Reports on the prohibition of wine

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that when the prohibition of wine was revealed, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) supplicated to Allah Almighty: 'Allahumma bayyin lana fi al-khamri bayanan shafiyan' (O Allah, give us a satisfying explanation regarding wine). Then this verse was revealed: "They ask you about wine and gambling" [Surah al-Baqarah: 219]. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) supplicated as before, and "O you who believe, do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated" [Surah al-Nisa': 43] was revealed. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) made the same supplication, and "So will you not desist?" [Surah al-Ma'idah: 91] was revealed. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "We have desisted."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "They ask you about wine and gambling" [Surah al-Baqarah: 219] and "Do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated" [Surah al-Nisa': 43] were both abrogated by "Indeed, wine, gambling and stone altars" [Surah al-Ma'idah: 90].

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) that four verses were revealed concerning the prohibition of wine, which are mentioned in the hadith that has passed. A man from the Ansar prepared food and then invited us, and we drank wine before it was prohibited, until we became intoxicated. Then we boasted: the Ansar said, "We are superior," and Quraysh said, "We are superior." A man from the Ansar took the jawbone of a camel and struck Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) on the nose with it, splitting his nose, and Sa'd's nose remained split (thereafter). Then the verse about wine was revealed: "Indeed, wine, gambling, stone altars" up to His words: "So will you not desist?" [Surah al-Ma'idah: 90-91].

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that the verse about the prohibition of wine was revealed (in this context): two tribes of the Ansar were drinking wine, and when the people became drunk they began to play about with one another. Then, when they came to their senses, a man saw marks on his face and head and said: "My brother so-and-so did this to me," although (before this) there had been no hatred in their hearts towards one another. So Allah Almighty revealed this verse: "O you who believe, wine, gambling, stone altars and divining arrows are only filth from the work of Satan, so avoid it so that you may succeed. Satan only wants to cause enmity and hatred between you through wine and gambling, and to hinder you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you not desist?" [Surah al-Ma'idah: 90-91]. Then some over-scrupulous people said: It is filth, yet it was in the belly of so-and-so who was killed on the day of Uhud? So the verse was revealed: "There is no sin upon those who believe and do righteous deeds for what they ate, so long as they fear Allah, believe and do righteous deeds" [Surah al-Ma'idah: 93].

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: On the day wine was prohibited, I was serving drink to the people in the house of Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him); their drink was nothing but fadikh made from unripe and dried dates. Suddenly a caller was calling, and he (Abu Talhah) said: "Go out and see." I went out, and there was a caller announcing: Indeed, wine has been prohibited. Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It flowed in the streets of Madinah. Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: Go out and pour it away. So I poured it away. They (or some of them) said: So-and-so was killed and so-and-so was killed while it was in their bellies. Then this verse was revealed: "There is no sin upon those who believe and do righteous deeds for what they ate, so long as they fear Allah, believe and do righteous deeds" [Surah al-Ma'idah: 93].

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was serving a drink made from dried dates to Abu Ubaydah, Abu Talhah and Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with them). Then someone came and said: "Wine has been prohibited." Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Anas, break all these jars. Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I got up and broke them.

Ibn Abi Uways (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated it with its chain in the same way, except that he said: "Someone came to them."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that on the night of the Ascension (Mi'raj), two cups were brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), one of wine and one of milk. He (peace and blessings be upon him) took the cup of milk, and Jibril (peace be upon him) said: "All praise is for Allah, who guided you to the natural disposition (fitrah). Had you taken the wine, your Ummah would have gone astray."

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that news reached Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) about a man who had sold wine. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "May Allah destroy so-and-so; he sold wine! Did he not know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'May Allah destroy the Jews; fats were forbidden to them, so they melted them down and sold them'?"

It is narrated from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a man from the people of Iraq said: We buy the fruit of date palms and grapes, then we make wine from it by pressing it, and then we sell it. Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I call Allah to witness against you, and the angels, and whoever of the jinn and mankind is listening, that I do not order you to buy it, nor to sell it, nor to press it, nor to give it to drink; it is filth and the work of Satan.

It is narrated from Thabit bin Yazid al-Khawlani (may Allah have mercy on him) that he had an uncle who used to sell wine and give (its price) in charity. I used to forbid him, but he would not desist. I went to Madinah and met Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), and I asked him about wine and its price. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Wine is unlawful and its price is also unlawful. Then Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: O people of the Ummah of Muhammad! If there were to be a Book after your Book and a Prophet after your Prophet, then (revelation) would be sent down concerning you just as it was sent down concerning those before you, and your matter would not be deferred until the Day of Resurrection; and by my life, this is more severe upon you.
Thabit (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Then I met Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) and asked him about the price of wine. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I will tell you about wine. I was with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the mosque, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting among us in ihtiba' (sitting with the back and shins bound together by a cloth). Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) undid it and said: "Whoever has any of this wine, let him bring it." The people brought wine; one of them said: I have a rawiyah (a large water-skin), and another said: I have a ziqq (a leather skin). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Gather it in al-Baqi', then inform me." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) came, and I was with him; I stood on his right side, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) stood leaning on me. Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came as well; he (peace and blessings be upon him) put him on his right side and me on the left. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came, and he put him on his left side as well. Then, from between the two of them, he (peace and blessings be upon him) came to the wine and asked: "Do you know what this is?" They said: Yes, this is wine. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You have spoken the truth. Allah Almighty has cursed wine, the one who presses it, the one for whom it is pressed, the one who drinks it, the one who serves it, the one who carries it, the one to whom it is carried, the one who sells it, the one who buys it and the one who consumes its price." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) called for a knife and said: "Sharpen it." They did so, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) himself began slitting those wine-skins. The people said: O Messenger of Allah! These are things in common use (containers). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes! But I am doing this because Allah's displeasure is in it." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah! I will do this in your place (I will suffice you). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No."

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Cursed are wine, the one who drinks it, the one who serves it, the one who presses it, the one for whom it is pressed, the one who carries it, the one to whom it is carried, the one who buys it, and the one who consumes its price."

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever drinks wine in this world and then does not repent from it, it will be forbidden to him in the Hereafter."

Yahya bin Yahya (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I read this hadith to Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), and he mentioned it similarly, except that he did not mention repentance.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever abandons the prayer once due to intoxication, it is as though the world and everything on it were his and it was snatched away from him; and whoever abandons the prayer four times due to intoxication, it is a right upon Allah Almighty to make him drink pus." It was asked: What is tinat al-khabal? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is the pus of the people of Hell."

Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Avoid wine, for it is the mother of all evils. Before you there was a man who used to worship and keep himself apart from people. A wicked woman became infatuated with him and sent her slave girl to him (to say): We are calling you to bear witness. He came, and as he entered through the doors, she kept locking all the doors (behind him). Then she said: I did not call you to bear witness; rather, I called you so that you would do one of these three things: either commit adultery with me, or kill this boy, or drink wine. So he drank wine, and when he had drunk a great deal, he committed adultery as well and also killed the boy. So avoid wine, for faith and wine cannot be together.

Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Beware of wine, for it is the key to every evil. A man was brought and told: Either tear up this Qur'an, or drink wine, or kill this child, or prostrate to the cross. He considered wine the lightest of them and drank it; then he committed adultery as well, killed the child, prostrated to the cross and tore up the Qur'an too.