Surah Al-Maaida (5) — Ayah 91

(Ayah 91) {اِنَّمَا يُرِيْدُ الشَّيْطٰنُ اَنْ يُّوْقِعَ بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ …: } After declaring the prohibition of gambling and alcohol, now their religious and worldly harms are being mentioned. The religious harm is that alcohol and gambling become a cause for preventing and neglecting prayer and the remembrance of Allah, and the worldly harm is that they create enmity and hatred among people, and the presence of these evils in both is absolutely clear.
It is narrated from Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that I came to some people from the Ansar and Muhajirin, and they said, “Come, we will feed you and give you alcohol to drink.” This was before the prohibition of alcohol. So I went to them in a garden, and they had a roasted camel’s head and a waterskin of alcohol. I ate and drank with them. They began to discuss the Muhajirin and Ansar, so I said, “The Muhajirin are better than the Ansar.” Then a man picked up a jawbone from the head and struck me with it, injuring my nose. I went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and told him about this, so Allah Almighty revealed this verse about alcohol: «اِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَ الْمَيْسِرُ » [ مسلم، فضائل الصحابۃ، باب فی فضل سعد بن أبی وقاص، قبل ح : ۱۷۴۸ ]

91. 1 These are the further social and religious harms of alcohol and gambling, which are self-evident and need no explanation. That is why alcohol is called the mother of all evils, and gambling is also such a bad addiction that it renders a person useless for any work, and often turns the sons of the wealthy and hereditary landlords into paupers and destitute. May Allah protect us from both of them.

91. Satan only seeks to sow enmity [137] and hatred among you through wine and gambling, and to hinder you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you not then desist?

[137] To understand how alcohol becomes a cause of mutual enmity and hatred, consider the following two hadiths:

1. Sayyiduna Ali ؓ narrates that on the day of Badr, from the spoils of war that we received, I got a young she-camel in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ also had a share. And the Prophet ﷺ had gifted me another young she-camel. I used to tie both these she-camels at the door of an Ansari man. My task was to load these two she-camels with izkhir (grass), bring it, and sell it. A goldsmith from Banu Qaynuqa‘ used to work with me in this. I was about to marry Sayyidah Fatimah ؓ (the daughter of the Messenger ﷺ), and I wanted to arrange the wedding feast from this income. One day, Sayyiduna Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib (your uncle) was sitting in that house drinking alcohol, and a singing woman was singing. That singer recited this verse: "Ala ya Hamzatu lish-sharafi an-nawa" (Arise, Hamzah, for the plump young she-camels).

How do alcohol and gambling become causes of mutual enmity? As soon as Sayyiduna Hamzah ؓ heard this verse, he rushed towards the she-camels with a sword, cut off their humps, ripped open their bellies, and took out their livers. Sayyiduna Ali ؓ says that when I saw this scene, I became extremely anxious and immediately went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and narrated the whole incident to him. At that time, Zayd bin Harithah ؓ was sitting with him. So, the three of us set out and came to Sayyiduna Hamzah ؓ. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ became angry with Sayyiduna Hamzah ؓ, but Hamzah (who was intoxicated) raised his eyes and said: "Who are you? You people are only the slaves of my forefathers." Seeing this situation, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ turned back on his heels. Until that time, alcohol had not yet been declared haram. [بخاري۔ كتاب المساقاة۔ باب بيع الحطب والكلائ]

2. Sayyiduna Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas ؓ narrates that I went to a gathering of the Muhajirin and Ansar. They said, "Come, let us feed you and give you something to drink," and this incident is from before alcohol was made haram. So I went to their garden. I saw that they had placed a roasted camel's head and a waterskin of alcohol. I also ate and drank with them. Then I mentioned the Muhajirin and Ansar and said that the Muhajirin are better than the Ansar. (Upon hearing this) a man struck me with a jawbone from the head, injuring and splitting my nose. I went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and informed him of this. Then Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, revealed this verse about me: ﴿اِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ﴾ [مسلم۔ كتاب الفضائل۔ باب فى فضل سعد بن ابي وقاص]

And sometimes the matter of gambling proves to be even more dangerous than alcohol. When the losing party loses a great deal of wealth and property, and sometimes even his wife, the world becomes dark before him, and the enmity that arises in him becomes frenzied, which leads to many other crimes as well. These are the apparent effects of alcohol and gambling, and the inner effect is that both these things make people heedless of the remembrance of Allah.