Is the reason for the prohibition on khamr (wine, alcoholic drinks) the fact that it causes intoxication? So if there was a kind of khamr that does not cause intoxication, would it not be haraam? Please note that in the west there is a kind of khamr in which there no alcohol that would cause intoxication, i.e., the ratio of alcohol in it is zero percent. Please note that I have read on your website a fatwa by our shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen in which he said that if khamr does not cause intoxication then it is not khamr. The khamr that is available in America does cause intoxication, then using scientific industrial means they remove the alcohol from it. What is the ruling on this khamr?


Praise be to Allah.

Firstly: 

The word khamr
refers to all kinds of intoxicating drinks, whether it existed in the past
or exists at present or will exist in the future, and whether the drink is
made from grapes, barley, dates, corn or anything else. 

That is indicated
by the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him):
“Every intoxicant is khamr and every khamr is haraam.” Narrated by Muslim,
2003 

Khamr is a word
that applies to any kind of drink that causes intoxication. 

See: Ma‘aalim
as-Sunan by al-Khattaabi, 4/264 

Based on that, any
drink that does not cause intoxication is not called khamr and it is not
deemed to be haraam. But it is essential to make certain that this drink
does not cause intoxication. It is often said that some drinks do not cause
intoxication, then that turns out not to be so in reality. 

Al-Haafiz said:
The ruling is connected to the reason, and the reason for the prohibition of
khamr is intoxication; whenever there is intoxication the prohibition
applies.

End quote from
Fath al-Baari, 10/56 

Secondly: 

It is not
permissible to treat khamr in order to remove the alcohol from it; this is
like what the scholars said about the prohibition on turning khamr into
vinegar. 

That is because we
are commanded to avoid khamr, as Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who
believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), gambling, Al-Ansab
(stone altars for sacrifices to idols), and Al-Azlam (arrows for seeking
luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaitan’s (Satan) handiwork. So
avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be
successful.”

[al-Maa’idah
5:90]. 

Avoiding something
means keeping far away from it, so that it is not near you.

End quote from

Adwa’ al-Bayaan,
3/33 

Treating it to
remove the alcohol from it is contrary to avoiding it.

 

Shaykh al-Islam
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Because keeping khamr is
haraam; if a person is keeping it to turn it into vinegar, he has committed
a haraam action.

End quote from
Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 21/503 

It is proven from
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that it is forbidden
to turn khamr into vinegar. Muslim (1983) narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may
Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) was asked about wine that is made into vinegar. He said: “No.” 

According to a
version narrated by Abu Dawood (3675), Abu Talhah asked the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) about some orphans who inherited
some wine. He said: “Pour it away.” He said: Can I turn it into vinegar? He
said: “No.”

Classed as saheeh
by al-Albaani in al-Majmoo‘, 9/233; Ibn al-Mulqin in al-Badr
al-Muneer, 6/630; and Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood. 

This prohibition
implies that it is haraam; if it were possible to benefit from khamr or to
turn it into something from which people could benefit, it would not be
permissible to pour it away; rather the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) would have instructed him to do that, especially since it
belonged to orphans and it is haraam to squander their wealth. 

In Fataawa
al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (22/92) it says: Khamr must be poured away…
because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) issued orders
to that effect when the two verses concerning the prohibition of alcohol
were revealed. It is haraam to keep it and make use of it as it is, and it
is haraam to turn it into something other than khamr by turning it into
vinegar or turning part of it into vinegar or extracting the alcohol from
it, or to mix it with something else that one wants to benefit from, because
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade turning khamr
into alcohol in order to block the means that may lead to evil and to
prevent any possibility of people going back to making it and using it. End
quote. 

See also the
answer to question no.
14276

To sum up:
treating khamr to remove the alcohol from it is haraam, and is not
permissible. 

But if that has
been done, is it permissible for a person to drink it, seeing that it is
free of the intoxicants which are the reason for the prohibition, or not? 

Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

The well known
view is that if it has been turned into vinegar, it does not become pure
(taahir), even if the intoxicating effect has been removed, because removing
the intoxicants is done by means of doing something haraam, so it is still
haraam. 

Some of the
scholars said that it does become pure and therefore becomes permissible,
even though the action is haraam. The reason they give for that is that the
reason why it is impure (najis) is because it causes intoxication, and the
intoxicants have been removed, so it is halaal. 

Others said that
if it was turned into vinegar by people who believe that khamr is
permissible, such as the People of the Book, the Jews and Christians, then
it is permissible and becomes pure (taahir); if it was turned into vinegar
by people for whom it is not permissible, then it is still haraam and impure
(najis). 

This opinion is
most likely to be correct. According to this view, the vinegar that comes
from the Jews and Christians is halaal and pure (taahir) because they did
that on the basis that they believe it is permissible.

End quote from
ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘, 1/250 

He also said: But
if it was turned into vinegar by someone who believes that turning it into
vinegar is permissible, whether he is a Muslim or a non-Muslim, is it halaal? 

The correct answer
is that it is halaal, because it was turned into vinegar in a permissible
manner, so it became permissible. Based on that, the vinegar that is
imported from non-Muslim countries is halaal for Muslims, even if it was
produced by means of human actions, because it was turned into vinegar by
the actions of a human who believed it to be permissible.

End quote from
ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘, 10/53 

To sum up: 

If it is clear
that this drink is free of alcohol, there is nothing wrong with drinking it.
Similarly, if treatment of khamr to remove alcohol from it was done by
people who believe it is permissible to do that, then it is permissible to
drink it. However we should point out that this treatment is something that
is haraam for the Muslim to do according to the most correct opinion. 

And Allah knows
best.