alcohol.. how i love loath thee (sometimes)

i got asked a question concerning a recent post about nail polish and the fact that it contains alcohol... and so does perfume.. and with alcohol being haram to muslims.. shouldnt these fall into the same catagory.

A very good question...

Now, i dont drink alcohol or eat foods with alcohol in it. but alcohol in nail polish? im not too concerned about that. its just like alcohol in cleaning products and certain medicines.. even things like antibacterial wipes used for cleaning up bleeding wounds have alcohol in them. even most handwashes, cosmetics, facewashes, toothpastes, baby wipes, soaps, perfumes, mouth washes and disinfectants contain some form of alcohol.

i clean my kitchen with chemicals and products that contain alcohol. i wash my face with a product that contains alcohol. my toilet gets cleaned with a product that contains alcohol. i wash my car with some products that contain alcohol. i use a perfume that contains alcohol. when i hurt myself and need to fix a wound, i use an antibacterial wipe (that contains alcohol) to clean the injured/bloodied area.

if i went in for some kind of surgery and they were going to use some medicine or antibacterial thing on me that contained alcohol, i would let them. its just like gelatine. i dont eat pork or pork products and make i dont eat bacon for breakfast, but i have knowingly said "yes" to having a medical injection that contains gelatine. i recently had a cervical cancer vaccination that contained gelatine. trust me, i would rather the tiny amount gelatine be inserted in my arm than risk having cervical cancer.

it all comes down to your intention in the end. i feel safe in my belief that Allah knows my intentions and that im not drinking or advocating an alcoholic lifestyle or telling your darling children to go out and write themselves off drunk.

For example if i had to have some sort of surgery, i wouldnt not turn up to the hospital because of some form of alcohol in the medicine or antibacterial swaps that they were intending to use on me.

its all about intention. someone may say that what i just said is 100% haram and i should stay away from ALL forms of alcohol (even antibacterial handwash). but i can only do what i think is best for me and go by my intentions. If you do have another opinion and are stongly against my view on it, then Alhamdulilah and by all means do what is best for YOU. We should all research this for ourselves and come to our own conclusions.

Dont just rest on what a certain scholar said and live your life by that and refusing to search deeper into it or hear any counter arguments. Do your own research, sift through and examine hadiths, Quran and scholary opinions (not just one - not all jurists agree on everything) and live according to YOUR own conclusions. Because on Judgement day these scholars and other people will not stand up for you. Only you can speak for you.

i think you have to personally weigh up things and make your own decision concerning these affairs. Im not disregarding scholars in anyway.. but i continuously come across scholars who have disagreeing opinions, jurists who say one thing is permissible while another says its not. I think its great to read, examine and ponder on their conclusions, but at the end of the day you really have to come to your own conclusion based on what you have researched.
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Here are 2 such scholary opinions on the issue:::

Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, former president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA):
“There are many types of alcohol, actually there are hundreds of members in alcohol family. Among them ethyl is the best known and this alcohol is generally used in beverages. There are some types of alcohol that are denatured and are used in perfumes and other cleansing agents. The rubbing alcohol does not contain ethyl alcohol. It is dangerous for drinking and may cause blindness and death. The external use of such alcohol is not forbidden in Islam. According to the Qur’an and Sunnah, it is Haram to drink alcohol or alcoholic beverages. Even a small amount of alcohol is Haram and it must be avoided. However, jurists have differed on the Najasah or the physical impurity of alcohol. Some of them consider it Najis (impure), meaning that if it touches the body and clothes then it must be washed. There are others who do not consider it Najis. There are many jurists who have allowed the use of rubbing alcohol and the use of perfumes that contain alcohol.

Al-Azhar House of Fatwa issued the following Fatwa:
"In Islam, it is unanimously held that all things are supposed to be deemed pure, and that it is not necessary that all what is declared forbidden is considered impure. This is because impurity is a legal ruling that needs evidence. For example, drugs and fatal poisons are forbidden, yet this by no means qualify them to be impure. For this reason, some scholars including Rabi`ah, Al-Layth Ibn Sa`d, Al-Muzani (the companion of Ash-Shafi`i) and some other scholars hold that wine is pure regardless of its being unlawful, and that only drinking it is forbidden. However, the majority of jurists are of the view that wine is impure and forbidden. Thus, we conclude that all that is impure is deemed forbidden, but not vice versa. This is because regarding something as impure is to forbid any physical contact with it, whereas regarding something as unlawful is not necessarily to forbid any contact with it. To illustrate, wearing gold and silk is unlawful (for men), yet they are considered pure by the consensus of scholars and thus can be touched by men. As far as perfumes containing alcohol is concerned, they consist of many ingredients like water, perfume, and alcohol that comprises the highest percentage. It is known that alcohol is produced from sugarcane by way of distillation. Thus, according to the juristic rule, which states that all things are presumed to be originally pure and that being prohibited does not render something impure, perfumes that contain alcohol are pure, particularly if we bear in mind that they are used for cleaning and perfuming the body. Thus, it is permissible to use these perfumes and there is nothing wrong in that."

What do you say?