Short answer
Most are. Enzymes made by microbes or taken from plants, which is how most food enzymes are made today, are halal. Enzymes from a pig are haram, and those from a cow, calf or sheep need a halal source in the Hanafi school, except calf rennet in cheese, which Imam Abu Hanifa held pure. When a label just says enzymes, the source is unknown.
Microbial, fungal and plant enzymes are halal. Enzymes from pigs are haram. Enzymes from halal animals not slaughtered by zabiha are not used, apart from rennet in cheese, which is allowed on Imam Abu Hanifa's view.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Enzymes from halal animals not slaughtered properly, rennet included, are impure and not eaten.
Explanation
Enzymes are proteins that speed up a change: setting milk into cheese, softening dough, clarifying juice, breaking down starch. They are used in tiny amounts and often do not appear on the label at all, or appear only as enzymes.
Their ruling follows their source:
- Microbial or fungal (made by fermentation with bacteria, yeast or mould): halal. This is now the most common source.
- Plant (papain from papaya, bromelain from pineapple, malt enzymes): halal.
- Pig (some pepsin, lipase or trypsin): haram.
- Calf, kid or lamb (rennet, lipase in some Italian cheeses): halal from zabiha animals. From non-zabiha animals, Imam Abu Hanifa held rennet pure, and many Hanafi muftis allow such cheese on his view; see rennet in cheese.
Some argue that an enzyme is used in such small amounts, or is so changed by heat, that its source no longer matters. The Deobandi muftis are cautious here: an enzyme is still the same protein, so the change is not a full transformation (istihala), as with gelatin.
In practice, look for microbial or vegetarian enzymes, a halal mark, or a vegetarian label, which rules out animal enzymes. If a product only says enzymes and matters to you, ask the maker. The halal food checker lists common enzyme names.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Maaida 5:3
حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ وَٱلْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَٱلْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَٱلْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى ٱلنُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُوا۟ بِٱلْأَزْلَٰمِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ ۗ ٱلْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَٱخْشَوْنِ ۚ ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلْإِسْلَٰمَ دِينًۭا ۚ فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ فِى مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍۢ لِّإِثْمٍۢ ۙ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ ﴿٣﴾
Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah, and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience. This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
Pig products and carrion are forbidden, which governs animal enzymes.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2518
Graded sahih... دع ما يريبك إلى ما لا يريبك ...
"Leave what makes you doubt for what does not make you doubt."
Where the source is unknown, choosing a clear alternative is better.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Bada'i al-Sana'i, Kitab al-Taharah, on the parts of carrion that are pure. Imam Abu Hanifa's view that rennet from carrion stays pure, and his students' disagreement.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Taharah, Bab al-Anjas, on transformation. When a change of substance changes the ruling.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.