Is it permissible to use perfumes that contain alcohol?
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The questioner : Your Eminence, the Shaykh, may Allah forgive you, you said that perfumes contain a proportion of alcohol.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
If that is established, may he apply it to his clothes and go out to prayer?
The Shaykh : Yes, may Allah bless you. Know that pure alcohol is not impure, and it is not obligatory to wash clothes or bodies from it. If you understand that, you will know that perfumes containing alcohol, even if the proportion is large, are not impure. Do you understand? Tell me: What is the evidence that it is not impure? Yes, because what is famous among people now is that alcohol is impure in its essence, like urine and feces.
First: I tell you, the evidence is the absence of evidence; there is no evidence for the impurity of alcohol, and the original state is purity. It is not necessary that what is forbidden be impure. This poison is forbidden but not impure. This smoke, which many people smoke, is forbidden but not impure. So, prohibition does not necessitate impurity, but impurity does necessitate prohibition. This is one point. So we say: The evidence is that there is no evidence for the impurity of alcohol.
Second: There is evidence for the purity of alcohol, other than the original state, which is that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), when alcohol was forbidden, poured it out in the markets. If it had been impure, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would not have allowed them to do so, because it is not permissible to defile the markets of Muslims with impurity. Also, when it was forbidden and they poured it out, they did not wash their vessels from it. When alcohol was forbidden in Khaybar, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) ordered the vessels to be washed.
The student: Donkeys.
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: Donkeys.
The Shaykh : Donkeys. Yes, donkeys. When it was forbidden in Khaybar, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the vessels to be washed from it.
Fourth: A man gifted the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) a large wineskin filled with alcohol. He gifted it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as an honor to him, not knowing that it had been forbidden. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: He did not forbid him from that, nor did he order him to wash the wineskin. This is clear evidence. There is no consensus on the impurity of alcohol in this matter; rather, there is disagreement, even among the Tabi'un. Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
If that is established, may he apply it to his clothes and go out to prayer?
The Shaykh : Yes, may Allah bless you. Know that pure alcohol is not impure, and it is not obligatory to wash clothes or bodies from it. If you understand that, you will know that perfumes containing alcohol, even if the proportion is large, are not impure. Do you understand? Tell me: What is the evidence that it is not impure? Yes, because what is famous among people now is that alcohol is impure in its essence, like urine and feces.
First: I tell you, the evidence is the absence of evidence; there is no evidence for the impurity of alcohol, and the original state is purity. It is not necessary that what is forbidden be impure. This poison is forbidden but not impure. This smoke, which many people smoke, is forbidden but not impure. So, prohibition does not necessitate impurity, but impurity does necessitate prohibition. This is one point. So we say: The evidence is that there is no evidence for the impurity of alcohol.
Second: There is evidence for the purity of alcohol, other than the original state, which is that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), when alcohol was forbidden, poured it out in the markets. If it had been impure, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would not have allowed them to do so, because it is not permissible to defile the markets of Muslims with impurity. Also, when it was forbidden and they poured it out, they did not wash their vessels from it. When alcohol was forbidden in Khaybar, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) ordered the vessels to be washed.
The student: Donkeys.
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: Donkeys.
The Shaykh : Donkeys. Yes, donkeys. When it was forbidden in Khaybar, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the vessels to be washed from it.
Fourth: A man gifted the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) a large wineskin filled with alcohol. He gifted it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as an honor to him, not knowing that it had been forbidden. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: