The questioner asks: Is khamr (intoxicants) ritually impure like other impurities? If so, does cologne fall under the same ruling, meaning that if it touches the body or clothing, the affected part must be washed or not?
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The questioner : The questioner asks: Is khamr (intoxicants) ritually impure like other impurities? If so, does cologne fall under the same ruling, meaning that if it touches the body or clothing, the affected part must be washed or not?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. This issue, which is the impurity of khamr (intoxicants), if by impurity we mean spiritual impurity, then the scholars are in consensus on that.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Khamr (intoxicants) is impure and foul, and it is from the deeds of Satan. If by impurity we mean physical impurity, then the four schools of jurisprudence and the majority of the Ummah hold that it is impure, and that it is ritually impure, requiring one to purify oneself from it and to wash whatever it touches of clothing or body. Some scholars held that it is not physically impure, and that its impurity is spiritual and practical. Those who said that it is physically and spiritually impure cited as evidence the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Ma'idah 5:90-91] to the end of the verse. "Rijs" (foulness) means impure, as indicated by the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-An'am 6:145] and by the hadith of Anas that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Abu Talhah to announce: Sunan Ibn Majah 3196Sahih (Darussalam) So "rijs" in the verse and the hadith means impure, physically impure. Thus, it is in the verse of khamr (intoxicants) in the sense of impure, physically impure. As for those who said that khamr (intoxicants) is pure in terms of physical purity, meaning that khamr (intoxicants) is spiritually impure but not physically impure, they said: Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, qualified that "rijs" in Surat al-Ma'idah with His saying: [Al-Ma'idah 5:90] So it is a practical foulness, not an inherent, essential foulness, as evidenced by His saying: [Al-Ma'idah 5:90] And it is known that gambling, sacrificial stones, and divination arrows are not physically impure.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : They grouped these four—khamr (intoxicants), gambling, sacrificial stones, and divination arrows—under one description. The principle is that they should agree in that description. If the impurity of the three is spiritual, then the impurity of khamr (intoxicants) is also spiritual, because it is from the work of Satan. They also said: It is established that when the prohibition of khamr (intoxicants) was revealed, the Muslims poured it out in the markets. If it had been physically impure, it would not have been permissible to pour it out in the markets, because defiling the markets with impurities is forbidden and not permissible. They also said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited khamr (intoxicants), he did not order the vessels to be washed of it. If it had been physically impure, he would have ordered the vessels to be washed of it, just as he ordered them to be washed when donkey meat was prohibited. They said: It is established in "Sahih Muslim" that a man brought a skin of khamr (intoxicants) to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and offered it to him as a gift. The Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) said: Then a man whispered to him, meaning: a man spoke to the owner of the skin in a low voice. He said: He said: I said: Sell it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Ibn Hibban 26:35 So the man took the mouth of the skin and poured out the khamr (intoxicants), and the Prophet (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) did not order him to wash it from the skin, nor did he prevent him from pouring it out there.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : They said: This is evidence that khamr (intoxicants) is not physically impure.
