Short answer
Usually not. Mufti Taqi Usmani and many Hanafi muftis allow medicines containing alcohol when the alcohol is synthetic or made from something other than grapes or dates, as nearly all medical alcohol is, and the dose does not intoxicate. Medicine made with wine itself is allowed only in necessity, when no alternative exists. Other schools are stricter.
Medicinal alcohol is almost never made from grapes or dates, so many Deobandi muftis, following Mufti Taqi Usmani, rely on the view of Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Abu Yusuf: such alcohol may be used in medicine in amounts that do not intoxicate. Becoming intoxicated remains haram, and an equally effective alcohol-free alternative is better.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- All intoxicants take the ruling of khamr, so the distinction by source does not apply; medicine in which a small amount of alcohol is fully dissolved, or that is needed with no alternative, is allowed.
- Maliki
- All intoxicants take the ruling of khamr; contemporary scholars of the school allow medicine in which a trace of alcohol is fully dissolved and has no intoxicating effect.
- Hanbali
- All intoxicants take the ruling of khamr; many contemporary scholars of the school allow a trace of alcohol that is fully dissolved in a medicine and cannot intoxicate.
Explanation
Wine (khamr) is haram, and drinking it as a remedy is not allowed. When a man told the Prophet ﷺ that he made wine as a medicine, he replied that it is not a medicine but a disease. That settles the case of wine itself.
Most medicines are different. The alcohol in cough syrups, tinctures and liquid medicines is used as a solvent or preservative and is usually synthetic or made from grain, sugar cane or other sources. Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Abu Yusuf held that drinks from sources other than grapes and dates are forbidden only in the amount that intoxicates, when used for a lawful purpose. The later Hanafi fatwa on drinks follows Imam Muhammad, who forbade any amount, but Mufti Taqi Usmani explained that for medicines, where the need is widespread, the view of Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf may be followed.
The conditions are:
- the medicine is taken at a dose that does not intoxicate
- it is taken for treatment, not for the effect of the alcohol
- an equally effective alcohol-free version is preferred when it is easily available, so ask your pharmacist
If a product contains wine or a grape or date spirit, the Hanafi rule on treatment with the forbidden applies: it is allowed only when a skilled doctor says a cure is expected from it and there is no halal alternative. The Prophet ﷺ allowed silk, normally forbidden for men, to two Companions because of a skin condition, which shows that a real medical need can lift a prohibition. For gelatin in medicines, see gelatin capsules. Ask a mufti about a specific product, and do not stop a prescribed medicine without speaking to your doctor.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Maaida 5:90
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِنَّمَا ٱلْخَمْرُ وَٱلْمَيْسِرُ وَٱلْأَنصَابُ وَٱلْأَزْلَٰمُ رِجْسٌۭ مِّنْ عَمَلِ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنِ فَٱجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴿٩٠﴾
O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.
Intoxicants are forbidden, so medicine may never be a route to intoxication.
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:173
إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةَ وَٱلدَّمَ وَلَحْمَ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ بِهِۦ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ غَيْرَ بَاغٍۢ وَلَا عَادٍۢ فَلَآ إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿١٧٣﴾
He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
Necessity allows what is otherwise forbidden, which covers medicine with no halal alternative.
Sahih Muslim 1984
Sahih... إنه ليس بدواء ولكنه داء ...
"It is not a medicine; rather, it is a disease."
Wine itself is not to be taken as a remedy.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2919
Sahih... رخص النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لعبد الرحمن بن عوف والزبير في قميص من حرير ...
"Anas said: The Prophet allowed Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf and al-Zubayr to wear silk shirts because of an itch they had."
A real medical need can lift a prohibition.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Takmilat Fath al-Mulhim (Mufti Taqi Usmani), Kitab al-Ashribah. Alcohol in modern medicines is mostly not from grapes or dates, so the view of Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf may be followed for it because of widespread need.
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Ashribah. Sets out the view of Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf on drinks made from sources other than grapes and dates.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Taharah, Bab al-Miyah, on treatment with the forbidden. Treatment with a forbidden substance is allowed when a cure is known through it and no alternative exists.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.