Shar‘i Ruling on the Use of Intoxicating Substances as Medicine
Sourced from: Aḥkām wa Masā’il, Ta‘wīdh aur Dum ke Masā’il, Volume 1, Page 469
❀ Question
➊ Can a person use opium, hashish, bhang, heroin, or alcohol as medicine?
➋ If the patient is neither weak, nor near death, nor a traveler, nor an addict, can he use these substances as medicine?
➌ If the patient is weak or near death, can he use these substances as medicine?
❀ Answer
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
① Use of intoxicating substances as medicine
Such use is not permissible. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«إِنَّهَا لَيْسَتْ بِدَوَاءٍ وَلٰكِنَّهَا دَاءٌ»
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Ashriba, Bāb Taḥrīm al-Tadāwī bil-Khamr wa Bayān annahā Laysat Bidawā’)
Meaning:
“Indeed, it (wine) is not a cure, rather it is a disease.”
Therefore, using opium, hashish, bhang, heroin, alcohol, or the like as medicine is impermissible and prohibited.
② If the patient is not weak, not near death, not a traveler, and not an addict
Even in this case, the use of such substances as medicine is not permissible, because there is no state of necessity. Under normal conditions, the use of intoxicating substances is strictly forbidden in Islamic Sharī‘ah, even if intended for medicinal purposes.
③ If the patient is weak or near death
In such a situation, Sharī‘ah has granted concession considering the state of necessity. However, this concession is subject to specific conditions:
Allah, the Exalted, says:
﴿فَمَنِ ٱضۡطُرَّ غَيۡرَ بَاغٖ وَلَا عَادٖ فَلَآ إِثۡمَ عَلَيۡهِۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٞ رَّحِيمٞ﴾
(Al-Baqarah: 173)
﴿فَمَنِ ٱضۡطُرَّ فِي مَخۡمَصَةٖ غَيۡرَ مُتَجَانِفٖ لِّإِثۡمٖ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٞ رَّحِيمٞ﴾
(Al-Mā’idah: 3)
﴿وَقَدۡ فَصَّلَ لَكُم مَّا حَرَّمَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ إِلَّا مَا ٱضۡطُرِرۡتُمۡ إِلَيۡهِۗ﴾
(Al-An‘ām: 119)
These verses clarify:
✔ If a true state of necessity exists, and no alternative medicine is available, then only that limited amount may be consumed which is essential to save life.
✔ Whether the patient is weak or near death, the intention must be solely to preserve life, not to indulge in sin.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
