AL-KHAMR

Abstinents in the Pre-Islamic Arabia

 According to the History of Arabia, the first man who abandoned wine in the pre-Islamic period was Walid b.  Mughira who visualized its harms.  Another report mentions the name of Qais b. Asim.  Some other persons who avoided drinking wine before the advent of Islam were:

            Muqis b. Sababa, ‘Abdul Muttalic-the grand father of our Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Abu Talib-father of Hadrat ‘Ali (Allah be pleased with him), Qusayy b. Kilab,  Warqa b. Naufal-the nephew of Hadrat Khadija (Allah be please with her)-Shaiba b. Rabi’a and ‘Abbas b. Maradas.

            It is reported that people said to ‘Abbas b. Maradas, “Why don’t you drink wine while it increases warmth? “  He replied, “ I am not going to hold my ignorance in my hand and put it into my stomach, nor do I like to be the leader of a people in the morning and turn to be a foolish one in the evening.”  These words are of a man who lived in the age of Ignorance and had great regard for reason and nobility.  He did not like lowliness and insanity.  What a wisdom which these words impart!  Is there any soul to receive exhortation?

            In the similar way, the prominent Companions of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), like Hadrat Abu Bakr, Hadrat ‘Uthman and Hadrat ‘Ali (Allah be pleased with them)  abstained from drinking wine during the pre-Islamic period.  Hadrat ‘Uthman (Allah be please with him) was asked why he had not touched alcohol even during his pre-Islamic life.  His answer was, “al-Khamr ‘robs’ the mind totally; and I have not yet seen anything which when entirely ‘robbed’ or curtailed will come back in its original intact form”.  Another contemporary of Hadrat ‘Uthman (Allah be pleased with him) refused to drink wine.  He said, “ I refuse to consume that which consumes my mind.”

The verses of the Holy Qur’an which touched the problem are:

“They ask thee (O Prophet) about Khamr (intoxicants) and games of chance (gambling).  Say:  In both of them there is great harm although there is some advantage as well in them for men, but their harm is much greater than their advantages.”  (2:219)

“O ye who believe! Draw not near unto Prayer when you are in a state of intoxication until you know that you utter.”  (4:43)

“O believers! Surely – wine and games of chance (ungodly) shrines, and divining devices, are abomination of Satan’s work.  Avoid them, that ye may prosper.  Only would Satan sow hatred and strife among you, by wine, and games of chance, and turn you aside from the remembrance of Allah, and from Prayer: Will you not, therefore, abstain from them?  (5:90,91)

            From the foregoing Qur’anic verses we can deduce that all intoxicants resulting into loss of wit, wastage of wealth and ruin of health, debauching status and nobility and marring personality, are unlawful like wine, opium, hemp etc.  All these substances are unlawful in Shari’ah, whether they are smelt, snuffed or drunk.  

Traditions on Prohibition of al-Khamr

           Though originally the Arabic word “Khamr” meant only wine, it is also a applied to all the liquors brewed from wheat, barley, dried grapes, dates and honey.  Whatever is the material from which liquor is prepared and whatever is the process of preparation, every intoxicant is forbidden.  The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prohibited all sorts of intoxicants, and there are traditions that clearly testify this: “Every intoxicant is wine and is unlawful.”  “Every drink that intoxicates is unlawful.”  “I prohibit every intoxicant.”  

