What Is the Ruling on Using Alcohol in Flavorings and Sterilization, and on Traces of It Remaining in the Final Product?

Question: السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ Is using alcohol in the flavoring process haram and is it haram to consume. For example using alcohol to make vanilla flavored powder or creams, etc. In terms of using alcohol in equipment sanitization and flavoring which may lead to light traces of alcohol in the final product. Jazakhallah Khair

Summary:

First, a distinction must be made between alcohol and khamr (intoxicating drink). Not everything called alcohol is considered khamr according to Shariah. There are many different types of alcohol, and the ruling depends on the actual nature of the substance, its use, and its effect. As for intoxicating khamr, drinking it is unquestionably haram. However, the stronger view is that khamr is not physically impure; rather, its impurity is spiritual. This is the view chosen by a group of scholars and was regarded as the stronger view by Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen رحمه الله. The International Islamic Fiqh Academy has also stated that alcohol is not considered impure according to Shariah. Accordingly, it is permissible to use alcohol to sterilize equipment. It is also permissible to use a small amount of it in manufacturing flavorings, such as vanilla, when its purpose is dissolution or extraction, after which it disappears or is absorbed and no intoxicating effect remains in the final product. The product does not become haram merely because alcohol was used during its manufacturing process. However, if khamr itself is added to food, or if enough of the intoxicating substance remains in the product such that consuming a large quantity of the product would intoxicate, then it is not permissible to consume it. The International Islamic Fiqh Academy has stated that foods in whose manufacture a small amount of alcohol is used to dissolve substances that do not dissolve in water are permissible when most of that alcohol evaporates and disappears during manufacturing.

Answer:

First: The Difference Between Alcohol and Khamr

This is an important point. The word “alcohol” should not always be treated as synonymous with “khamr.”

Khamr according to Shariah: Every intoxicating drink.

From the Sunnah:

Sahih MuslimIt is authentically reported from Abdullah ibn Umar رضي الله عنهما that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Every intoxicant is khamr, and every intoxicant is haram.”
Sahih al-Nasai,And from Abdullah ibn Umar رضي الله عنهما, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whatever intoxicates in large amounts, a small amount of it is haram.”
As for alcohol, it is a name for a group of chemical compounds. Not every type of alcohol is something that is drunk, causes intoxication, or takes the ruling of khamr. Therefore, when examining a food product, one should not merely see the word “Alcohol” and say: “This is khamr, so it is haram.” Rather, consideration must be given to the type of alcohol, its source, the purpose for which it is used, its proportion, and whether any effect of it remains in the final product or whether it has been absorbed and disappeared.

From the Scholars:

The International Islamic Fiqh Academy has stated:
“Alcohol is not considered impure according to Shariah... whether the alcohol is pure or diluted with water.”

Second: Khamr Is Haram, but the Stronger View Is That It Is Physically Pure A distinction must be made between prohibition and impurity, because not everything that is haram is impure.

From the Qur'an:

[Al-Maidah: 90]
“O you who believe! Intoxicants, gambling, stone altars, and divining arrows are only filth from the work of Satan, so avoid them that you may be successful.”
Khamr is unquestionably haram. However, the stronger view is that it is not physically impure.

From the Scholars:

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen رحمه الله regarded this view as stronger and said:
“Pure khamr is not impure, and it is not obligatory to wash it from clothing or the body.”

Third: Evidence for the Physical Purity of Khamr Among the most important evidences are: 1. The basic principle concerning things is purity There is no explicit authentic evidence establishing that khamr itself is physically impure. Mere prohibition does not necessarily entail impurity. Poison, for example, is haram to consume, but it is not impure. This is among the evidences mentioned by the scholars of Fiqh. 2. The Companions poured khamr into the streets of Madinah When the prohibition of khamr was revealed, the Companions رضي الله عنهم poured out their khamr until it flowed through the streets of Madinah. Had khamr been physically impure like urine, the Prophet ﷺ would not have approved of them pouring impurity into the Muslims’ streets. Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen رحمه الله and other scholars used this as evidence. They stated that when khamr was prohibited, the Companions “poured it out in the marketplaces.” Had it been impure, the Prophet ﷺ would not have approved of them contaminating the Muslims’ marketplaces with it. 3. The Prophet ﷺ did not command them to wash the vessels that contained khamr When khamr was prohibited, it has not been transmitted that the Prophet ﷺ ordered the Companions to wash its vessels, even though he commanded that pots containing the meat of domesticated donkeys be washed. Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen رحمه الله and others cited this as evidence for the purity of khamr. 4. The Hadith of the man who poured out the containers of khamr

From the Sunnah:

Reported by Malik with this wording, and by Muslim.Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما reported that a man presented the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with a container of khamr. The Prophet ﷺ said to him:
“Do you know that Allah has prohibited it?” He replied: “No.” The man then whispered something to another person. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked: “What did you whisper to him?” He replied: “I told him to sell it.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “The One Who prohibited drinking it has prohibited selling it.”
The narrator said that the man then opened the two containers until everything in them was poured out. This is another evidence for the purity of khamr.

5. The meaning of Allah’s statement: “O you who believe! Intoxicants, gambling, stone altars, and divining arrows are only filth from the work of Satan, so avoid them that you may be successful.” [Al-Maidah: 90]

From the Scholars:

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen رحمه الله said concerning whether khamr is impure:
“Most of the scholars hold that khamr is impure, using this verse as evidence. However, some scholars held that khamr is pure in terms of physical purity.”
The stronger view is that the word “filth” here refers to spiritual and practical filth, rather than physical impurity. This is because Allah mentioned khamr alongside gambling, stone altars, and divining arrows, and these are not physically impure substances. Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen رحمه الله then said that what is intended is spiritual and practical filth, which is why Allah said: “From the work of Satan.” Taken together, these evidences strengthen the view that khamr is prohibited but is physically pure.

