Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
A person I know has a medical condition and has been told by their doctor to take iron and vitamin D. However, they say that they, “[Don’t] like taking medicines.” They went to a homeopath who prescribed a mixture containing a large proportion of brandy. They asked me to find out if she could take it. Based on what I read onwww.sunnipath.com, I said I thought she couldn’t.
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
This would not be a reasonable excuse, because of:
a) the availability of reasonable non-prohibited alternatives;
b) the availability of homeopathic solutions with other than wine or wine-based alcohols.
Thus, it would be haram for the sister to take such medicine.
As for what some scholars’ said, I have serious doubts as to whether the full picture was presented to them. Answers are only as true as the questions they are based on. I actually called one of the two scholars mentioned in the original question, and they confirmed that they had answered about homeopathic medicine containing alcohol. As you know, there is a difference between the general ruling of alcohol (which is permitted for medicinal or external uses, not for direct consumption) and the particular use of wine and wine-based alcohols (which are not permitted).
See:
Is using alcohol in any form haram?
And Allah alone gives success.
Wassalam,