hanifa’s opinion as documented in texts like Multaqa al-Abhar. He reasoned that rennet from a calf (or other halal animal) remains pure even if the animal wasn’t slaughtered Islamically, thus the cheese made from it is permissiblemuftisays.com. This lenient ruling has been a source of ease for Muslims historically, allowing them to enjoy cheese without undue hardship. However, it’s important to appreciate the difference of opinion: other schools (Maliki, Shafi’i, and parts of Hanbali) view such cheese as impure and advise Muslims to avoid itislamweb.netislamqa.info.

For general Muslim readers, the takeaway is that there is a well-grounded Islamic opinion that Parmesan is halal. This opinion fits within the broader Hanafi tradition of flexibility on issues of slight impurity and is supported by reports of early Muslims consuming cheese from non-Muslim sourcesislamqa.info. At the same time, out of respect for differing scholarly views, one may choose Parmesan alternatives made with microbial or plant rennet (many are available now) if they wish to be extra cautious. Both approaches have scholarly backing.

Ultimately, if you follow the Hanafi opinion on cheese, you can confidently consider Parmesan cheese halal – and say Bismillah before you sprinkle that pasta with some savory Parmigiano. And if you follow a different school, you now understand why you might opt for a halal-certified cheese instead. As with many dietary matters in Islam, being informed of the scholarly landscape allows you to make a conscience decision that aligns with your faith. Wallahu a‘lam – and Allah knows best.

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