Title/Issue:
Are tiny amounts of ethanol (alcohol) in the ProTECT study drug haram?
Explanation:
The study drug in this clinical trial is progesterone. The progesterone solution used in this
study, like many medicines, contains a very small amount of ethyl alcohol. The amount of
alcohol being given is not enough to cause any intoxication. This alcohol is needed to make
the progesterone solution, but raises the question of whether it makes the study medicine
haram.
Is it haram? There is no definitive answer to this question, but many Muslims will defer to
prior determinations of Islamic law. Most Islamic scholarly work suggests it is permissible
to take medicines with the intent of alleviating illness even if they contain unavoidable
small amounts of alcohol as a solvent. For some Muslims, however, this will be an
individual decision, and the following discussion is meant to help explain this question of
law.
Alcohol ingestion is clearly designated as haram because it is a substance leading to Sukr
(intoxication). For many Muslims, any agent or process leading to a disconnection from a
state of awareness or consciousness (a state in which he or she may forget the creator) is
called Sukr, which is haram.
However, any substance that man can manufacture or develop in order to alleviate illness
or aid health is permitted. In this capacity, the substance is not used as an agent of
Sukr. For
example, cocaine is permitted as a local anaesthetic (halal, allowed), but inadmissible as a
recreational drug (haram).
This problem has been discussed in many venues including the 16th meeting of the Muslim
Scholars’ Board of the World Muslim League in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in January, 2002. The
Muslim Scholars’ Board reaffirmed that medicines that contain alcohol are permissible if no
substitute exists. Other scholarly opinions also support this view.
It is not clear if this ruling specifically applies to medicines being used in clinical trials like
ProTECT. We could not, however, find any published scholarly opinions that exclude any
medicines because they are being studied.
Muslims with lingering concerns may wish to consult with their religious leaders, or may
want to enter themselves in the national “opt out” registry to avoid being enrolled in the
study.
For study sites: This question and answer may be relevant in other religious communities
as well where alcohol is also forbidden (such as in Seventh Day Adventists. As with all EFIC
trials, this issue is best addressed with due diligence during community consultation and
public disclosure activities.
Reference
:
Qanta A Ahmed, Ziad A Memish, Benedetta Allegranzi, Didier Pittet, on behalf of the WHO Global
Patient Safety Challenge, Muslim health-care workers and alcohol-based handrubs
Lancet 2006; 367: 1025–27