Israel Matzav

Ramadamadan Coke

Bob McCarty reports that Coca Cola is going to be selling its product in specially produced cans in honor of the Muslim month-long fast of Ramadamadan (Ramadan) (Hat Tip: Gateway Pundit). The Jewish holidays don't coincide with Ramadan this year, so even if 'Palestine' gets the Coke cans with the crescents, the company is not likely to feel obligated to make Coke cans with a shofar (the ram's horn blown on the Jewish New Year) or with a picture of a Succa or a Palm Branch and Citron (for the holiday of Succoth) for Israel.

But I had a different question: Given that Coke contains caffeine, can Muslims drink Coke at all? After all, it has caffeine. The answer to that question does not seem very clear.

Ruling on consuming caffeine

Can caffeine be considered as Haram(not allowed for Muslims) · since it is considered alkaloid and it is in the same group as Nicotine, Cocaine, Morphine, LSD.....? Also excessive intake of caffeine can cause restlessness, insomnia, heart irregularities and delirium.

Praise be to Allaah.

Undoubtedly anything that is harmful is haraam. Hence Allaah forbade alcohol because it affects the mind, and smoking is forbidden because it causes widespread harm and diseases. It is also known that there are permissible drinks which do not cause harm, such as coffee and tea, which usually do not cause harm and are usually drunk for relaxation, so there is nothing wrong with drinking them. And there are other good drinks such as milk and fruit juices. If some of those things which are nowadays known as refreshments cause harm, then they should be considered an extravagance.

But what if drinking Coke in excess does cause harm? I know a lot of people who would argue that it's harmful just because of the sugar content. And what about Diet Coke with all its chemicals?

And then there are other issues with Coca Cola?

Question:
I have been told by one of my friend that drinking coke is haram because if we see it in mirror the way its been written it becomes "LA ALLAH LA MUHAMMED" witch means no ALLAH no Muhammad, and she says who ever drinks it is not a Muslim, please kindly let me know how true it is, and is it really haram or not, thanks.

Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.

What has been said about Coca Cola, that there is written on it the words “La Allaah la Muhammad” or “La Muhammad la Makkah” and that this can be seen by looking at the writing in a mirror, is not true, so there is no shar’i ruling that follows from that.

You should keep away from over exaggerations and illusions that have no basis.

Any food or drink that is proven to be harmful is haraam, but if there is no such proof then the basic ruling is that they are halaal, and they cannot be deemed haraam on the basis of mere conjecture and speculation.

But if the company that produces it is hostile to Islam and supports its enemies, then it should be boycotted for that reason.

Hmmm. Thirty years ago, only Pepsi was sold in Russia and the Arab countries, while only Coke was sold in Israel. In fact, Pepsi did not have a licensee in Israel until the early 90's. So is Coke hostile to Islam? May Muslims drink Coke? And if they can't, what the heck are they going to do with all those extra cans?

Inquiring minds want to know.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:49 PM