Ruling on using perfumes which contain alcohol
Question What is the ruling on using perfumes which contain some alcohol? Praise be to Allah. The basic principle is that the perfumes which are common among people are permissible, except in cases where they are known to contain something which would prevent their use, such as their containing intoxicants, or where a large quantity…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
The basic principle is that the perfumes which are common
among people are permissible, except in cases where they are known to
contain something which would prevent their use, such as their containing
intoxicants, or where a large quantity of the perfume would cause
intoxication, or it contains something impure (najaasah), etc. But in
principle the perfumes which are common among people are permissible, such
as ‘ood, amber and musk, etc.
If a person knows that there is a perfume which
contains something that would prevent its use, such as intoxicants or
impure materials (najaasah), then he should not use it. That includes
colognes, because we know from the testimony of the doctors that they are
not free from intoxicants. They contain a large amount of alcohol which is
an intoxicant. So we should not use them unless we find kinds which are
free of such materials. There are enough kinds of permissible perfumes to
leave us with no need for these, praise be to Allaah. The same applies to
all kinds of drinks or foods which contain intoxicants – we should not
use them. The guideline is that whatever intoxicates in large quantities
is haraam in small quantities. The Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “Whatever intoxicates in large quantities is
haraam in small quantities.” And Allaah is the source of strength.
