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:

As-salamu alaikum wa rehmatullahi wa barakatahu.

Dear brother, i am adoctor and i am doing medical practice since last 14 years. we use spirit which is alcohol is there to clean the body part before giving injections, also there are certain alopathic medicine which contains alcohol as base in which other ingredients are dissolved, also we get certain perfumes which are alcohol based. My question is " alcohol ingestion is haram what about other uses of alcohol are they also haram."

Zajakallah. 

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Answer:

Alcohol medicine

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 verse 90:

O you who have believed! ‘Khamr’ (all types of intoxicants), gambling, (ungodly) shrines, and divining devices are all abominable works of Shaitaan; therefore, refrain from these so that you may attain true success!

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3672 Narrated by Abdullah Ibn Abbas

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: “Every intoxicant is khamr (alcohol, wine, etc.), and every intoxicant is haraam.”

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3679 Narrated by Aisha

I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: “Every intoxicant is haraam; if a quantity of anything causes intoxication, a handful of it is (also) haraam.”

Allah Subhanah has absolutely forbidden the consumption of all types of intoxicants for the believers. If one consumes any alcohol product, even if it be in the guise of a medicine or a cure, then indeed that would be unlawful.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 4.6

The majority of scholars are of the opinion that the use of intoxicants and other prohibited things as medicine, is unlawful. They base their arguments on the following guidance:

Wa'il ibn Hujr al-Hadrami reported that, "Tariq ibn Suwaid asked the Prophet (saws) if he could use alcohol as medicine. The Prophet (saws) replied: 'It is not a cure, but a disease'.'' (Related by Muslim, Abu Daw'ud, and Tirmidhi.)

Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet (saws) reports that he (saws) once said: "Allah has not placed a cure for your diseases in things that He has forbidden for you.'' (Related by Baihaqi and Ibn Hibban. Bukhari has also related the same hadith on the authority of Ibn Mas'ud.)

Abu ad-Darda reported that the Prophet (saws) said: "Allah has sent down both the malady and its remedy. For every disease He has created a cure. So seek medical treatment, but never with something the use of which Allah has prohibited.'' (Related by Abu Daw'ud.)

Not all haraam (forbidden) things in Islam are impure… for example: gold and silk are declared haraam for the believing men, but gold and silk in their essence are not impure substances. Similarly, the majority of the scholars and jurists in Islam are of the opinion that although alcohol is haraam and absolutely forbidden for the believers to consume, alcohol by itself is not an impure substance. Thus there is no harm if one uses alcohol as an external medical cleansing agent or in perfumes, and if the alcohol used in making these products touches the clothes or some parts of the body, as long as it is not consumed and entered into the body, there is no harm. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

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