Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Salaam Alaikum!

Alcohol has many form, two of them being ethyl alcohol (ethanol) and cholesterol. One is Halaal and other is haraam. Please confirm this to me first before you proceed. Further to this (on confirmation) I would like to ask you the following.

Was it “alcohol” which was explicitly declared haraam or was it intoxicants. If it was just intoxicants then should perfumes be haraam or is the misusage of similar items be haraam. Furthermore, if it is object itself, which is haraam, then why are items like Vicks balm not declared haraam in the same breath, as when consumed orally it is also an intoxicant? Sorry for the length of the question. Thanking you on advance and awaiting your reply. Allah Haafiz.

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Answer:

What is forbidden Alcohol or Intoxicants?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: Alcohol has many form, two of them being ethyl alcohol (ethanol) and cholesterol. One is Halaal and other is haraam. Please confirm this to me first before you proceed. Further to this (on confirmation) I would like to ask you the following.

Was it “alcohol” which was explicitly declared haraam or was it intoxicants.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verses 90-91:

O you who have believed! ‘Khamr’ (all types of intoxicants), games of chance, idols, and divining arrows are all abominable works of Shaitaan; therefore, stay (far) away from these so that you may attain success. Indeed, Shaitaan seeks to sow enmity and hatred among you by means of ‘khamr’ (intoxicants) and gambling, and to prevent you from the Remembrance of Allah and from Salaah. Will you not, then, abstain from these things?

Beloved Brother in Islam, it is all types of intoxicants (be it wine, beer, drugs, etc.) which have been explicitly declared as forbidden in Islam.

Your Question: If it was just intoxicants then should perfumes be haraam or is the misusage of similar items be haraam.

Not all haraam things are impure… for example: gold and silk are declared haraam for the believing men, but they are not impure. Similarly, most of the scholars of Islam are of the opinion that although alcohol is haraam, it is not impure. Thus there is no harm if one uses perfumes and the alcohol used in making the perfume touches some parts of your body; as long as it is not consumed and entered into the body.

What is forbidden in Islam is the consumption of any type of product which would intoxicate the person consuming it.

Your Question: Furthermore, if it is object itself, which is haraam, then why are items like Vicks balm not declared haraam in the same breath, as when consumed orally it is also an intoxicant?

Whether the intoxicant is eaten, drunk, sniffed, smoked, or consumed orally or otherwise; if the product intoxicates the person upon its consumption, it would be regarded as ‘khamr’ and thus forbidden.

Beloved Brother, I am obviously not qualified to ascertain whether items like ‘Vicks’ balm, etc. when applied or sniffed intoxicates the mind of the person; but if it is indeed proven that it does, or one sniffs it with the intention to intoxicate oneself, then it would indeed be forbidden.

But without an iota of a doubt, if one sniffs glue to intoxicate oneself, or what is known as ‘brown sugar’, or any drugs like heroin, cocaine, marijuana, etc.; then it would indeed be amongst the intoxicants and thus absolutely forbidden in Islam.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother and sincere well wisher in Islam,

Burhan