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:

Dear brother Burhan,

I often recieve fantastic and beneficial emails from you (and your team) and for that I thank you.

I also want to know if serving non-alcoholic beer and bitters is haram? Some even claim you can drink ginger beer, is that true?

Jazakumallahu khairan

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Non alcoholic beer

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.

Your Question: I also want to know if serving non-alcoholic beer and bitters is haram?

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?

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

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: “Every intoxicant is ‘khamr’, 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.”

Sahih Muslim Hadith 4962 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: “Every intoxicant is ‘haraam’! Verily Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, made a covenant to those who drank intoxicants to make them drink ‘Tinat al-Khabal’. The companions asked: “O Allah's Messenger (saws), what is Tinat al-Khabal?’ He (saws) said: “It is the sweat of the denizens of Hell, or the discharge of the denizens of Hell.”

Allah and His Messenger (saws) have declared every type and manifestation of ‘khamr’, or a drink which causes intoxication, as absolutely unlawful for the believers who sincerely fear in Allah and the Last Day.

If what is known today as ‘non-alcoholic’ beer intoxicates when consumed then indeed it would be included amongst the drinks which are classified as ‘khamr’, and thus unlawful…..but if the ‘non-alcoholic’ beer when consumed does not intoxicate, regardless of what it is called or named, it will be considered absolutely lawful for the believers to consume, if indeed they wish to do so.

Your Question: Some even claim you can drink ginger beer, is that true?

Ginger beer is a type of carbonated beverage flavored primarily with ginger, lemon and sugar.

The original recipe of what is known as ‘ginger beer’ requires ginger, sugar, and water, to which is added a gelatinous substance called "ginger beer plant". Fermentation over a few days turns the mixture into an alcoholic beverage or what is traditionally called ‘ginger beer’. The alcohol content when produced by the traditional process can be as high as up to 11%.

The beverage produced industrially today and called ‘ginger beer’ is often not brewed or fermented. Such ‘ginger beer’ is carbonated with pressurized carbon dioxide, does not contain alcohol, and is sold as a soft drink. Ginger beer is similar to ginger ale except that it has a significantly stronger ginger taste.

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.”

If by the term and name ‘ginger beer’ one means the beverage with is traditionally made through the process of fermentation and has even an iota of alcohol content, then without an iota of a doubt, such ‘ginger beer’ would be an intoxicant and it would be absolutely unlawful and prohibited for the believers to consume it.

But if by the term and name ‘ginger beer’ one means to imply the non-alcoholic beverage which is industrially produced and marketed as a ‘soft-drink’….there is absolutely no harm in consuming this alcohol-free soft drink even if it called and termed as ‘beer’.

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