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 brother. i am working in gulf. staying in company accomodation with some non-muslims companions. one company is drinking alcohol sumtimes.m non-drinker, m praying regularly.if by accident i get touch of alcohol or some drops of alcohol touches my body so in this case i have 2 take bath/gusl or wat shud do.

is gusl is necessary for this.pls. advice

your brother

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Answer:

Alcohol drops touch impure

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

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 the Shaytaan; therefore, stay (far) away from these so that you may attain success. Indeed, the Shaytaan 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?

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 4477 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah

The Prophet (saws) said, "He who believes in Allah and the Last Day must not sit at a cloth (table or gathering) where wine is being circulated."

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3765 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar

The Messenger of Allah (saws) forbade the sitting at a cloth (table or gathering) on which wine is drunk.

The indulgence in ‘khamr’ (wine, alcohol, etc.) is a curse man has brought upon himself and to those around him! Allah Subhanah has not only declared ‘Khamr’ unlawful and haraam for the believers to consume, but Commanded and Demanded that those who sincerely believe in Allah and the Last Day strive their utmost to ‘stay (far) away from these so that you may attain success’. Such is abhorrence and abomination of ‘khamr’ that the Messenger of Allah (saws) declared ‘khamr’ as the ‘mother (or root) of evil’!!!

Thus my beloved brother, if you are accorded company accommodation with one who consumes alcohol….you should strive your utmost to politely but firmly request the authorities in your company to shift your accommodation away from your colleagues who consume alcohol, and request them to accord you accommodation with other colleagues who are free from this abomination.

Your sincere abhorrence and detestation of what your Lord Creator has declared an abomination, and His Messenger (saws) has declared as the ‘mother (or root) of evil’, and your sincere striving to stay as far away from it as possible would be akin to piety and righteousness in the Sight of your Lord.

Your Question: if by accident i get touch of alcohol or some drops of alcohol touches my body so in this case i have 2 take bath/gusl or wat shud do. is gusl is necessary for this.pls. advice

The thing that invalidates prayer is the presence of impurities on one’s body or clothes. But not all ‘haraam’ things in Islam are impure… for example: gold and silk are declared haraam for the believing men in Islam, but gold and silk in their essence are not impure substances. Similarly, most of the scholars of Islam are of the opinion that although the consumption of alcohol is haraam and absolutely forbidden for the believers to consume, alcohol by itself is not an impure substance.

Thus if accidentally one touches alcohol, or some drops of alcohol touches one’s clothes or some parts of one’s body; one’s clothes or one’s body does not become impure by its touch. One should first and foremost fear Allah their Lord and stay as far away as possible from coming in contact with alcohol; but if accidentally alcohol touches one’s body or clothes, one may simply wash the place where it might have come in contact and make themselves available for prayer.

The believers must fear Allah their Lord and strive their utmost to obey His Command to ‘stay (far) away from’ all kinds of ‘khamr’ and intoxicants. One is neither required nor obliged in Shariah Law to take a bath or ghusl, or even re-do the wudu, if one has accidentally touched alcohol, for the touching of alcohol neither renders oneself impure, nor does it invalidate one’s wudu.

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 well wisher in Islam,

Burhan