Fourth: Using Alcohol to Sterilize Equipment There is no harm in using alcohol to sterilize machines and equipment used in food manufacturing because this does not involve drinking it. Furthermore, according to the stronger view that it is physically pure, it does not make the equipment impure.

From the Scholars:

The International Islamic Fiqh Academy explicitly stated:
“There is no Shariah objection to using alcohol medically as a sterilizer... for instruments and as a germicide.”
The Academy’s official published resolution likewise permits alcohol as a sterilizer for instruments.
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen رحمه الله said concerning the use of alcoholic substances for sterilization:
“What I hold regarding this is that there is no harm in using them for these things because people are in need of that.”
in need of that.” Therefore, sterilizing equipment in a food factory with alcohol does not make the food produced on that equipment haram or impure, particularly after the substance has dried and evaporated.

Fifth: Using Alcohol in the Manufacture of Flavorings and Vanilla This is the situation that most closely corresponds to the question. Alcohol may be used as a solvent or medium for extracting flavor. One well-known example is the extraction of vanilla flavor. In this case, it is not sufficient to say: “Alcohol was used, therefore the product is haram.” Rather, the final product must be considered.

From the Scholars:

The International Islamic Fiqh Academy stated:
“Foodstuffs in which a slight amount of alcohol is used as a dissolvent of elements that cannot be dissolved by water, such as colourants, preservatives, and the like, are permissible to consume... because most of the added alcohol evaporates and disappears during the manufacturing process.”
This text corresponds very closely to the situation mentioned in the question. The Academy's official resolution confirms this ruling. It has also been stated in a specific fatwa concerning vanilla that vanilla extract may be prepared by soaking it in alcohol and water, and that using it is permissible if the alcohol remaining in it has been absorbed to such an extent that no effect of it appears and it does not cause intoxication.

Sixth: The Criterion Regarding a Small Amount of an Intoxicating Substance

From the Scholars:

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen رحمه الله said:
“Do not think that any proportion of khamr present in something makes it haram.”
He explained that the criterion is this: If the proportion has an effect such that consuming a large amount of the mixture would intoxicate a person, then it is haram. But if the proportion is so small that “its effect disappears and it has no effect,” then it is halal. This agrees with the principle established in the hadith: “Whatever intoxicates in large amounts, a small amount of it is haram.” The meaning of the hadith is that a substance or drink whose large quantity causes intoxication is prohibited even in a small quantity. It does not mean that every food product in whose manufacturing process a tiny amount of an alcoholic substance was used, which was then absorbed and disappeared, thereby becomes haram. This is a very important distinction.

Seventh: Creams and Non-Food Products As for creams and products for external use in whose manufacture alcohol is used, the matter is broader because they are not intended for eating or drinking.

From the Scholars:

The International Islamic Fiqh Academy has stated that there is no harm in:
“Using creams that contain alcohol.”
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen رحمه الله also permitted using alcoholic substances when needed for sterilization, paints, and similar purposes, while holding the stronger view that khamr itself is not physically impure.

Important Note: Not Everything Called “Alcohol” Is Khamr The distinction can be summarized as follows: Alcohol: A broad chemical term. Not every type of alcohol is an intoxicating drink or khamr. Khamr: Every intoxicating drink. It is unquestionably haram, whether consumed in a small or large amount, if a large amount of it intoxicates. The impurity of khamr: The stronger view is that it is physically pure while drinking it is haram. Prohibition and impurity are two separate matters. Alcohol used for sterilization: It is permissible to use and does not make the equipment impure. Alcohol used as a solvent for flavorings: If a small amount is used and is absorbed or disappears, and the final product is not intoxicating, the product does not become haram because of it. The International Islamic Fiqh Academy has explicitly addressed this situation. Conclusion: Using alcohol to sterilize equipment is permissible and does not make the equipment or products impure. This is because the stronger view is that khamr itself is not physically impure; rather, drinking it is prohibited. Several evidences indicate its physical purity, including the Companions pouring it into the streets of Madinah, the Prophet ﷺ not commanding them to wash its vessels, and the basic principle that substances are pure. Likewise, it is permissible to use a small amount of alcohol in the manufacturing of flavorings, such as vanilla, as a solvent or means of extraction, provided that it is absorbed, evaporates, or disappears and no intoxicating effect remains in the final product. The International Islamic Fiqh Academy has explicitly stated the permissibility of food products in which a small amount of alcohol is used for this purpose when most of it disappears during manufacturing. However, if khamr is added to food with the intention that it remain a part of it, or if the intoxicating substance remains in such a proportion that consuming a large quantity of the final product would intoxicate, then it is not permissible to consume it, due to the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: “Whatever intoxicates in large amounts, a small amount of it is haram.” It is preferable for Muslim manufacturers, whenever reasonably possible, to use alcohol-free alternatives in order to avoid doubtful matters. Nevertheless, it is not correct to declare every product haram merely because alcohol was used at some stage of its manufacturing process without considering the type of alcohol, its proportion, and its effect on the final product.

And Allah knows best.

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What Is the Ruling on Using Alcohol in Flavorings and Sterilization, and on Traces of It Remaining in the Final Product?

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