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There does however exist another criterion for this law in the case of wine and intoxicants and that is the criterion of impurity according to numerous reports such as the one from Abi 'Abd Allah (as)- "do not pray in clothes that have wine or intoxicant on it until you wash them"
According to this transactions with intoxicants or their consumption would be unlawful -
a. Due to being intoxicants
b. Due to being impure substances
Furthermore their oral application would also be deemed unacceptable for the purpose of prayers and other devotional rituals requiring a state of purity.
Here we are faced with two questions -
a. The nature of the substance of the intoxicant
b. The cause of the impurity of the intoxicant
As for the first according to al-Sayyid al-Khu'I it is confined to liquid intoxicants by the argument that the Prophetic narration "every intoxicant is wine" is concerned merely with the apparent quality of the intoxicant not impurity and thus the analogy is of the nature of the intoxicant only.
Another argument is that the substances prepared for the purpose of intoxication through consumption were confined to liquids in the formative era of legislation and so the reports of intoxicants will be interpreted in terms of liquids not solids (al-Insiraf)
It is clear at this juncture that oral usage of solid intoxicants would be permitted through apparent law derived from the procedural principle of exemption derived from the Prophetic tradition of " al-Raf'" (my nation has no responsibility for things they know not) or specifically from the judicial precept of "purity" derived from the Prophetic narration "everything is pure until known to be impure." This is because the solid intoxicants are not governed by the evidences conveying the impurity of liquid intoxicants as a primary actual law and by the non-existence of evidence explaining their own status in law.
As for the second question if it can be ascertained that the impurity of intoxicants is derived from the process of fermentation, as is possible from certain reports, and also the report from Abi 'Abd Allah stating that- "the Prophet said, wine is from five things: al-'asir from vine grapes, al-Naqi' from dried raisins, al-But' from honey, al-Mazr from barley and al-Nabith from dates," which shows that the concept of liquid intoxicants was confined to intoxicants derived by process of fermentation.
If so then some of the modern day spirits and industrial alcohol would be deemed as pure and thus their application would not be a prevention to engaging in ritual devotions requiring a state of purity.
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