This information resource can help you understand how magnesium stearate is used in medicines, the concerns around its use in medicines for the Muslim community, and whether its use in medicines is halāl (permissible) or harām (prohibited) in Islam. 

This resource is for the Muslim community (including patients, carers, parents and members of the public). All healthcare professionals (HCPs), their teams and anyone involved in delivering care and support (across all care settings) to Muslim individuals, may also find it useful. It can be used to support person-centred and informed decision-making around taking medicines that align with an individual’s Islamic values and beliefs. 

Magnesium stearate

Magnesium stearate is a salt made up of stearic acid (a saturated fat) and magnesium (a mineral). ¹

The stearic acid used to make magnesium stearate can come from either plant or animal sources. ^{1, 2}

How magnesium stearate is used in medicines

Magnesium stearate is used to make medicinal tablets, capsules and powders.³

It is an inactive substance used as a lubricant in medicine capsules. It prevents the ingredients inside the capsule from sticking to each other and the machine used to make the capsules.¹

It can be used as a release agent to delay the breakdown and absorption of medicines until it reaches the correct area of the bowel.³

Why this is important

For the Muslim community

For the Muslim community, it is important to check if your medicine contains magnesium stearate and clarify its source to help you determine if your medicine is Islamically permissible to take/use. To find out if a medicine contains magnesium stearate, see the section on ‘Checking medicine information’

If magnesium stearate is used in medicines, then it may be derived from animal sources, such as cows that were not Islamically slaughtered, or from other harām sources such as pigs. In practice, most of the magnesium stearate used today in medicines are found to be from plant sources rather than animal sources. However, it is best to check. Cross-contamination may also occur during the manufacturing process if magnesium stearate is processed in facilities that handle harām sources (e.g. alcohol/pork). Therefore, it is important to check for halāl-certification to ensure halāl-compliant manufacturing. To find out about the source of magnesium stearate and for halāl-certification, see the section on ‘Checking medicine information’. For further information on the permissibility of magnesium stearate, see the section on ‘Is magnesium stearate halāl or harām?‘.

For HCPs

For HCPs and anyone involved in delivering care and support, it is important to:

• Understand which ingredients and/or excipients in medicines may be a concern for practising Muslims and why. For further information, see our resources under ‘Ingredients and excipients in medicines‘
• Have open discussions with individuals about their personal values or beliefs that may relate to their care and support where possible – e.g. some individuals may wish to avoid certain ingredients/excipients in medicines due to religious beliefs, others may not be as practising or have the same beliefs, so it is important to ask
• Discuss ideas, concerns and expectations – e.g. during consultations, you may be asked to help individuals to understand whether certain ingredients/excipients are present in their medicine(s), its source, and whether it is likely to be considered permissible in Islam/suitable for a halāl diet
  • To find out how to check if a medicine contains harām ingredients and/or excipients, see the section on ‘Checking medicine information’
  • For further information on the conditions of when it is acceptable for a practising Muslim individual to take/use a medicine that contains harām ingredients and/or excipients, is derived from harām sources, or where there is cross-contamination with harām sources, see our resource on ‘What to do if a medicine contains harām ingredients and/or excipients’.
• Respect and support individuals in making informed decisions about their treatment
• Understand that you may be asked to explore alternative formulations that meet the individual’s religious requirements (where available), alternative companies that make the medicine without a particular excipient/ingredient (where possible), or alternative treatment options for the condition (where clinically appropriate)
  • HCPs may find the Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS) resource on ‘Searching for presence or absence of an excipient in medicines‘ useful to help find alternative halāl medicines that don’t contain certain ingredients or excipients. For further information, see the SPS website
  • There may be situations where you cannot prescribe/supply an alternative halāl medicine which you may need to explain to the individual. For further information, see our resource on ‘What to do if a medicine contains harām ingredients and/or excipients’, under the sections on ‘Hardship begets facility’ and ‘Limitations on prescribing an alternative halāl medicine‘.

Checking medicine information

You can check if your medicine contains magnesium stearate using the relevant product patient information leaflet (PIL) or summary of product characteristics (SPC) which is available on the electronic medicines compendium (emc) website. You may also find our resource on ‘How to find out if a medicine contains harām ingredients and/or excipients’ useful. If you are still unsure if a medicine contains magnesium stearate, speak to your local pharmacist as they are the experts in medicines. 

You may need to contact the manufacturer to find out other information such as the source of magnesium stearate and halāl-certification. Please note that information regarding cross-contamination or potential contact with harām sources (e.g. pork/alcohol) is not always readily available from manufacturers. 

It is important to remember that even if you find out a medicine contains possible harām ingredients and/or excipients, is derived from harām sources, or that there is cross-contamination with harām sources, this does not always mean it is prohibited to take/use. For further information, see our resource on ‘What to do if a medicine contains harām ingredients and/or excipients’. It includes the conditions of when it is acceptable to take/use a medicine in these circumstances. It can also be used to support person-centred discussions between individuals and HCPs, and help make informed decisions around taking medicines that are both clinically appropriate and align with an individual’s Islamic values and beliefs.

Is magnesium stearate halāl or harām?

The table below summarises the ruling of magnesium stearate according to the four Sunni schools⁴:

In summary, according to the four schools of thought, magnesium stearate derived from porcine is harām. Magnesium stearate derived from plant sources is halāl. Magnesium stearate derived from bovine is halāl only if the cow was Islamically slaughtered, otherwise it is harām.

If you are still unsure if a medicine is permissible to take/use, speak to your local Imam or trusted Islamic scholar (ideally who has relevant knowledge and expertise in the Fiqh of medicines).

Halāl alternatives

If you are seeking halāl products, look for halāl-certified bovine or plant-based sources of magnesium stearate (where available and possible).

References and further reading

1. Hansen, K. (2017). Everything You Should Know About Magnesium Stearate. [online] Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/magnesium-stearate. ↩︎
2. Pharma Excipients. (2024). Introduction to Stearic Acid as a pharmaceutical Excipient. [online] Available at: https://www.pharmaexcipients.com/stearic-acid-excipient/. ↩︎
3. Hobbs CA, Saigo K, Koyanagi M, Hayashi SM. Magnesium stearate, a widely-used food additive, exhibits a lack of in vitro and in vivo genotoxic potential. Toxicol Rep. 2017 Oct 16;4:554-559. Accessed 4.3.25 from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5655391/ ↩︎
4. Islamic Perspective on Magnesium Stearate by Shaykh Dr Rafaqat Rashid ↩︎