Can Muslims use perfumes which contain alcohol?

It is prohibited primarily from drinking. This is the point. The production, consumption, distribution, and sale of alcohol for the purpose of drinking, this is forbidden. However, we now use the term alcohol to include a number of other substances which belong to the same family but not for drinking. It's called alcohol, chemical title. All of those not for drinking, is not included. And the alcohol which maybe found in some products, which are used for other than drinking purposes, it won’t be considered prohibited.  As a Muslim to produce it, and it could be used for drinking, of course we shouldn’t do it. But if the product comes from outside, and it contains alcohol, and the substance is used not for drinking purposes, such as cleaning wounds, perfume, it is not forbidden. So, it is the alcohol which is used for drinking purposes or consumption which is forbidden.

Medicines, medical professions, these are based on western medicine. We, Muslim, follow the west. Before, in the past, we led the west. But now, we follow the west. So, their tradition, medicine, traditionally involves a lot of alcohol. So the old medicines, when we go back hundreds years ago, we will find a little bit of alcohol there. Many of the things such as mouthwash, we can only find only alcohol before. But now you can find alcohol free mouthwash. They produce it because so many Muslim complain about it. Actually, we should be the one who produce it. Because the first concept of cleaning the mouth came from Muslim. Our scientists and scholars work for western countries. This is an unfortunate condition for Muslims today.

If it is a necessary medicine without any alternative, there is no choice because it is a matter of life and death. You can take it. But Muslim Ummah carry the sin because they do not develop the alternatives. This is the duty of Muslim doctors and pharmacists. There is no reason for us to use alcohol in the medicines. Alcohol is like the tree in the heaven. When Allah creates Adam, he can have all of the trees except one tree. Alcohol is like that one tree for us today. There are bunch of alternatives that we could create, but we are not. We just go into that tree. So, we are insane. The Ummah is insane for not developing the alternatives.