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Fatwa CenterMaterials Made from petroleum Are pure
Question
Assalamuwalkum warahmatullahi wbarakatuhu,My question is, if all modern day plastic is engineered using the petroleum/oils, which is extracted from the remains of ancient organisms including plant and land animals pure(taahir)? Or would these modern day plastics be considered naajis since all the ancient organisms from which these plastics are made essentially died without being slaughtered? Or would the ruling regarding the taharah of the remains of these ancient animals be different? Jazakullah khair
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Plastic is pure and the ruling that it is impure based on the fact that it is made of petroleum materials which geologists believe were formed from the remains of living organisms, then this ruling is considered an exaggeration in religion and may have stemmed from whispers.
First of all, the fact that oil was formed from the remains of these living organisms is just a theory and not an agreed upon matter. It is only the view of most geologists.
The Global Arabic Encyclopedia reads:
“Most geologists believe that petroleum is formed from the remains of organisms that died millions of years ago. This organic theory for the formation of petroleum is based on the fact that there are certain materials which contain carbon in petroleum. Such materials can only have come from beings which were alive in the past. The same process that produced oil also produced natural gas, which is usually embedded in crude oil or dissolved in it.” [End of quote]
Secondly, if this theory is proven, the formation of oil has passed through major transformation stages in which water is mixed with clay and decayed plants, as stated in the Global Arabic Encyclopedia: “Oil and natural gas are formed in the ancient seas as a result of the pressure of clay, sand, as well as water, on the decomposed masses of plants and animals….” [End of quote]
Therefore, it cannot be said that petroleum is impure and that whatever is produced from it is impure.
Allah knows best.
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