Every Intoxicant is Unlawful

‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prohibited intoxicants, games of chance, card-playing and  Gobairah  and he said:  Every intoxicant is unlawful. (Abu Dawud)

Ibn’Umar (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Every intoxicant is khamr and every intoxicant is forbidden.  He who drinks wine in this world and dies while he is addicted to it, not having repented, will not be given a drink in the Hereafter.(Muslim)

            ‘A’isha (Allah be pleased with her)  reported that the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him ) was asked about Bit’, whereupon he said:  Every drink that causes intoxication is forbidden. (Agreed upon)

            Umm Salama (Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)  prohibited every intoxicant and exciting food. (Abu Dawud)

            Abu Musa (Allah be pleased with him ) reported :Allah’s Apostle (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent me and Mu’adh bin Jabal(Allah be pleased with him)  to Yaman.  I said: Allah’s Apostle, in our land wine is prepared out of barley which is known as Mizr (beer of our times) and from honey which known as Bit’ (are these also forbidden?), whereupon he said :  Every intoxicant is forbidden.(Muslim)

            Abu Burda (Allah be pleased with him) reported on the authority of his grandfather that Allah’s Apostle (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent him and Mu’adh bin Jabal to Yaman and said to them:  Give glad tidings to the (people), and make things easy (for them ), teach (them), and do not repel(them); and I think he also said : Co-operate cheerfully with each other.  When he (the Holy Prophet) turned his back, Abu Musa (Allah be pleased with him) turning towards him, said: Allah’s Apostle, they (the people of Yaman) have a drink which is made from honey and that is prepared by cooking it until it coagulates, and Mizr is prepared from barley, whereupon Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said;  Every Askara (intoxicant) that detains you from Prayer is forbidden. (Muslim)

            Here the word “Askara” (intoxicant) has a very comprehensive and meaningful expression that covers so many shades of meanings connected with the use of wine.  It may mean the intoxicant which keeps us away from Prayer as we read in the Qur’an:

 “Draw not near unto Prayer when you are in a state of intoxication.” (4:43)

            The state of intoxication is thus described as an obstacle  in the way of Prayer.

            This expression may also mean that intoxicant makes one unmindful of Prayer as we find in the Qur’an:

            “By means of intoxicants and games of chance, Satan seeks only to sow enmity and hatred amongst you, and to turn you away from the remembrance of Allah and from Prayer.” (5:91)

            This expression may also imply the drink that clouds the intellect and consciousness of a person so that he fails to keep himself devoted in Prayer.  In Prayer man faces God spiritually during his earthly life; he is, therefore, required to have full consciousness of his own self, of the act of devotion in which he is engaged and of the Great Lord with whom he is in spiritual communion at that time. Consciousness is indispensable in every act of worship which is destroyed under the influence of an intoxicant.  One should be in his senses to be aware of what he rehearses.

            Jabir (Allah be pleased with him) reported  that a person came from Jaishan, a town of Yaman, and he asked Allah’s apostle(peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) about the wine which was drunk in his country and which was prepared from millet and was called  Mizr.  Allah’s Apostle (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked him whether  that was intoxicating.  He replied in affirmative.  Thereupon Allah’s Apostle (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:  every intoxicant is forbidden.  Verily Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, made a covenant to those who drank intoxicants to make them drink Tinat al-Khabal.  They said : O’ Allah’s Prophet what is tinat al-Khabal ?  He (the Holy prophet) replied :  It is the sweat of the denizens of Hell or the discharge of the Denizens of Hell. (Muslim)

Nafi’ reported Ibn ‘Umar as saying: Allah’s Apostle (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)  has said :  Every intoxicant is khamr and every khamr is forbidden. (Muslim)

            This hadith clearly shows that all kinds of intoxicants, e.g., opium, hemp and cocaine are forbidden.  Imam Ibn Taimiyya has stated:

 “Hemp is forbidden whether it clouds intellect or not.  Immoral persons are used to it... So whoso use hemp are like those who drink wine as its effects are nearly the same.”

Intoxicant even in Smallest Quantity is Unlawful

 Some people think that a small quantity of alcohol can do no harm.  But it is one of the myths which the scientific analysis has already exploded.  Even such a tiny concentration of alcohol in blood as 0.15% (one-seventh of one per cent) impairs the faculties so much that driving becomes extremely dangerous.  Also, it requires a strong will-power to restrict a drunkard’s intake of alcohol.  As the alcohol destroys the power of judgment, as it frees man from every inhibition, it is foolish to believe that once started a man can control his drinking habits.  When the will-power is weakened by the effect of alcohol, drinking leads to drunkenness and finally to alcoholism.  Islam does not tend a man into this trap.  It was for this reason that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) laid down the principle : If a large quantity of something is intoxicant, then even its smallest portion is also unlawful, and if a cup of anything is intoxicant , then even a drop of it is also unlawful.

