Is it permissible to use hair products e.g gel. Which contain Denatured Alcohol and Benzyl Alcohol?
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Denatured Alcohol and Benzyl Alcohol are not derived from alkhamr alasli (the category of alcohols which have been prohibited by jurists).
Alkhamr alasli refers to those types of alcohol derived from grapes, dates and raisins. These are impure and haraam to use.[1] Alcohol derived from other sources is permissible for external usage.
Benzyl alcohol is produced naturally by many plants or may even be synthetically manufactured.[2]
Denatured Alcohol is alcohol made unfit for consumption by humans. This alcohol is produced via a chemical process or through fermenting sugars with yeast. [3]
Thus, it is permissible to use hair products containing Denatured and Benzyl Alcohol.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Aboobakr Siddeeq bin Mufti Amjad Mohammad
Student Darul Iftaa
Azaadville, JHB, South Africa
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
_____
[1] فتح القدير لكمال بن الهمام – (12 / 54)
وَمَا رُوِيَ عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ : حُرِّمَتْ الْخَمْرُ بِعَيْنِهَا قَلِيلِهَا وَكَثِيرِهَا وَالْمُسْكِرُ مِنْ كُلِّ شَرَابٍ فَإِنَّهُ لَمْ يَسْلَمْ .
المبسوط للسرخسي ـ مشكول – (27 / 124)
حُجَّتُنَا فِي ذَلِكَ مَا رُوِيَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ { : الْخَمْرُ مِنْ هَاتَيْنِ الشَّجَرَتَيْنِ الْكَرْمِ ، وَالنَّخْلِ }
المبسوط للسرخسي ـ مشكول – (27 / 135)
وَعَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ : حُرِّمَتْ الْخَمْرَةُ لِعَيْنِهَا قَلِيلُهَا ، وَكَثِيرُهَا ، وَالْمُسْكِرُ مِنْ كُلِّ شَرَابٍ ، وَفِيهِ دَلِيلٌ أَنَّ الْمُحَرَّمَ هُوَ الْأَخِيرُ الَّذِي يَكُونُ مِنْهُ السُّكْرُ كَالْمُؤْلِمِ اسْمٌ لِمَا يَتَوَلَّدُ الْأَلَمُ مِنْهُ ، وَإِنَّ الْخَمْرَ حَرَامٌ لِعَيْنِهَا ، وَالْقَلِيلُ وَالْكَثِيرُ فِي الْحُكْمِ سَوَاءٌ ،
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzyl_alcohol
Benzyl alcohol is produced naturally by many plants and is commonly found in fruits and teas.
http://www.sanha.co.za/a/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=356&Itemid=261
Name: Benzyl Alcohol
Status: Halaal
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denatured_alcohol
Denatured alcohol, also called methylated spirit (methylated spirits in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom) or denatured rectified spirit, is ethanol that has additives to make it poisonous, bad-tasting, foul-smelling, or nauseating to discourage recreational consumption. It is sometimes dyed. Pyridine, methanol, or both can be added to make denatured alcohol poisonous, and denatonium can be added to make it bitter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol
Ethanol is produced both as a petrochemical, through the hydration of ethylene and, via biological processes, by fermenting sugars with yeast. Which process is more economical depends on prevailing prices of petroleum and grain feed stocks. In the 1970s most industrial ethanol in the United States was made as a petrochemical, but in the 1980s the United States introduced subsidies for corn-based ethanol and today it is almost all made from that source.