In 2:219 God says that there is great ithm/sin in alcohol. Anything qualified as ithm is haram; in 7:33 Allah harrama/prohibited the ithm/sin. Gambling and drinking in pre-Islamic times were a means through which the rich showed their generosity and helped the needy. In winters, they would gather and drink until inebriated, then slaughter any camels they could get hold of after which they paid the owner any price he demanded. They would then gamble on the meat of the slaughtered camels. Whatever parts of meat a person won in this gambling, he would generously distribute them among the poor who would gather around on such occasions.
In pre-Islamic Arabia, this was a matter of great honour and people who took part in this activity were considered very philanthropic and generous. The poets would narrate the accounts of their benevolence in their odes. It was this very benefit of drinking and gambling which prompted people to make an inquiry when they were regarded as prohibited items.
However as explained, the sin of alcohol surpasses the moral benefit it might bring, and in addition the same benefits can be acquired through other means with higher standards of morality and honor. In the same way, the supposed health benefits of a "moderate" alcohol consumption can be obtained through other, safer means. Everyone has a different notion of moderation and a drink is most often followed by another.
Ethanol, the main component of alcoholic beverages affects a large number of organs including the brain. It disrupts folic acid, a vital cancer fighting vitamin, especially in women with breast cancer risks. It has also recently been established that as little as 1 glass of alcohol (wine or beer, with a 10gr alcohol content) raised the chance of breast cancer in women. More and more recent researches point that when it comes to any kind of alcoholic drink, less is better and none is best. The protective effect of alcohol is offset by the risks. The beneficial antioxidant polyphenols in red wine can for instance be obtained from blueberries, tea or dark chocolate. Besides, it has been recently shown that even a moderate consumption of alcohol is harmful on many organs including the heart, contrary to what was previously thought, and not only that, it was also shown that the more moderate drinkers cut back on their alcohol intake, the more their organs benefited. When a mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy, even a small dose, she can increase the chances that the next three generations may develop alcoholism as revealed in recent studies. As a side note, a new analysis took a deeper look at all previous studies, 87 in all, on the alleged positive effects of moderate drinking. And it found that many were flawed, with designs suggesting benefits where there were likely none. The fundamental flaw being, who are these moderate drinkers being compared against? When comparative biases were modified, moderate drinkers no longer showed a longevity advantage. Further, only 13 of the 87 studies avoided biasing the abstainer comparison group--and these showed no health benefits.
As to the moral harm, it is due, amongst other things, to it causing dissention among the people, pulling them away from God-consciousness, remembrance of the divine and prayer 5:90-1 or as stated in the HB in
As to the moral harm, it is due, amongst other things, to it causing dissention among the people, pulling them away from God-consciousness, remembrance of the divine and prayer 5:90-1 or as stated in the HB in
Prov20:1"Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise".The "profits" found in games of chance and alcohol, therefore point in no way to their allowance, especially when the same verse 2:219 calls them sins - even great sins- and that their sin, ie their moral harm far surpasses their potential profit. There are benefits in alcohol like there are all kinds of profits from harmful things and deeds. The Quran is here stating a fact about alcohol without hinting to its permissability. 16:67 similarly speaks of 2 things mankind derives from alcohol, profit and intoxication.
This verse, where mankind manipulates a raw material to willfully make something good or evil, is in contrast to the previous one where God only makes something good from another raw material, resulting in milk. This subtle opposition of intent, what God does only results in good and what humans do can have opposite effects in the material world, finds a parallel in spiritual matters. It corroborates the oft repeated Quranic condemnation of those that misuse their spiritual potential to commit evil, or that misuse and corrupt the revelation from God.
Further, 2:219 does not only refer to the state of drunkenness being a great sin, but to any type of thing one ingests and which causes that state. The word used is khamr, stemming from KH-M-R meaning a covering, hence its use for wine which deludes the ability of distinction, "covering" the wisdom. But it isnt strictly restricted to wine. It can be extended to all other intoxicants. God did not prohibit one alcoholic drink and allowed others obtained through different means. God forbade all drinks that cause the state of mental confusion.
This means the consumption of intoxicating drinks even moderately, without resulting in a state of drunkenness, is a great sin. This reflects in the prophet's care on the issue.
