Fatwa ID: 05403
Answered by: Maulana Syed Johir Miah
Question
I recall someone posted something regarding civet coffee, which is extracted from the feces of civet cats. Can someone share that? Or any other thoughts or research on that?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
A civet is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different mammal species. Most of the species diversity is found in southeast Asia. [1]
Kopi Luwak coffee is made from the beans of coffee berries that have been eaten and excreted by the Asian palm civet, a small, shy, nocturnal mammal. [2]
Kopi Luwak is a coffee that consists of partially digested coffee cherries, which were eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphrodites). It is therefore also called civet coffee. The cherries are fermented as they pass through a civet’s intestines, and after being defecated with other fecal matter, they are collected. Asian palm civets are increasingly caught in the wild and traded for this purpose.
Kopi luwak is produced mainly on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Sulawesi, and East Timor. It is also widely gathered in the forest or produced in farms in the islands of the Philippines, where the product is called kapemotit in the Cordillera region, kapéalamíd in Tagalog areas, kapémelô or kapémusang in Mindanao, and kahawa kubing in the Sulu Archipelago. Weasel coffee is a loose English translation of its Vietnamese name càphêChồn.
Producers of the coffee beans argue that the process may improve coffee through two mechanisms, selection – civets choosing to eat only certain cherries – and digestion – biological or chemical mechanisms in the animal’s digestive tract altering the composition of the coffee cherries.
The traditional method of collecting feces from wild Asian palm civets has given way to an intensive farming method, in which the palm civets are kept in battery cages and are force-fed the cherries. This method of production has raised ethical concerns about the treatment of civets and the conditions they are made to live in, which include isolation, poor diet, small cages, and a high mortality rate. [3]
شَعِيرٌ فِي بَعْرٍ أوْ رَوْثٍ صُلْبٌ يُؤْكَلُ بَعْدَ غَسْلِهِ، وفِي خِثْيٍ لا
Barley in dung(dropping) or hard dung can be eaten after it has been washed, and it is not permissible to eat peat.[4]
ثُمَّ نَقَلَ فِي التَّتارْخانِيَّة عَنْ الكُبْرى أنَّ الصَّحِيحَ التَّفْصِيلُ بِالِانْتِفاخِ وعَدَمِهِ، ويَسْتَوِي فِيهِ البَعْرُ والخِثْيُ
The correct view is that it depends on whether (the grain) is swollen or not. Regardless of it being found in the dung of camels or cattle.[5]
In other words, if it is swollen, it should not be eaten in either case (whether the dung is that of camels or cattle), otherwise, it may be eaten.
إذا وُجِدَ الشَّعِيرُ فِي بَعْرِ الإبِلِ والغَنَمِ يُغْسَلُ ويُجَفَّفُ ثَلاثًا ويُؤْكَلُ وفِي أخْثاءِ البَقَرِ لا يُؤْكَلُ. قالَ فِي الفَتْحِ: لِأنَّهُ لا صَلابَةَ فِيهِ
If the barley is found in the dung of camels or sheep, if it is washed and dried three times, it may be eaten.[6]
كَذا فِي فَتْحِ القَدِيرِ وفِي الظَّهِيرِيَّةِ والشَّعِيرُ الَّذِي يُوجَدُ فِي بَعْرِ الإبِلِ والشّاةِ يُغْسَلُ ويُؤْكَلُ بِخِلافِ ما يُوجَدُ فِي خِثْيِ البَقَرِ؛ لِأنَّهُ لا صَلابَةَ فِيهِ، خُبْزٌ وُجِدَ فِي خِلالِهِ خُرْءُ الفَأْرَةِ
Likewise, the barley that is found on the sea of camels and a sheep is washed and eaten, unlike what is found in the peat of cows, because there is no solidity in it, bread in which the mouse hump was found.[8]
Hence, in the aforementioned case, it would be permissible to consume Civet Coffee as it is found in solid form after being excreted and washed many times.
Only Allah knows best
Written by Maulana Syed Johir Miah
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civet#:~:text=A%20civet%20(%2F%CB%88s%C9%AA,is%20found%20in%20southeast%20Asia.
[2] https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/civet-coffee-a-sip-of-cruelty/
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_luwak
[4] Durrul Mukhtar, 50/1 and 349/1, Darul Fokr, Beirut, Lebanon, 1412 H.
[5] Ibid
[6] Ibid
[7] Ibid
[8] Al-Bahrur Raiq, 243/1, Darul Kutub Al-Islami
