Answer
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
Though it is not permissible to drink alcohol, using alcohol-based perfume or hair oil is permissible as alcohol is not impure.
Answering your question, Dr. Wael Shehab, PhD in Islamic Studies from Al-Azhar University and currently the Imam of the Downtown Toronto Masjid in Canada, states:
What is not permissible in Islam is drinking alcohol. Prophet Muhammad’s Companions (peace be upon him) once asked him about certain drinks made from honey, corn, or barley by the process of fermenting them until they became alcoholic. The Prophet replied, “Every intoxicant is Khamr, and every Khamr is haram.” (Muslim)
Though drinking alcohol is not permissible, wearing or applying alcohol-based perfume or hair oil is not prohibited as alcohol is not impure in itself.
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.