The Ruling on using Perfumes which contain a certain amount of Alcohol in order to clean Wounds

Question :

Is the external use of perfumes and scents which contain a certain amount of alcohol permissible to clean wounds?

Answer:

The answer to this question requires clarification on two points:

Firstly: Is Khamr unclean, or not? On this question, scholars have differed...most of them say that alcohol is physically impure, meaning that if it is spilt on clothing or the body, it must be purified. There are also among the scholars those who say that alcohol is not physically impure, because physical impurity is a legal ruling, which requires evidence, and there is no evidence of that. And if it is not confirmed by legal evidence that alcohol is impure, then fundamentally, it is pure. Some might say that the evidence is in the Book of Allah, the Most High:
"O you who believe! Khamr (all kinds of alcoholic drinks) and gambling and Al-Ansab (altars for the sacrifice of animals to idols), Al-Azlam, (arrows for seeking luck or a decision) are Rijs of Shaitan's (Satan) handiwork. So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be successful.

And Rijs means filth, as Allah, the Most High says:
Say: "I do not find in that which has been revealed to me anything forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it, unless it be Maitah (a dead animal) or blood poured forth (by slaughtering or the like), or the flesh of swine (pork); for that surely is impure or impious (unlawful) meat (of an animal) which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for other than Allah.

That is, the above-mentioned foods, the Maitah, pork, or blood poured forth are all Rijs, meaning unclean. And the evidence that Rijs here means unclean is the saying of the Prophet concerning the skin of a dead animal, that water purifies it, so his saying: "It purifies it." is a proof that it was unclean, and this is something well known to the scholars. But it may be said in reply to this that what is meant by Rijs here is spiritual uncleanness, not physical uncleanness, the proof of which is the Words of Allah, the Most High:
Rijs of Shaitan's (Satan) handiwork.

Additional evidence is the fact that gambling, Al-Ansab and Al- Azlam are not physically unclean, and the description (Rijs) here is of all four: alcoholic drinks, gambling, Al-Ansab and Al- Azlam... and if the description applies to all four of these things, then the ruling on all of them is the same.

Also, those who say that alcohol is not physically unclean have another proof from the Sunnah, which is that when the prohibition of alcoholic drinks was revealed, the Prophet did not order that the vessels be washed clean of it. Likewise, the Companions emptied them out in the markets, and if it was unclean, they would not have emptied them out in the markets, because that would necessitate pollution being spread throughout them.

Secondly: Since it is clear that Khamr is not physically unclean
- and that is the most authoritative saying in my opinion then alcohol is not physically impure, but spiritually impure, because the alcohol which inebriates is Khamr, according to the words of the Prophet:

Everything which inebriates is Khamr.

And if it is Khamr, then its use as a beverage or a food, by being mixed with certain foods to give flavor to it is clearly forbidden by the Book and the agreement of the scholars. But as for its use for other things, such as cleansing bacteria and the like, it is a matter of opinion, and whoever avoids it is more prudent... but I cannot say that it is forbidden, though I do not use it for myself, except when necessary, such as sterilizing wounds and such like.