Taking homeopathic medicine that contains alcohol

13-12-2015 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalaamu alaykum. In reference to the fatwa number 107024; in that very fatwa, you said that using homeopathic medicines is permissible if the two conditions mentioned in the fatwa are fulfilled, and homeopathic medicine actually do fulfill those two conditions, but there is one more point. It is usual for homeopathic medicines to contain 65-90 % alcohol. Kindly, without referring to any other fatwa and without mentioning any technical points, issue a ruling regarding the permissibility of using homeopathic medicines so that the community at large can benefit, because homeopathy is a very common and accepted method in my society because of its successful and evident results in contrast to elopathy, and if we go on to mention the technical points regarding alcohol contained in medicines and so on, then it is unlikely that people will understand without any further confusion since this is how the commonly people. So please a issue a simple yes or no ruling keeping in mind that this is how homeopathic medicines usually are. May Allaah reward you.

---

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.

As long as the medicine referred to in the question contains this large percentage of alcohol, then it is impermissible to consume it if the alcoholic ingredient in it is intoxicating because any intoxicating substance is considered khamr (an intoxicant), and its consumption is prohibited as per the sharee'ah. Taariq ibn Suwayd Al-Juʻfi asked the Prophet about khamr; he forbade him – or declared it disliked for him – to manufacture it. Taariq remarked, "I am manufacturing it as a medicine." The Messenger of Allaah said, "It is certainly not a medicine; rather, it is a disease." [Ahmad and Muslim]

Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah wrote:

"Treating illness with alcohol is impermissible, as stated by the Messenger of Allaah . This is the view of the vast majority of the scholars. It was authentically narrated that he was asked about alcohol that was made for medicinal purposes, and he said, 'It is an illness and certainly not a cure.' Moreover, it has been reported that he said, 'It is forbidden to treat disease with evil things.' Ibn Masʻood said, 'Allaah does not put your cure in that which He has forbidden to you.' Ibn Hibbaan narrated in his book Saheeh Ibn Hibbaan that the Prophet said, 'Allaah does not put the cure for my ummah (community) in that which He has forbidden to them.' In addition, it has been narrated that he was asked about frogs which were used for medicinal purposes. He forbade killing them and said, 'Their croaking is tasbeeh (glorification of Allaah).'

This is not like consuming dead meat in case of a necessity, for that achieves the purpose of keeping the person alive when he has no alternative; eating it in this case is obligatory, and if a person is forced by necessity to eat dead meat but does not eat it and dies as a result, then he will go to Hellfire. However, in the case of treating disease, the cure is not certain, and this is not the only medicine that one may take; rather, Allaah, The Exalted, may bring about a person's recovery through a variety of means. Moreover, seeking treatment is not obligatory according to the majority of the scholars, so there is no analogy in this case. Allaah knows best." For more benefit, please refer to fataawa 87607and 263212.

Allaah knows best.