Fatwā

QUESTION

What is the ruling regarding the drinking of non-alcoholic and alcohol-free beverages? Are Muslims allowed to consume drinks that are non-alcoholic and do not intoxicate the drinker? Also, should Muslims stay away from alcohol-free drinks that are manufactured by popular beer and alcohol companies such as Heineken which produces Heineken 0.0%?

ANSWER

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In my understanding, “non-alcoholic” beverages can only be labelled as such when the alcohol content is beneath the 0.5% mark of the total volume. As for “alcohol-free” beverages, these have a 0.0% alcohol content exclusively. If that is the case, then the consumption of alcohol-free beverages has no reason to be denied permissibility.

As for “non-alcoholic” beverages, this issue is a bit more detailed. The reason for this naming, I understand, is that it is highly implausible, if not impossible, for a person to be intoxicated by consuming these beverages regardless of how much they drink. This is because the body processes the less than 0.5% alcohol content much too quickly for enough of it to accumulate in the bloodstream and cause intoxication. If this is truly the case, then the Hadith of RasūluLlāh ṣalla Llahu `alayhi wa sallam: “Whatever intoxicates [only] in large quantities is forbidden even in small quantities” seemingly cannot be applied here, thus permitting the consumption of “non-alcoholic” beverages. You may even infer from this Hadith that something which fails to intoxicate even in very large quantities may be legally consumed! This has indeed been the opinion of many contemporary scholars. This makes sense when you understand that even some fruits contain naturally-occurring, minute traces of alcohol within them, and yet we all know that fruits are permissible to consume. This is due to the exact same reason as above.

As for your final query, I would say caution dictates avoiding such brands, even if the beverage in question is labelled alcohol-free. Someone seen with a Heineken bottle in his hand could well raise quite a few brows, thereby leaving a less-than-savoury impression of that person in many, even after the truth is made clear. Best would be to entirely avoid this potential fitnah. 

وﷲ تعالى أعلم

And Allah knows best

Y Karaan
DUAI Fatwa Department