Question :
A question was asked regarding the buying and selling of ethyl alcohol.
Fatwa in Brief: This is not permitted, as it
[ethyl alcohol] is an intoxicant (muskir) and
ritually impure (najis).
The Permanent Committee, 13/53
Response:
Any substance that is beneficial to Muslims may be
exempted from the general ban on trading in impurities.
This is the Hanafi and Zahiri opinion.
Commentary:
Jabir related that the
Prophet (upon him be peace) said:
Verily God and His Messenger
(upon him be peace) forbade selling alcohol, carrion,
pig and idols. It was said: “O Messenger of God, what
about the grease of carrion because ships are anointed
with it, skins are greased and people light themselves a
lamp with it?” He [the Prophet] replied: “No, this is
forbidden (haram)”. This hadith is
narrated by the group [of 6 main hadith
collectors].
Al-Bayhaqi included a hadith, with a sound (sahih)
chain of transmission, in which Ibn ‘Umar (r.a.) was
asked about [the purity status of] oil into which a
mouse had dropped. He [Ibn ‘Umar] replied: use it to
temper your pots.
The Prophet (upon him be
peace) found a dead sheep owned by Maymuna. He
[the Prophet] asked, ‘Aren’t you going to use its skin?’
To which they replied ‘Messenger of God, but it is
carrion’. The Messenger of God, said: ‘Yes, but only
eating it is haram’”.
This hadith is narrated by the group [of the 6
main hadith collectors], bar Ibn Majah.[1]
The majority of scholars rule
that the selling of, and trading in, impurities is
forbidden (haram). This is on the basis of the
first hadith cited above [i.e. that of Jabir]
that any contract involving the selling or buying of
impurities is invalid.
However, on the basis of the
second hadith and that of Ibn ‘Umar, it is
permitted (halal) for Muslims to use impure
substances for anything other than eating/drinking.
Indeed, according to the
Hanafis, any substance that can be used
beneficially by Muslims is an exception to the general
prohibition on trading in impurities. The Zahiris follow
the Hanafis [in this ruling]. They argue that it is
permitted to sell excrement [for farming, for instance],
and other impure substances used in agriculture, or [in
manufacturing] fuel, as well as impure oils, and dyes,
as long as the end product is not eaten.
These scholars’ [Hanafis and Zahiris] evidence for this
overall ruling is that, if it is legally permitted to
use these impure substances, then selling them must also
be permitted (halal), providing that such
substances are used for purposes other than
eating/drinking. And they intepret Jabir’s hadith
to mean that the prohibition against trading in
impurities applied only in the early days of Islam, when
Muslims were still used to eating and drinking them;
after Islam had settled in the Muslims’ hearts, however,
[these scholars assume that] it became legal to use
impure substances for any purpose, other than for
eating/drinking.[2]
Dr. Anas Abu Shadi
[1]
Al-Bukhari, Sahih, no. 2221; Muslim,
Sahih, 832.
[2]
Shaykh ‘Atiyya Saqr, Fatawa Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyya,
May 1997.