Alcohol in medicine

24-4-2004 | IslamWeb

Question:

My question is in regards to various forms of medication. Here in Germany natural and homeopathic medicines are becoming very widespread and doctors are often unwilling to prescribe other medicines until natural medicines are proven to not work. The problem is as follows: as far as I am aware it is necessary to use alcohol in order to gain the effective extracts from the plants. In the final form of the medication (usually tablets or the so called globule in case of homeopathic medicine) no alcohol is left as far as I am aware. Still on the basis that something impure was used in the beginning is this form of medicine haram or not.
Facts to consider are that they are often less harmful than the chemical products or antibiotics and that the intention from the beginning was not for anyone to be affected by the alcohol but only to gain the plant extracts. Many Muslim sisters think I am being far too strict in not using this medicine. But I want to have a clear ruling based on firm Islamic understanding rather than "follow common sense" according to my own understanding. Please help me in this issue.

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

 

If the alcohol that is added to the plants is used after having been transformed completely to another substance that does not cause drunkenness then there is no harm in using it since its transformation to another substance changes its ruling and it becomes pure.  But if the alcohol added to the plants is still in its original form then all the mixture becomes impure since alcohol is impure.  In this case, using such a medicine is permissible only if there is dire necessity and there is no Halal alternative.  Whenever a person is cured or finds any alternative medicine he has to give up such medicine.

 

Allah knows best.