What is the ruling on using everyday products that contain ethyl alcohol or animal derivatives not slaughtered according to Islamic law, especially given the difficulty of finding "halal" alternatives for these products in Arab countries?

1. Alcohol (khamr) is considered impure by most scholars, and it is not permissible to use products containing alcohol, such as soaps and creams.

2. If alcohol undergoes a transformation (istiḥālah) from its original state and becomes non-intoxicating, then it becomes pure and does not render impure the products to which it is added. This is the view preferred by Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah.

3. The questioner is advised to disregard obsessive thoughts (wasāwis) and not pay attention to them.