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Sharia Ruling on Using Liquid Hand Sanitizer Containing Alcohol

Answered as per Shafi'i Fiqh by Darul Iftaa Jordan
What is the Sharia ruling on using liquid hand sanitizer containing alcohol?

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all of his family and companions.

On one hand, if alcohol is non-intoxicating then it is permissible to use it for sterilizing hands, in addition to other uses. 

On the other hand, if it is intoxicating then it is considered Khamr (Alcoholic liquor); thus, it is impermissible to use for sterilizing hands or any other uses, since the Prophet(PBUH) said (What means):" The Prophet [SAW] said: "Every intoxicant is unlawful and every intoxicant is Khamr." [Moslem].

Moreover, intoxicating beverages are impure, because Allah, The most Exalted said(What means):" O ye who believe! Strong drink and games of chance and idols and divining arrows are only an infamy of Satan’s handiwork. Leave it aside in order that ye may succeed." [Al-Maidah/90]. In addition, Al-Imam Al-Qortobi stated in his book [Tafseer Al-Qortobi, 6/288]:"The majority of the Muslim scholars are of the view that Khamr is impure. They based their opinion on the fact that Sharia forbade it, considered it an infamy of Satan`s handiwork, and commanded people to leave it aside."

Therefore, it is impermissible to use the aforementioned sanitizer unless there is no other alternative, and whosoever washes their hands with it should rewash them with water in order to remove the impurity. And Allah, The Almighty knows best.

This answer was collected from the official government Iftaa Department of Jordan.

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