Nabidh is a beverage made of grapes or dates, and does not indicate whether it is fermented or not. The prophet drank unfermented nabidh. When signs of fermentation began appearing he discarded it. That is why he
"forbade (the preparation of Nabidh) in a green pitcher (besmeared with pitch), in varnished jar, and in gourd, and he said: Prepare Nabidh in small waterskins".
This keeps the contents cooler for longer. Elsewhere, he said
"I had forbidden you from the preparation of Nabidh except in a waterskin. But now you may drink in all vessels, but do not drink what is intoxicant".
It is also reported that once Abu Huraira, who knew
"the Apostle of Allah used to keep fast, waited for the day when he did not fast to present him the drink (Nabith) which I made in a pumpkin. I then brought it to him while it fermented. He said: Throw it to this wall, for this is a drink of the one who does not believe in Allah and the Last Day.”
When 4:43 states that one should not pray when intoxicated, it is simply speaking of a situation where one has already transgressed and is intoxicated through alcohol or other means, so he should not pray in such state. Also if one looks closely at 5:90-91, it ends with a strong admonition in the form of a rhetorical question
"Will you then desist?"
This points to the fact that the people had still not desisted even after the Quran told them that alcohol is a great sin, and that sins are prohibited. This rhetorical question is a reminder of an earlier prohibition. It isnt unanimous among scholars that alcohol was progressively banned. This is because, as stated in introduction, 7:33, which is Meccan, prohibits all sins and 2:219 which is Medinan says alcohol is a great sin.
Some narrations show that the intoxicants, like idolatry and fornication were among the major prohibitions known about the prophet since before the hijra. Ibn Hisham quotes a narration where Asha ibn Qays was warned against converting to Islam because of these 3 prohibitions. But drinking was so hardwired into the people's habits that Umar is depicted as repeatedly praying God to reveal another command that would dissuade the people. Everytime a verse would be revealed and that the people kept on drinking despite the prohibition, Umar would keep praying God to further reveal verses banning the practice, intensifying the prohibition. The hadith in question do not show Umar making his prayers known to the prophet or reporting the issue to him. The ban on alcohol is one of the major Quranic commands and had Umar anything to do from close or far with it being revealed then he would have surely given himself credit for it, as he is depicted doing concerning other important revelations such as the change of qibla, and even matters that pertained to the prophet's household contained in the Quran, such as the veiling of his wives or the admonition towards those of them that would cause him trouble.
From a linguistic perspective, gambling and intoxicating drinks are qualified with the word rijs, meaning harm and dirtiness, in addition stressed as coming from the devil. Very few sins are qualified with such words, because not all sins are equal. Also in 5:90, intoxicating drinks are placed among the sins to be avoided. The word for "avoid" is ijtanibu, which conveys the idea of active avoidance, doing all necessary preparedness so as to avoid coming in contact with it, from close or far.
So the reasons essentially given in both the Quran and hadith pertain to the spiritual damage caused by alcohol, which is why the only circumstances forbidden to an inhebriated person or even one who drinks a small amount, are when performing rituals and prayers.
The Quran does not prescribe a punishment for drinking alcohol. The prophet told his followers to beat the one that does, but did not specify the manner. It was not a systematic command and neither was it often applied despite alcohol being deeply embedded in the society of the time. Abu Bakr to whom a drinker was brought, had to search for witnesses to establish a precedent through the prophet's practice in a similar case. That this closest companion had to make such an inquiry shows how rarely the prophet applied physical punishment to drinkers. If beating was so seldomly applied then it means the case of the drinker brought to the prophet and whom he ordered be beaten, and which Abubakr inquired about, had to be significant enough to deserve such a decision. The caliphs that followed Abubakr equally conjectured in their own way as to the details of the punishment for drinking
"I saw the Messenger of Allah on the morning of the conquest of Mecca when I was a young boy. He was walking among the people, seeking the camp of Khalid ibn al-Walid. A man who had drunk wine was brought (before him) and he ordered them (to beat him). So they beat him with what they had in their hands. Some struck him with whips, some with sticks and some with sandals. The Messenger of Allah threw some dust on his face. When a man who had drunk wine was brought before AbuBakr, he asked them (i.e. the people) about the number of beatings which they gave him. They numbered it forty. So AbuBakr gave him forty lashes. When Umar came to power, Khalid ibn al-Walid wrote to him: The people have become addicted to drinking wine and they look down upon the prescribed punishment and its penalty. He said: They are with you, ask them. The immigrants who embraced Islam in the beginning were with him. He asked them and they agreed on the fact that (a drunkard) should be given eighty lashes. Ali said: When a man drinks wine, he tells lies. I, therefore, think that he should be prescribed punishment that is prescribed for telling lies.."
