The Ruling on Eating Soil (Clay)
Source: Fatawa Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
Question
What is the ruling on eating soil (matti)?
Answer
Eating soil is haram, as it is extremely harmful to health and may lead to various illnesses.
❀ It is stated:
أكل الطين مكروه
“Eating clay is makruh (tahrimi).”
(Fatawa ʿAlamgiri 5/340)
Example from the scholars:
ʿAllāmah Muhammad ʿĀshiq Ilahi Meerathi رحمه الله wrote about ʿAllāmah Rashid Ahmad Gangohi رحمه الله:
- Mawlawi Muhammad Ismaʿil رحمه الله reported: Once, Hazrat (Gangohi) gave me a ground date pit from Madinah and told me to swallow it. Another time, he gave me tamarind from Madinah to eat, and once he even gave me soil from Madinah, saying: “Eat this.”
- I said: “Hazrat, eating soil is haram!” He replied: “That soil is different.”
But the truth is: soil is soil — regardless of where it comes from — and it remains harmful to health.
(Tadhkirat al-Rashid 2/47–48)
