1
Question: What is your opinion about the beer (Maa al-Sha'eir) which is sold on the market normally with a label that reads "alcohol free".
Answer: The drink that is made from barley and called "Fuqa' in Arabic is definitely forbidden and ritually impure as an obligatory precaution. This drink is not intoxicant normally but it makes one feel tipsy; that is a state of slight drunkenness caused apparently by low percentage of alcohol in the liquid. Therefore, if a drink is produced alcohol free in the first place and it is not called "Fuqa" (beer), there is no problem, or else, it is forbidden even if alcohol is separated from it. God knows best!
2
Question: Is it permissible to drink beer that says “alcohol free” on it?
Answer: It is not permissible to drink, if “beer” means the drink made from barley that causes mild drunkenness. But if it means a drink made from barley that does not cause mild drunkenness, there is no problem in it.
3
Question: Are alcoholic beverages pure? Is beer pure?
Answer: There is no doubt about the impurity of alchoholic drinks. As far as beer (fuqa') is concerned, it is impure on the basis of precaution; however, there is no doubt in it being haram.
