Ruling on the use of perfumes containing alcohol
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Is it permissible to use perfumes that contain alcohol?
They are not ritually impure; the most important thing is that they are not ritually impure. If they touch the garment or the body, it is not obligatory to wash them. However, using them is permissible if there is a need, as some are used to disinfect wounds. If there is no need, it is better to leave them, for there is plenty of choice in fragrances that have no doubt about them. But they are not forbidden.
The questioner: O Shaykh! But wine, meaning the alcohol substance, is intoxicating. If we take the wine itself, the intoxicating element in it is the alcohol. So is the alcohol the ritually impure thing?The Shaykh: But who told you that wine is ritually impure? Wine is not ritually impure.Meaning: It is not like urine or feces.Because Allah said: [Al-Ma'idah: 90] It is a practical impurity. Is gambling ritually impure or not? The majority of it is not ritually impure. The idols that are worshipped besides Allah are not ritually impure.A person touches it and we do not say: You must purify your hand. The lots are the same, but they are impure in a spiritual sense. This is evidence.
Another evidence: When wine was prohibited and it was in the vessels of the Muslims, the Messenger did not say,And when wine was prohibited, he said: Wash the vessels.
Third: When wine was prohibited, the Muslims poured it out in the markets. If it had been ritually impure, it would have been forbidden to pour it out in the markets, just as it is forbidden to pour urine in the market.
Fourth: A man came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) with a large vessel of wine;Meaning: a large container.He offered it as a gift to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: (Did you not know that it has been prohibited? So a man from the Companions spoke privately with the owner of the vessel,The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: What did he whisper to you?He said: I said: Sell it.So he said: No, if Allah forbids something, He forbids its price. So the owner of the vessel did nothing but open its mouth and pour it out in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and he did not say to him: Wash the vessel,He never said: Wash it. What does this indicate? That it is pure; because if it had been ritually impure, it would have been obligatory to purify the vessel.
Fifth evidence: What is the original ruling for things? Lawfulness and purity.Therefore, if a person claims against you, he says: This is forbidden,Say: Bring the evidence.If he had said: This is ritually impure.Say: Bring the evidence.If he had said: The evidence that wine is ritually impure is that it is forbidden. Is this valid or not? It is not valid; because there are things that are forbidden and yet pure. Poison is forbidden and it is pure. Smoking is forbidden and it is pure. So the prohibition of a thing does not necessitate that it is ritually impure. Does the ritual impurity of a thing necessitate that it is forbidden? Yes.And for this reason we say: Every ritually impure thing is forbidden, but not every forbidden thing is ritually impure.So I say: These fragrances are not ritually impure; there is no issue with them in my view. Are they forbidden or not forbidden?We say: If a person needs them, there is no harm. If he does not need them, it is better to avoid them. And with this, this session ends.
And Glory is to You, O Allah, our Lord, and praise. I bear witness that there is no deity but You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance. May Allah bless you.
They are not ritually impure; the most important thing is that they are not ritually impure. If they touch the garment or the body, it is not obligatory to wash them. However, using them is permissible if there is a need, as some are used to disinfect wounds. If there is no need, it is better to leave them, for there is plenty of choice in fragrances that have no doubt about them. But they are not forbidden.
The questioner: O Shaykh! But wine, meaning the alcohol substance, is intoxicating. If we take the wine itself, the intoxicating element in it is the alcohol. So is the alcohol the ritually impure thing?The Shaykh: But who told you that wine is ritually impure? Wine is not ritually impure.Meaning: It is not like urine or feces.Because Allah said:
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
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالْأَنْصَابُ وَالْأَزْلامُ رِجْسٌ مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِAnother evidence: When wine was prohibited and it was in the vessels of the Muslims, the Messenger did not say,And when wine was prohibited, he said: Wash the vessels.
Third: When wine was prohibited, the Muslims poured it out in the markets. If it had been ritually impure, it would have been forbidden to pour it out in the markets, just as it is forbidden to pour urine in the market.
Fourth: A man came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) with a large vessel of wine;Meaning: a large container.He offered it as a gift to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: (Did you not know that it has been prohibited? So a man from the Companions spoke privately with the owner of the vessel,The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: What did he whisper to you?He said: I said: Sell it.So he said: No, if Allah forbids something, He forbids its price. So the owner of the vessel did nothing but open its mouth and pour it out in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and he did not say to him: Wash the vessel,He never said: Wash it. What does this indicate? That it is pure; because if it had been ritually impure, it would have been obligatory to purify the vessel.
Fifth evidence: What is the original ruling for things? Lawfulness and purity.Therefore, if a person claims against you, he says: This is forbidden,Say: Bring the evidence.If he had said: This is ritually impure.Say: Bring the evidence.If he had said: The evidence that wine is ritually impure is that it is forbidden. Is this valid or not? It is not valid; because there are things that are forbidden and yet pure. Poison is forbidden and it is pure. Smoking is forbidden and it is pure. So the prohibition of a thing does not necessitate that it is ritually impure. Does the ritual impurity of a thing necessitate that it is forbidden? Yes.And for this reason we say: Every ritually impure thing is forbidden, but not every forbidden thing is ritually impure.So I say: These fragrances are not ritually impure; there is no issue with them in my view. Are they forbidden or not forbidden?We say: If a person needs them, there is no harm. If he does not need them, it is better to avoid them. And with this, this session ends.
And Glory is to You, O Allah, our Lord, and praise. I bear witness that there is no deity but You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance. May Allah bless you.