            Jabir (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Apostle of Allah(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him ) said:  What intoxicates in greater quantity is unlawful also in small quantity. (Tirmidhi, Abu, Dawud, Ibn Maja)

‘A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who said : What is intoxicating upto fraq is unlawful even in its handful. (Tirmidhi,Abu Dawud, Ahmad)

                        Two points should be clearly borne in mind in this connection:

(a)                Anything that causes intoxication is forbidden in Islam, whether its quantity is large of small.  No person can argue that since the small quantity of any intoxicant does not affect the mind adversely, it may not be treated as unlawful.  This is a fallacious reasoning.  It is the intoxicant which is unlawful, no matter whatever be its quantity.  The haram is  haram  and a Muslim should be scrupulous enough to abstain from it, whether its quantity is large of small.

(b)                Secondly, no person can say that since the use of liquor does not intoxicate him, he is justified in using that.  If a habitual drunkard does not lose control over himself altogether, it does not mean that the liquor ceases to be forbidden.  Islam has made certain foods and drinks unlawful primarily on the basis of the pernicious effects that these create on the spiritual and moral health of human beings.  Drinking is an evil through and through-the undesirable fact which is recognised by all right-thinking people whether they belong to our age or to the old age.  It saps the very root of morality, self-control and God-consciousness, making man an easy prey to evil.  

A Drunkard is not a Believer

            Abu Huraira(Allah be pleased with him)  reported that the Apostle of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said : “An adulterer, at the time he is committing illegal sexual intercourse is not a believer ; and a person, at the time of drinking wine is not a believer ; and a thief, at the time of stealing, is not a believer.  (Bukhari)

A Habitual Drunkard will not Enter Paradise

           Ibn’Umar (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Apostle of Allah(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said :  There are three for whom Paradise has been prohibited- a habitual drunkard, one disobedient to parents, and a careless husband who establishes impurity in his family. (Ahmad, Nisa’i)

            Abu Musa al-Ash’ari (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Apostle of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said :  There are three (categories of person) who will not enter Paradise- a habitual drunkard, one who cuts off blood-ties and one who believes in sorcery. (Ahmad)

            Abu Umama (Allah be pleased with him)reported that the Apostle of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)  said:  Verily, the Almighty Allah sent me as a mercy for all the worlds ; and my Almighty, the Glorious Lord ordered me to abolish drums, musical instruments, idols, cross and the affairs of the Days of Ignorance.  My God Almighty, the Glorious has promised:  By My honour, out of My servants who drinks a cup of wine but I will give him drink like it from hot water (of hell) ; and one who gives it up out  of My fear but I will give him drink from the Holy Fountain.                                     (Ahmad)  

The Cursed Ten Persons

             Anas(Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said : Verily Allah has cursed ten persons-one who squeezes it ; one who is engaged for squeezing it ; one who drinks it ; one who carries it ; one to whom it is carried ; one who serves drink; one who sells it ; one who devours its price ; one who purchases it  and one for whom it is purchased.    (Tirmidhi, Abu Daud, Ibn Maja)

Wine is Disease

In medicines, wine should be avoided because wine itself is a disease:

Wa’il al-Hadrami (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Tariq ibn Siwaid al-Ju’fi asked the Holy Prophet(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), about liquor.  He forbade (its use) and he expressed hatred that it should be prepared : He (Taiq) said : I prepare it as a medicine, whereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said : It is no medicine, but an ailment. (Muslim)  

Wine should not be offered as a Gift

The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not permit wine to be offered to non-Muslims as a gift.  It was declared forbidden.

