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Fatwa CenterUsing alcohol to sanitize the newly born belly button
Question
My girl friend is going to give birth . All people we know was curing child's navel by medical alcohol spirits but my brother told that it is haram because of hadis that when Allah prohibited for Jews to eat dead meat they began greasing their boats by its fat and so they was damned for disobeying. Now we don’t know what to use he told in pharmacies exist some powders but they are good for child's skin or not we don’t know. Can you tell us medical alcohol on skin haram or halal and if haram what you can advise us to use for navel of a child (we leave in Egipt).
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
If the alcohol that is used for medical purposes such as sanitization causes intoxication if consumed, then one should not use it to sanitize the newly born belly button, or injuries, or in any other use. Because every intoxicant is liquor and liquor is a ritually impure substance according to the position of the majority of the scholars. Moreover, splashing a body with any ritually impure substance, without a dire need, is prohibited as jurists stated.
Jaabir bin Zayd was asked about the remnants of liquor in the bottom of a vessel: can one use them in bathing, or as a medicine to sanitize an injury, or in any other use? He answered that they are a ritually impure substance and instructed that they must be avoided. [Abdur-Razzaaq]
Al-Margheenaani, from the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, said: 'Benefiting from what is prohibited is prohibited and thus it is not permissible to use it as a medicine.'
In addition, there are authentic narrations that prohibit using liquor as a medicine. Among them is the narration of Taariq bin Suwayd who asked the Prophet 
about liquor and the Prophet prohibited him from making it. Thereupon he 
said, 'I only make as a medicine.' Thereupon, the Prophet said: “Liquor is not a medicine; rather it is a disease.” [Muslim]
Accordingly, one can use non-alcoholic sanitizers as a substitute for alcohol as we were told by some doctors.
Allaah Knows best.
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