The Shaykh’s response to those who say: We do not buy alcohol to drink it, but to use it for medical purposes

The Shaykh: And we often hear questions like this on such occasions: “Teacher, we do not buy alcohol to drink it, and it is well known, of course. But where in Islam is it permissible for us to buy alcohol? Indeed, the milder form of alcohol is khamr (intoxicants). Where in Islam do we have the basis for saying it is permissible for us to buy khamr, let alone the mother of khamr, for some matter or some purpose?” Here we recall the story of Abu Talhah al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) when khamr was forbidden. He came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, I have a skin of khamr for my orphans. Should I turn it into vinegar?” He said: , Tip it over, do not sell it, and do not turn it into vinegar to sell it. Even if the profit and benefit from these skins of khamr were to go to orphans for whom he was the guardian, if we note here that these skins were not bought except before the prohibition, and that when the prohibition was revealed, it was not permissible to benefit from them, even by converting them from khamr into permissible vinegar to drink, but rather he said to him: Tip it over. So how is it permissible for a Muslim who believes in Allah and His Messenger to buy, in the first place, not just khamr, but the mother of khamr, and keep it with him under the claim that there is a benefit in sterilization or purification or the like? I do not deny that this alcohol, and let us call it clearly and explicitly in clear Arabic, the mother of khamr, may not be hidden from us all that there is a benefit in using alcohol, especially for doctors. But is it established in Islam that everything that has a benefit is permissible to use for that benefit, even if the thing being used has other harms? The Qur’an explicitly states the opposite when it said: .
Thus, this is a text stating that it is not permissible for a Muslim to rush to deem something permissible, whatever it is, and among that is what we are currently discussing, namely alcohol. It is not permissible to rush to use this alcohol on the grounds that there is a benefit in it, because the mere existence of a benefit does not make it permissible to use. Rather, we must look to see if this benefit is counterbalanced by a harm. There is no doubt that Allah (Mighty and Majestic), when He forbade khamr, clarified that He forbade it because the harm in it is greater than the benefit mentioned. This is the ruling of Allah regarding khamr. And you know that alcohol contains a portion, and the rest, and the majority, is not alcohol. So what do we say in this case about this alcohol, from which we can take a kilogram and make many kilograms of intoxicants? Here arises a principle that is not Islamic, and Islam rejects it categorically, which is that they say: “The end justifies the means.” Islam does not approve of this principle. “The end justifies the means: alcohol has a benefit, so we permit ourselves to use it for the benefit in it.” This has been invalidated by the text of the verse regarding khamr. And this indicates, by the argument of a fortiori (qiyas al-awla) as the scholars of usul al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence) say, that it is not permissible to benefit from alcohol. This is because this fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) is derived from such as His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): to the end of it. He (the Exalted) said: The jurists use this noble verse to argue that if it is not permissible for a son to say “uff” to his father or mother, then a fortiori it is not permissible for him to strike her with his hand, because striking with the hand is more harmful than saying “uff.” This is called qiyas al-awla (argument of a fortiori). And since we know, and it is not hidden from anyone, I think, if Allah wills, that alcohol is the intoxicating substance in the forbidden khamr, then if it is not permissible to benefit from khamr due to its prohibition, it is a fortiori not permissible to benefit from the mother of khamr, which is alcohol, as we said. This is from the legal perspective. And I do not think there is room from this angle to say that benefiting from khamr is permissible, let alone the mother of khamr, especially since it came in Sahih Muslim that a man from Yemen asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that they use khamr to treat some diseases there. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . After this, it is confirmed for us that any form of acquiring alcohol is not permissible in Islam. Consequently, what branches from this acquisition, such as putting a quantity, even if small, in some medicines to preserve their safety and prevent spoilage, is not permissible. Furthermore, it is not permissible to use this alcohol, for example as spirit, for sterilizing wounds, cleaning hands, or killing germs that may be attached to the treatment of some diseases for some people.