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Fatwa CenterRuling on eating saffron
Question
Is eating saffron halal?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
It is known that saffron is not consumed as food by itself. Rather, it is used as a dye and may be used as perfume; it is also used as a flavor and coloring base in food and beverages. The Global Arabic Encyclopedia reads, “Saffron is a bright yellow dye that adds a good flavor to food. It is made by drying the stigmas from the purple saffron flowers, autumn blooming crocus ... Saffron has a nice smell but its taste is bitter...”
If eating saffron does not cause harm or intoxication (drunkenness), then there is no sin in eating it. The Hanbali scholar Al-Buhooti 
wrote, “It is impermissible to use saffron in a way that is harmful; if it is used in a way that incurs no harm either by using a small amount or by mixing it with what wards off its harm, then it is permissible to use it...” [Daqaa'iq Uli An-Nuha, Chapter on Food]
Kashshaaf Al-Qinaa' (a Hanbali book) reads, “It is allowable to eat a small quantity of scammony, saffron and the like if no harm is incurred given the absence of the reason of prohibition...”
It is deduced from the statements of the Muslim jurists that the consumption of a large amount of saffron is intoxicating (and therefore prohibited). The Shaafiʻi scholar Ibn Hajar (al-Haytami) wrote, “Consumption of large amount of ambergris and saffron is intoxicating...” [Tuhfat Al-Muhtaaj]
Haashiyat Ash-Sharawaani ʻala At-Tuhfah reads, “It is prohibited to consume an intoxicating amount of nutmeg, ambergris, and saffron...”
Allaah knows best.
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