Salam Alaykum , Thank you for responding to many of my previous fatwas, one had to do with the drug adderall. And, how it was described in the fatwa as not being an intoxicant. My next question is what is the evidence supporting this and what is the best advice you can give is there is a scholar difference among this issue. I read a fatwa on islam question and answer that stated the "alterness pills" (i.e. amphetamines) are Khamr. So, how do I reconcile. My heart tells me to stay away from them. However, the fatwa on islam question and answer addresses this as a serious drug and should be avoided. I understand opinion is healthy. Here are the fatwas: Amja fatwa: Dr. Hatem Al Haj 81504 under varities. Islam q&a fatwa 94587 (not by me)

All praise be to Allah, and may His blessings and peace be on the final messenger, Muhammad,

I had some difficulty finding that fatwa on Islam-QA, because it is 94857, not 94587 and it is “alertness pills,” not “alterness pills.”

I did review the answer which contained the fatwa of the esteemed scholars of the Standing Committee, and for the benefit of the readers, I include it here:

“The Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas was asked: What is the ruling on medicines that help students stay up to study and help drivers keep awake on long journeys?

They replied: The harm they cause is greater than the benefits they bring, and anything that is like that is haraam. And one can do without these medicines by using things that are more beneficial than them and free of side effects. Students can spread out their study time and this is more effective in making the information stick in their minds and helping them understand it more deeply, so they are less likely to forget it. Drivers can take rests at intervals during their long trips, and even if it takes them a little longer to cross the distance, it will be safer for them and their passengers and those who share the road with them, and it will be better for the traffic system. End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (25/32). “

As expected, I didn’t find any mention of those pills being khamr, and that is what I expected of a body of most esteemed scholars like the Standing Committee and a credible site like Islam-QA; I found them to have based their answer on the balance between harm and benefit.

I must say here that their answer and mine are not dissimilar in any way. I concur with their fatwa without hesitation; my answer was not about people who take those pills for a boost of energy, for that is not a warranted indication according to any medical authority. In fact, those medications are considered class II medications by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the USA, which means that prescribing them is subject to a great deal of scrutiny.

However, for people who have certain diseases, such as hyper-somnolence and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, the benefit of the medicine does outweigh the harm, and the calculation of the balance here is something the faqeeh would defer to the expert, which is the medical community in this case. If the answers were in fact different, that should not cause you any distress either, because you will come across many issues about which the scholars have disagreed.

Those issues may even not be as intricate as the matter at hand, where the balance between the benefits and harms may be subject to a measure of subjectivity, so people may disagree despite being, conceptually, totally aligned and in complete agreement.

Allah knows best.