Fatwa #169977 August 2008South Africa
Lotions containing alcohol
Question
i would like to know whether it is permissible for us to use lotions containing denat alchol. from what i gather, alchol is a chemical and liqour is haraam.
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
In principle, alcohol which is derived from grapes or date extracts are impure. However, if the alcohol is synthetic, it is pure and permissible to use.
Therefore, the exact source of the alcohol in the lotions has to be determined. As for denat alcohol, it is a generic term for denatured alcohol. Due to the chemicals/addictives (such as methanol, acetone, methyl isobutyl ketone, methyl ethyl ketone, denatonium, aviation gasoline etc) added, the alcohol looses its potential of intoxicating and is rendered unsuitable for drinking. Thus, it will be permissible to apply lotions containing denat alcohol.
And Allah knows best
Ml. Ismail Moosa,
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa