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Is it forbidden to eat all foods that are entirely harmful, such as garlic and eggs, as mentioned by Ibn Al-Qayyim in "Prophetic Medicine"?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is not permissible for a Muslim to use harmful foods or other substances, based on what Malik narrated in Al-Muwatta, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "There should be no harm nor reciprocating harm." The intended harm is considerable harm, such as death or obvious illness. If a person knows or has strong reason to believe that vegetables or other permissible foods or drinks will cause him obvious harm, then it is not permissible for him to consume them. This does not mean that this food is forbidden in itself, but what leads to harm from it becomes forbidden. The reference for determining harm and the quantity that causes harm is experience and the specialized physician.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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