Abstract

Alcohol is made up from the fermentation of yeast (Sugar that is found in various fruits)
specifically from grapes. Alcohol causes the drunkenness in the human body due to which it
is prohibited in Islam. The use of alcohol on its own is definitely and clearly not allowed in
Islam because it makes a person to loose his sense after drinking alcohol. However, the use of
alcohol in making some medicines is a matter of debate. Various religious scholars provide
their views differently but in this research different Hadith had been quoted and in the light of
teachings of Holy Prophet, it has been figured out that the use of alcohol in medicines is
allowed up to a certain extent when various Islamic conditions are fulfilled.
Introduction

Alcohol (ethanol or ethyl alcohol) is an ingredient that is found in beer, wine and spirits
which causes drunkenness. A person may not be in his senses after drinking alcohol. Alcohol
is formed with the fermentation of yeast (the breakdown without oxygen) it is the sugars that
are found in different foods. Wine is made from grapes, beer is made up of sugar in grains,
cider is made up of apples, vodka is made up of potatoes etc. Alcohol is actually a sedative
hypnotic drug which depresses the central nervous system after taking its high does.
However, drinking too much alcohol can lead to the drowsiness, respiratory disorders and
even death. Alcohol has effects on the whole body because it mixes with blood and ruins the
body system. The use of alcohol is prohibited in Islam. It is considered as haram because it
makes the person out of his senses after drinking alcohol. It is also one of the major sins to
drink alcohol. The person who drinks alcohol cannot pray for 40 days because he would be
considered as filthy or dirty. Our Prophet Mohammad had forbidden the Muslims to drink
alcohol (Mirsane, 2016).
Alcohol is also used in various medicines these days. According to scientists the use of
alcohol in the medicines is just to provide some relief to the patient who has been suffering
from illness. He might be less sensitive to the pain. They believe that giving alcohol as a
medicine does not makes the person addictive to alcohol. There are very small or none cases
seen to that. There is a huge list of medicines which have the alcohol content. Hence, it is a
disputed fact that the use of alcohol in medicines is allowed or not.
Problem statement
To analyse whether the use of alcohol in the medicines is allowed and what are the rulings of
Islam for their use by the Muslim community.
Significance of the research
Alcohol by itself is definitely prohibited in Islam and considered as haram for Muslims to
take alcohol. However, the alcohol has also been used in various kinds of medicines. Some of
the scholars argue that the use of alcohol is allowed to treat in medicines because it is actually
mixed with water and melted due to which it does not cause drunkenness in a person. So,
when the issue of prohibition is gone then it is no more prohibited. It is also used in various
antiseptics to clean the skin before using an injection etc. The medicines which contain
alcohol in the range between 0.01% to 25% are used mostly for the cough, sore throat or any
other medical purposes. There are about 95% medicines in the field of medication which
contain the alcohol content. Hence, this study would analyse the use of alcohol in different
medicines and would also look at the perspective that whether their use is allowed in Islam or
not.
Objectives of the study
This study aims at the following objectives:
1. To figure out the reasons which prohibit the use of alcohol in Islam
2. To find out whether the alcohol has any negative effects on the body.
3. To figure out the medicines which contain alcohol content in small or larger
proportion.
4. To investigate whether use of such medicines containing alcohol are allowed to use in
Islam or not.
Research questions
Following are the research questions that are addressed in this study:
1. Does the use of alcohol is prohibited in Islam?
2. What are the reasons that cause Prohibition of alcohol in Islam?
3. What are the health effects of alcohol on a human body?
4. Is the use of alcohol in various medicines allowed in Islam?
5. What are the limitations for the use of alcohol in medicines?

Literature review

There are many different scholars who put their views on the use of alcohol in medicines in
Islam. However, in the light of some Hadith it can be figured out as:

It is not allowed to mix the alcohol with medicines because the alcohol has to be thrown
away. It was narrated by Abu Saeed al-Khudri that: we had some wine that belogs to an
orphan, it was kept on a safe place but after the revelation on the prohibition of alcohol in
Surah al-Maaidah, the Prophet (SAW) asked about that wine and I said that it belongs to an
orphan then the Prophet (SAW) said to pour it away (Park, 2018).

There is another Hadith on the use of alcohol that is narrated by al-Tirmidhi and classed as
Sahih Hadith by Al-albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi that:

When the medicine is mixed with alcohol, then if the alcohol content in the medicine is very
large then it may be intoxicating and it is termed as Khamr which is Haram to be used.

