Ref no: 0229#
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Date: Sunday, June 12, 2011 |
Category
Miscellaneous
Title
Question
Is it permissible to use hair products that contain alcohol denat?
Answer
Muhtaram / Muhtaramah
In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāh wa-barakātuh.
Generally, products that contain alcohol derived from grapes and dates are impure and impermissible to use. The majority of medicines and cosmetic products on the market do not contain alcohol derived from grapes and dates. They are derived from other sources or produced synthetically. The ruling for alcohols derived from sources other than grapes and date is that it is permissible to use with the following conditions:
- It is not used as an intoxicant or to an amount which intoxicates.
- It is not used in vain.
Denatured alcohol is ethanol alcohol to which poisonous chemicals are added to render it undrinkable. The reason for denaturing alcohol is that ethanol has many uses outside of consumption such as a thinner, cleaner, fuel, and other uses in the cosmetic industry. Since the purpose of denatured alcohol is not consumption, the companies need not to bear the excess taxes of alcoholic beverages. To avoid these taxes, the product is altered by adding denaturants in order to remove it from the category of consumable products.
The most common denaturant is methanol. Methanol, also being a type of alcohol, is extremely poisonous and flammable. Methanol has the same boiling point as ethanol, making it very difficult to separate the two by the process of distillation. Due to methanol’s poisonous quality, by adding it to the ethanol substance, the substance no longer remains drinkable. Thus, if any one ignorant of denatured alcohol’s effect happens to consume it, it may result in blindness or death. There are other denaturants other than methanol, but the purpose of all of them is the same; to render it undrinkable.
If the products containing denatured alcohol uses ethanol produced from fermenting grapes or dates, then it would not be permissible use those products due to it being impure. However, nearly all companies use alcohol derived from sources other than grapes and dates or produce it synthetically. Therefore, to use products on the market which contain denatured alcohol will be permissible.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denatured_alcohol
And Allah knows best
Darul Iftaa
Madrasah Inaa’miyyah
· The Sharée ruling herein given is specifically based on the question posed and should be read in conjunction with the question.
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