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Fatwa CenterUsing undrinkable denatured alcohol
Question
Can we use products such as lotions, creams, shampoos, perfume, detergents, cleaning agents, etc. that contain denatured alcohol or also known as alcohol Denat or SD (Specially Denatured) Alcohol which is ethanol that is used in alcoholic beverages but this ethanol has been added with some other chemicals which makes it unfit to be consumed and undrinkable (e.g. ethanol plus denatonium benzoate) before this is added in the products.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
If the alcohol mentioned in the question causes drunkenness to the one who drinks it prior to the addition of the chemicals then it is considered an intoxicant which is naturally impure in Islam, according to the majority of Muslim scholars. Allaah Says (which means): {O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allaah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.}[Quran 90:5].
If such impure alcohol is added and used in producing the mentioned materials then they also become impure. Hence, using the perfumes, creams, shampoos, lotions which are made by adding the alcohol which causes drunkenness is not allowed because they became impure.
Using the detergents, that contain some impurity, for cleaning other than a mosque or a human body, is allowed as cited by Muslim scholars. So, there is no harm to use them in cleaning tiles, etc.
Allaah Knows best.
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