The Hebrew Bible also speaks strongly against the effects of alcohol and its damage to spirituality Isa28:7,Prov20:1,23:31,32. The priestly clan of the Levites are strictly forbidden under the death penalty and as an everlasting ordinance from any intoxicating drink in any amount, whether wine or other stronger beverages, when performing sacred rituals or entering holy places Lev10:8-11,Ezek44:21. God in the Bible obviously dislikes spirituality being associated with alcohol in any amounts. That passage of Leviticus admonishes Aaron directly concerning alcohol, showing the seriousness of the warning. Nowadays, that prohibition of having even a single glass of wine is maintained, and only broken when priests are about to bless the congregation.
This prohibition is also extended to the Nazirites Numbers6:3-4, a group of people selected to be separated from the ways of the people of the land and were engaged in the Torah. The prophet Amos would later condemn the use of alcohol as a device aimed at corrupting these secluded teachers of the Torah Amos2:11-12. Besides calling for the community's spiritual leaders to distance themselves from alcoholic drinks, the HB warns the rulers of nations, telling them
Prov31:4"it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink. Lest he drink and forget what was made law, and change the judgment of all the impoverished".
This isnt speaking of excessive drinking, as later corrupt minds have argued in an effort to open the door to this evil to society at large. It is speaking of the consumption of intoxicating drinks in any quantity as unfitting for people with responsibilities.
In the NT itself we see the abstinence from alcoholic beverages described as a distinguishing factor of spiritual uprightness Lk1:11-16.
Alcohol is a great evil, present in all nations and only Islam has achieved the social and spiritual revolution required to rid humanity from its grip. Secular societies tried outright banning it, only to give rise to underground channels of production and distribution by gangs and corrupt officials. The adherents to the great religions neither could not abandon this obviously unrighteous habit. And this despite passages negatively portraying drinking and the state of drunkenness. These passages either being remnants of prohibitions reinterpreted with time to allow a choice in the matter, or non-forcefull statements meant at paving the way for the total prohibition of alcohol with the last revelation to mankind.
As far as the Quran and Islamic history are concerned, nothing is ever said of the purpose being to discipline some warriors among the believers for an alleged habit of getting drunk before going to battle as a few corrupt minds and insidious critics claim, nor is there any instance of a report stating that the soldiers were intoxicated as they left for the battlefield, which prompted the prohibition. Those who claim otherwise like quoting a hadith saying that some people had drunk alcohol and died at the battle of Uhud later, and associate the ban to this occasion. Not only isnt there anything said about some of them dying in a stated of intoxication or that they had drunk to the point of being inhebriated before leaving to the battlefield, just as there isnt anything said about the ban having been revealed on this occasion or shortly after, but also if one looks closer at the narration and other ones where it is reported in full, it is in a context where, after the prohibition was revealed, some people inquired of their martyred friends' spiritual situation in the Hereafter, since they had died at the battlefield of Uhud while their was still alcohol left in their system due to having drank a short while before the start of the battle. The narration states that it was in such background that the verse 5:93 was revealed
"On those who believe and do deeds of righteousness there is no blame for what they ate (in the past), when they guard themselves from evil, and believe, and do deeds of righteousness.." see Bukhari V6,B60,N144.
One might legitimately ask why wasnt alcohol banned as soon as the Quran began to be revealed if it is considered a great sin? The fact is, whenever God established a new nation under a new set of laws, a period of spiritual reform, social preparedness and discipline preceded the promulgation of these laws. The closest example is that of the Israelites. The Quran isnt a dry set of laws, but a book of reform, which is carried through by intricate educational means.
Further reading answering Sam Shamoun "The Reason Muhammad Prohibited Intoxicants"
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