Question:
Assalamu3alaikum wa rehmatullahi wa barakatahu,
Soft drinks contain a small % of Alcohol for it’s preservation. Is it Halal to drink? In perfumes also Alcohol is present but chemically this Alcohol is not suitable for drinking because it is poisonous..What is the ruling in both the cases??
Answer:
`Alaykum as-Salam,
Imam Ahmad forbade the use of fruit juices after three days due to the fermentation that develops, but such a change is obvious and detectable by one’s senses of smell and taste. As for the trace percentages that cannot be detected by taste or smell then one is not tasked to run a chemical analysis but goes by the common understanding of such products as non-alcoholic, including soft drinks containing preservatives. As for perfumes containing synthetic/denatured alcohol, the latter cannot be put in the same category as the fermented alcohol that is produced for consumption.
See:
http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=93&CATE=90
– and Allah knows best.
Hajj Gibril Haddad