They also said: The original ruling for things is purity until clear evidence indicates impurity. Since no clear evidence indicating the impurity of khamr (intoxicants) has been found, the original ruling is that it is pure, but it is foul in the practical, spiritual sense. Based on this, we say regarding cologne and the like that it is not impure, because khamr (intoxicants) itself is not impure according to this opinion whose evidence we have mentioned. Thus, this cologne and the like are not impure either. And if it is not impure, then it is not obligatory to purify clothing from it. However, the question remains: Is it forbidden to use this cologne as a perfume for a person to scent himself, or is it not forbidden?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Let us look. Allah the Exalted says regarding khamr (intoxicants): And this avoidance is absolute. He did not say "avoid it by drinking" or "by using" or the like. He commanded absolute avoidance. Does that include if a person uses it as a perfume? Or do we say that the commanded avoidance is what the ruling was attributed to, which is avoiding drinking it, due to His saying: [Al-Ma'idah 5:91] And this cause does not exist if a person uses it for other than drinking. But we say: The most cautious thing for a person is to avoid it even for scenting, and to stay away from it, because this is more cautious and safer for the conscience. However, we return a second time to these perfumes: Is the proportion in them a proportion that leads to intoxication? Or is it a small proportion that does not lead to intoxication? Because if khamr (intoxicants) is mixed with something and its effect does not appear, even if a person consumes a lot of it, it does not make that mixture forbidden, because when its effect does not appear, it has no ruling, since the cause is the one that obligates; the cause of the ruling is the one that obligates it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So if the cause is absent, the ruling is absent. If this mixture does not affect the thing it is mixed with, then this mixture has no effect, and the thing becomes permissible. So the small proportion in cologne and the like, if it does not lead to intoxication, even if a person, for example, drinks a lot of it, it is not khamr (intoxicants), and the ruling of khamr (intoxicants) is not established for it. Just as if a drop of urine falls into water and does not change it, it remains pure. So if a drop of khamr (intoxicants) falls into something and it is not affected by it, it does not become khamr (intoxicants). The scholars have explicitly stated this in the chapter on the limit of intoxicants.
Then I point out here an issue that is confusing for some students.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is that they think that the meaning of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1865Hasan (Darussalam) is that if a small amount of khamr (intoxicants) is mixed with a large amount of non-khamr (intoxicants), it becomes forbidden. This is not the meaning of the hadith. Rather, the meaning of the hadith is that if a thing does not intoxicate except in large quantities, then the small amount that does not intoxicate is forbidden. For example, if we suppose that this drink, if you drink ten bottles of it, you become intoxicated, but if you drink one bottle, you do not become intoxicated, then that one bottle, even if it does not intoxicate you, is forbidden. This is the meaning of: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1865Hasan (Darussalam).
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The meaning is not that whatever is mixed with something intoxicating is forbidden, because if an intoxicant is mixed with something and its effect does not appear, it becomes lawful.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Due to the absence of the cause, which is the basis of the ruling, one should be aware of this. But despite this, I do not use these perfumes, cologne.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Nor do I forbid it, except that if we are afflicted with wounds or the like and we need it, then we use it. Because in cases of doubt, the ruling is lifted when there is a need for that doubtful thing, because need is a factor that leads to action, and doubt only leads to leaving it off out of scrupulousness and caution. It is not befitting for a person to deprive himself of something he needs, when he has not been certain of its prohibition and forbiddance. The scholars have mentioned this principle: that if a doubtful thing is needed, the ruling of doubt is lifted.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. This issue, which is the impurity of khamr (intoxicants), if by impurity we mean spiritual impurity, then the scholars are in consensus on that.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Khamr (intoxicants) is impure and foul, and it is from the deeds of Satan. If by impurity we mean physical impurity, then the four schools of jurisprudence and the majority of the Ummah hold that it is impure, and that it is ritually impure, requiring one to purify oneself from it and to wash whatever it touches of clothing or body. Some scholars held that it is not physically impure, and that its impurity is spiritual and practical. Those who said that it is physically and spiritually impure cited as evidence the saying of Allah the Exalted:
(90) O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful. (91) Satan only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءامَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالأَنصَابُ وَالأَزْلامُ رِجْسٌ مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ * إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَنْ يُوقِعَ بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاءَSay, "I do not find within that which was revealed to me [anything] forbidden to one who would eat it unless it be a dead animal or blood spilled out or the flesh of swine - for indeed, it is impure
قُلْ لا أَجِدُ فِي مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ مُحَرَّمًا عَلَى طَاعِمٍ يَطْعَمُهُ إِلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ مَيْتَةً أَوْ دَمًا مَسْفُوحًا أَوْ لَحْمَ خِنزِيرٍ فَإِنَّهُ رِجْسٌAllah and His Messenger forbid you to eat the flesh of domesticated donkeys, for it is filthy.