Some of the Muslims said: Why spill it, why not give it to the Jews?  Thereupon the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:  He who made it unlawful has also forbidden it to be offered as a gift to other people.

No Excuse for Wine-Drinking

            Cold climate is no excuse for wine-drinking:

             Dailamah  al-Humairi (Allah be pleased with him) reported : I asked : O’ Messenger of Allah, verily we are in a cold land, and we have to do hard labour therein, and we prepare wine from this wheat which gives us strength in our works and in the chill of our cities.  He said : Does it intoxicate ?  ‘Yes’, said I.  He said: Give it up.  I said : Verily the people cannot give it up.  He said:  If they do not give it up, fight with them.                                                                (Abu Dawud)  

A Drunkard is a Worshipper of Idol

            Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him ) reported that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), said :  One who is addicted to wine is like one who worships idols.    (Ahmad & Nisa’i)

            Ibn ‘Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said :  If the habitual drunkard dies, he  meets Allah like one who worships idols. (Ahmad, Ibn Maja)

             The traditions mentioned above are enough testimony to prove that every intoxicant is khamr and every khamr is haram (unlawful).  If the large quantity of a thing causes intoxication, its small quantity even if it does not provoke intoxication, is also haram (unlawful).  Thus everything which causes intoxication is  unlawful.

            Khamr is a key to all evils and a mainspring of all atrocities.

            May Allah safeguard us against the blind pursuit of evil promptings and against the obeisance of Satan.

Prohibition of Wine in Islam-Brief History

            Historians differ about the period during which wine was declared unlawful.  Some hold that it was declared unlawful in the month of Rabi’ul Awwal,  4 A.H.(August, 625 A.D.) after the battle of Banu Nadir while the other contend that wine was declared unlawful after the battle of Ahzab (Tribes) which was fought  in the month of Shawwal, 4 A.H.(March, 625 A.D.).  It is also said that battle of Ahzab was fought in the month of Shawwal, 5 A.H. (February, 626 A.D.).

            The first view is more authentic due to the narration of Hadrat ‘Abdullah b. ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with them) wherein he reported : “I volunteered myself to the Holy Prophet(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on the day of battle of Uhud while I was still a lad of 14 years and he rejected me; and I (again) offered myself to him on the day of battle of Khandaq (Trench) while I was a lad of 15 years and he allowed me to participate in the battle of Trench.  This tradition has been transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim and we come to learn that there was only a gap of one year between the battle of Uhud and the battle of Trench and the battle of Uhud according to the consensus of opinion of the historians,  took place in the month of Shawwal 3 A.H.

            There are still some other historians who hold the view that wine was declared unlawful in the year of Treaty of Hudaibiya.  This event occurred in the month of Dhi Qa’da, 6 A.H. (March, 627 A.D.).  It is not possible to reconcile these three historic reports.  It is said that wine was declared unlawful gradually, as everyone is aware, in three different stages.  Most probably, the first report deals with the period of revelation of the Qur’anic Verse :  “They as thee(O Prophet) about khamr (intoxicants) and games of chance(gambling).  Say : In both of them there is great harm............” (2:219), whereas the second report of history indicates the period of revelation of the Verse :”O’ ye who  believe ! Draw not near unto Prayer when you are in a state of intoxication until you know that you utter”. (4:43).  The third report perhaps pertains to the revelation of the Verse:” O’ ye who believe! Surely wine and games of chance, (ungodly) shrines, and divining devices, are abomination of Satan’s work.  Avoid them, that ye may prosper.” (5:90,91).  With the revelation of these two Verses, drinking wine was completely banned.  To sum up, wine was first declared as unlawful in the month of Rabi’ul Awwal, 4 A.H.(August 625 A.D.). For the second time it was declared unlawful in the month of Shawwal, 4 A.H.(March, 625 A.D.).  It was declared unlawful on the third occasion in the month of Dhi al-Qa’da (March 627 A.D.).