However, if the alcohol content in the medicine is in very small amount then the use of
alcohol is permissible (Mirsane, 2016).

There is also another hadith mentioned on this which is Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daaimah:

It is not permissible to mix the medicines with the alcohol. However, if it is done then if
drinking a lot of that medicine will cause intoxication in the body then it is not allowed to
drink and would be haram but if very little amount of alcohol is mixed with the medicine and
drinking a lot of it does not cause intoxication in the body then it is allowed to drink in Islam
(Mustapha, 2018).

Accoridng to Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen:

When the medicines are mixed with alcohol then if the effect of alcohol is found in the
medicine then it would be considered as haram but if the alcohol is only added as a
preservative in the medicine then there is nothing wrong in using it as the medicine does not
have an effect of alcohol in it.

The alcohol on its own us definitely haram and must be avoided. However, it is also good to
avoid the medicines containing alcohol and better to switch for the alcohol-free medicines.
This is because in the presence of alcohol-free medicines, the use of medicines which contain
alcohol would be considered as haram. If the alcohol-free medicines are not available and
there is only an option to use the medicine with alcohol, then it is allowed in Islam (Hossain,
2016).

This can be cleared with the ruling of Propher (SAW) on this:

“What intoxicates in big amount, a smaller consumption of thing is also prohibited” (Al-
Tirmidhi)
Research methodology

This is an exploratory research because it figures out the solution for a

problem of use of alcohol in medicines based upon the past studies. In this
research, the rulings on the use of alcohol and its use in drug industry
would be investigated using literature review and many other sources.
The necessary information is collection from the secondary data sources
which may contain the internet, books, websites and many more etc. the
most important source of data for this research is the Holy Quran and the
books of Hadith etc.

Results and Discussion

The Islamic Fiqah council has made some decisions based upon the
rulings of Islam on the use of alcohol in various medicines. They have
concluded that the use of alcohol in medicine is allowed based upon the
rule of istikhlak (it is a case when the forbidden substance is allowed in
certain conditions). This depends upon the fact that when it is necessary
to seek treatment and no other option is available then it is allowed to use
the things that are prohibited in Islam. It was reported that when Abdur
Rahman came to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) ask whether to wear Silk due
to a skin disease scabies, the prophet allowed him to wear it because it
was mandatory for him to do and he had no other option. Hence, this
shows that the Prophet (SAW) agreed to use the prohibited thing in the
absence of any other cure.

The use of pure alcohol in the treatment is not allowed in any case, becaure the Prophet
(SAW) said: Allah did not put your treatment in what he has forbidden on you. (Sahih
Bikhari), the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) also said, Allah had created treatment for every
disease, so look for the things to treat your disease but don’t use the haram things in
treatment. (Ibn Dawood in Sunan). Also when Ibn Majah asked Prophet to use alcohol in the
treatment of disease, he said it is not a treatment but is rather a disease (Liu, 2019).

It is allowed to use alcohol in the treatment of medicines which contain a small percentage of
alcohol in a dissolved amount and is also very important for the treatment of disease and does
not have a replacement. On the doctor’s prescription, it is also allowed to use the alcohol as
an antiseptic for the external wounds as certain creams and for killing germs on the skin.
The Islamic Fiqah council recommends the medical industry and pharmacists to exclude the
use of alcohol in the medicines in Islamic countries up to the extent that they can do so and
use alternative medicines that are alcohol-free. The Islamic Fiqah council has also
recommended the doctors not to prescribe the medicines which includes the alcohol content
in them.
Limitations
The limitations in the research of use of alcohol in the medicine industry was the non-
cooperation of the pharmaceutical industry staff who do not give the required information
when asked by a common man. They say that they are only answerable to the higher
authorities and would not provide any information on this matter.
Conclusion
Hence, the above research has been done on the fact that whether the use of alcohol in
manufacturing of various medicines is allowed and whether the Muslims can use such
medicines which has the alcohol content in them. It was found that our Holy Prophet (SAW)
has given instructions on the prohibition on the use of alcohol on its own. However, it can be
used as part of a medicine provided the Islamic conditions are fulfilled like there is no other
treatment available or the alcohol content is in very small amount that it does not have an
effect on the medicine.

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