إن الله ورسوله ينهيانكم عن لحوم الحمر الأهلية فإنها رجسdefilement from the work of Satan
رِجْسٌ مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِintoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows
إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالأَنصَابُ وَالأَزْلامُThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : They grouped these four—khamr (intoxicants), gambling, sacrificial stones, and divination arrows—under one description. The principle is that they should agree in that description. If the impurity of the three is spiritual, then the impurity of khamr (intoxicants) is also spiritual, because it is from the work of Satan. They also said: It is established that when the prohibition of khamr (intoxicants) was revealed, the Muslims poured it out in the markets. If it had been physically impure, it would not have been permissible to pour it out in the markets, because defiling the markets with impurities is forbidden and not permissible. They also said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited khamr (intoxicants), he did not order the vessels to be washed of it. If it had been physically impure, he would have ordered the vessels to be washed of it, just as he ordered them to be washed when donkey meat was prohibited. They said: It is established in "Sahih Muslim" that a man brought a skin of khamr (intoxicants) to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and offered it to him as a gift. The Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
Did you not know that it has been forbidden?
أما علمت أنها قد حرمت؟What did you say?
ماذا قلت؟Indeed, when Allah forbids something, He forbids its price
إن الله إذا حرّم شيئاً حرّم ثمنهThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : They said: This is evidence that khamr (intoxicants) is not physically impure.
They also said: The original ruling for things is purity until clear evidence indicates impurity. Since no clear evidence indicating the impurity of khamr (intoxicants) has been found, the original ruling is that it is pure, but it is foul in the practical, spiritual sense. Based on this, we say regarding cologne and the like that it is not impure, because khamr (intoxicants) itself is not impure according to this opinion whose evidence we have mentioned. Thus, this cologne and the like are not impure either. And if it is not impure, then it is not obligatory to purify clothing from it. However, the question remains: Is it forbidden to use this cologne as a perfume for a person to scent himself, or is it not forbidden?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Let us look. Allah the Exalted says regarding khamr (intoxicants):
So avoid it.
فَاجْتَنِبُوهُSatan only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you not desist?
إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَنْ يُوقِعَ بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاءَ فِي الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ وَيَصُدَّكُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَعَنِ الصَّلاةِ فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُنتَهُونَThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So if the cause is absent, the ruling is absent. If this mixture does not affect the thing it is mixed with, then this mixture has no effect, and the thing becomes permissible. So the small proportion in cologne and the like, if it does not lead to intoxication, even if a person, for example, drinks a lot of it, it is not khamr (intoxicants), and the ruling of khamr (intoxicants) is not established for it. Just as if a drop of urine falls into water and does not change it, it remains pure. So if a drop of khamr (intoxicants) falls into something and it is not affected by it, it does not become khamr (intoxicants). The scholars have explicitly stated this in the chapter on the limit of intoxicants.
Then I point out here an issue that is confusing for some students.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is that they think that the meaning of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Whatever a lot of it intoxicates, a little of it is unlawful.
ما أسكر كثيره فقليله حرامWhatever a lot of it intoxicates, a little of it is unlawful.
ما أسكر كثيره فقليله حرامThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The meaning is not that whatever is mixed with something intoxicating is forbidden, because if an intoxicant is mixed with something and its effect does not appear, it becomes lawful.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Due to the absence of the cause, which is the basis of the ruling, one should be aware of this. But despite this, I do not use these perfumes, cologne.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Nor do I forbid it, except that if we are afflicted with wounds or the like and we need it, then we use it. Because in cases of doubt, the ruling is lifted when there is a need for that doubtful thing, because need is a factor that leads to action, and doubt only leads to leaving it off out of scrupulousness and caution. It is not befitting for a person to deprive himself of something he needs, when he has not been certain of its prohibition and forbiddance. The scholars have mentioned this principle: that if a doubtful thing is needed, the ruling of doubt is lifted.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.