Using homeopathic medicines

Question

Question: I would like to state that I bought homeopathic medicines for sale, and then, on looking at their formula, found 17% alcohol written on one bottle of syrup. What is the Shari‘a ruling on this alcohol? Some say that it is not the real thing (asl). Kindly give guidance.

Answer

I have no research of my own concerning alcohol; I have heard different things from different people: someone said that it is the essence (jawhar) of wine, someone said that it is a kind of wine, someone said that it is made from coal. Until it is established that it is one of the prohibited drinks (ashriba muharrama), it is difficult to give a fatwa of its prohibition.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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