The first question is Assalamu alaikum I am Ali from Sri Lanka. I'm a civil engineer currently in Qatar. Can we drink non alcoholic beer? But the earlier of the question that can we drink non alcoholic beer as far as drinking intoxicants are concerned, it is clearly mentioned the goddess Quran and sort of my the chapter number five was number 90 of Allah says, Yeah, a human lives in Amman, oh you believe in animal control my pseudo most certainly in Fox segments and gambling, while unsavoury has some dedication of stone, divination of arrows, reach them and Emily shaytan these are Satan's handiwork first and he will look into floon obtained from this handiwork determine prosper. So this was of the Quran surah Maya chapter five verse 19, very clear cut that ending toxicants whether it be beer, whether it be alcohol, whether it be wine, any intoxicants, drugs, etc, it is prohibited. Now the question posed is that is non alcoholic beer allowed in Islam?
First, let us understand what is a non alcoholic beer in non alcoholic beer, when you read on the can, it does not show any content of alcohol. But how is it made, we have come to know that the non alcoholic beer It is made the same way as a normal beers made, which contains alcohol with malt with barley and they cook it but in a non alcoholic beer what they do they extract the alcohol by various different methodologies. For example, the boiling point of normal water is 100 degrees centigrade, but the boiling point of ethanol it's an all in style alcohol or drinking alcohol also known as spirit also known as alcohol, it is at a lower degree it is at 70 degrees centigrade. So, when you boil below 100 above 70 degrees up to 80 degrees, this ethanol is extracted it evaporates.
The other method of removing is by the osmosis method, but all these methods that are used by the companies, which make the non alcoholic beer, it does not remove 100% of that call, they remove 95% of the alcohol yet 5% remains in that drink. Because to remove 100% of the alcohol is very expensive and these companies cannot afford and according to the rules and regulations of the Food and Drug Association in USA, if the content is point 5% and below, it may not be mentioned in the ingredients list on the can.
So because the alcohol content the non alcoholic beers point 5% or a little bit low, maybe point four 9% they do not write in the can but it does contain alcohol. Normally it contains point 5% alcohol or point four 9% alcohol because it contains 2.5% or less by law, it need not be mentioned on the can but it does contain alcohol.
How did this come? This initially was first introduced in the early part of the 1900s, early part of the 20th century, when I have a hall was banned in USA. So to circumvent, avoid the law. What these to do is to make the beer and extract the alcohol out the content was point 5%. So legally allowed. That's how it started initially. And but naturally, later on when I recall it was formulated in USA, they have gone back to drinking normal wine, whiskey, alcohol. But yet there are some people who yet have this non alcoholic beer or alcohol free beer. But let me tell you that this non alcoholic beer or alcohol free beer does contain alcohol. It contains point 5% or point four 9% the normal beer it contains approximately 5% of alcohol it is less than the other drinks like whiskey, wine etc. So if we analyze non alcoholic beer does contain a small percentage of alcohol, the taste is same as beer. The effect in terms of fizziness etc the same, the feeling in the malt is the same.
So those who drink normal beer feel non alcoholic beer somewhat similar. And unfortunately, there are some Muslims who think that this non alcoholic beer is permitted. And there are fatwa by some scholars who have said this formula which is totally wrong because they may fail to enter Understand in which type walls this non alcoholic beer made. And just because it does not mention on the can, that are called is prison, they think if no alcohol that means is permitted, but we have to realize that originally alcohol was there and alcohol was expected, and our call is yet there.
Now when we come to know from the deeds of our beloved paternal son Salaam, that once when a Sahaba, he asked the Prophet that along with the orphan, we have inherited alcohol. So instead of throwing it away, can I convert it into vinegar, and the Prophet said, No, you throw it away. Now if it was permitted, surely the popular said that my base didn't convert into anything and have it and especially if it's the property of the orphans, all the more reason the profit, I've been careful, but because he said throw it away.
That mean once it contains alcohol, you cannot extract and use it. So based on this Hadith, it is very clear cut, that once the drink contains alcohol, even if you extract the alcohol completely, you cannot have it. In this case, it is not extracted completely. So in the first case, also it's Haram, if it is extracted completely. In the second case, even though you extract it, yet it contains point 5% alcohol, no issue compared to the effect of a normal beer, if you have one can have normal beer, it contained 5% alcohol.
So if you have 10 cans of non alcoholic beer, or alcohol free beer, it will have the same effect as one can have normal beer. Or if you have half a can of normal beer and a five cans of non alcoholic beer, it will have the same effect and a prophet peace be upon him is very clear. It's mentioned in the sahadi of hypnagogia or in more 400 number 389. To that our beloved prophet masala Salaam said that anything which intoxicates in a large quantity, it is also prohibited in a small quantity. So based on this Hadith, it is very clear cut that for a Muslim having non alcoholic beer is also prohibited number one or digit alcohol into the extracted number two the complete alcohol is not extracted. So based on both of these evidences, it is very clear cut that a Muslim should not have non alcoholic beer. Though the alcohol content is not mentioned on the can idiot does contain alcohol, which if you have a large quantity, the non alcoholic beer, it will have an intoxicating effect based on this. It is prohibited.
Unfortunately, there are many Muslim countries, including many Gulf countries where this a freely available and many Muslims think that it is permitted to have non alcoholic beer. And once when of traveling the plane coming back from Saudi Arabia after doing mumbra there was a Muslim sitting next to me. And he was having beer. At the first instant. I thought you were not a Muslim. Maybe the non Muslim having beer. But later on he asked me to fill in immigration form. So when I read the immigration from the name was Muhammad, so I asked him You are a Muslim? He said yes. Then how can we have a beard? He said I had the same beard.
You call it be even in Saudi Arabia for their salary also it's allowed. So that person being a labor class, he thinks that the beer he was having non alcoholic in Saudi Arabia is allowed for years is the same The taste is same and he had it it is ignorance. So I would say that non alcoholic beer is haram and I would dearly recommend that those which are Muslim majority countries, where the Haram products are not allowed. We should see to it that even this non alcoholic beer is prohibited in these countries because it is not permitted for a Muslim to have non alcoholic beer or alcohol free beer because it does contain alcohol and in large quantity it will intoxicated you hope that answers the question.