Surah Al-Maaida (5) — Ayah 90

90. O you who believe! Intoxicants [133], gambling [134], idolatrous altars [135], and divining arrows [136] are all abominations of Satan’s handiwork. So avoid them so that you may succeed.

[133] Regarding alcohol and its prohibition, consider the following hadiths:
1.
Gradual Prohibition of Alcohol:

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says that he prayed, "O Allah! Grant us a clear and satisfactory statement regarding alcohol." Then this verse of Surah Al-Baqarah was revealed: ﴿يَسْئَلُوْنَكَ عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ﴾. So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was called and this verse was recited to him. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed again, "O Allah! Send down a clear statement regarding alcohol for us." Then this verse of Surah An-Nisa was revealed: ﴿يٰايُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لاَتَقْرَبُوْا الصَّلٰوٰةَ﴾. So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was called and this verse was recited to him. He prayed again, "O Allah! Grant us a clear and satisfactory statement regarding alcohol." Then this verse of Surah Al-Ma'idah was revealed: ﴿اِنَّمَا يُرِِيْدُ الشَّيْطٰنُ .. مُنْتَهُوْنَ ﴾ up to this point. So Sayyiduna Umar was called and this verse was recited to him, and he said, "We abstain, we abstain." [ترمذي۔ ابو اب التفسير۔ بخاري كتاب الاشربة باب نزول تحريم الخمر]

2. Sayyiduna (may Allah be pleased with him) says that on the day of Uhud, some people had drunk alcohol in the morning. In that state, they were martyred. Until that time, alcohol had not been made unlawful. [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]

3. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was standing on the pulpit and said, "O people! Alcohol has been made unlawful. Alcohol is made from five things: grapes, dates, honey, wheat, and barley. And any drink that causes the mind to be affected is khamr (alcohol)." [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]

4. Scene at the Time of Alcohol's Prohibition: Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says that I was serving as the cupbearer for people at Abu Talha's house, and in those days, the alcohol was made from fazikh (spoiled dates). I was serving alcohol to Abu Talha, Abu Ubaidah, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, Abu Ayyub, Abu Dujanah, Suhail ibn Bayda, my uncles, and some other Companions, and I was the youngest among them. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered a caller to announce that alcohol had become unlawful. Abu Talha told me, "Go! Go outside and listen." I went outside and saw that a caller was announcing, "Listen! Alcohol has become unlawful." Meanwhile, a man came and asked, "Have you heard any news?" They replied, "What news?" He said, "Alcohol has become unlawful." Abu Talha told me, "Go outside and break the jug and pour out the alcohol." I went outside, picked up a stone, and struck the bottom of the jug. The jug broke and the alcohol spilled out. (On that day) alcohol was flowing in the streets and alleys of Madinah. After hearing this news from that person, people did not seek confirmation of it and never drank alcohol again. [بخاري كتاب الاشربه۔ باب۔ نزول تحريم الخمر و كتاب المظالم باب صب الخمر فى الطريق۔ مسلم كتاب الاشربه باب تحريم الخمر]

5. Issues Related to the Prohibition of Alcohol: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Buraidah narrates from his father that he said, "Whoever stores grapes during the grape season to sell them to those who make alcohol has deliberately tried to enter the Fire." [رواه الطبراني فى الاوسط، اسناده حسن]

6. You were asked, "Can alcohol be used as medicine?" You replied, "Alcohol itself is a disease; how can it provide a cure?" [ترمذي۔ ابو اب الطب۔ باب ماجاء فى التداويٰ بالمسكر]

7. Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says that you said, "Every intoxicating thing is unlawful." [مسلم۔ كتاب الاشربه۔ باب۔ بيان ان كل مسكر خمر]

8. You said, "Whatever intoxicates in a large quantity, its small quantity is also unlawful." [ترمذي۔ ابو اب الاشربه باب ما اسكر كثيرة فقليله حرام]

9. You were asked, "Can we make vinegar from alcohol and use it?" You replied, "No." [مسلم۔ كتاب الاشربه باب۔ تحريم تخليل الخمر]

10. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) says that a delegation from the tribe of Rabi'ah came to Madinah, so you ordered them that such-and-such vessels (you named those vessels in which alcohol was made in those days) should not be used for any other purpose (they should also be broken), and that nabidh should not be made in them. [ترمذي۔ ابو اب الاشربة۔ فى كراهيه ان ينبذ فى الدباء والنقير والحنتم]

11. You said, "There will be people in my Ummah who will declare adultery, silk, alcohol, and musical instruments lawful by giving them other names." [بخاري۔ كتاب الاشربه۔ باب ماجاء فى من يستحل الخمر ويسميه بغير اسمه]

12. Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says that a man who had drunk alcohol was brought to you. You struck him forty times with two branches. [مسلم۔ كتاب الحدود۔ باب حدالخمر]

13. You said, "Allah Almighty has made the buying and selling of that which He has made unlawful to drink also unlawful." [مسلم۔ كتاب البيوع۔ باب۔ تحريم بيع الخمر]

14. Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says that when the verses of Surah Al-Baqarah regarding usury were revealed, you came to the mosque, recited those verses, and then said, "The buying and selling of alcohol is unlawful." [بخاري۔ كتاب الصلٰوة۔ باب تحريم تجارة الخمر فى المسجد]

15. Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says that you cursed ten people regarding alcohol:
(1) The one who squeezes it (2) The one for whom it is squeezed (3) The one who receives it (4) The one who carries it (5) The one for whom it is carried (6) The one who serves it (7) The one who sells it (8) The one who consumes its price (9) The one who buys it (10) The one for whom it is bought. [ترمذي ابو اب البيوع۔ باب ماجاء فى بيع الخمر و نهي عن ذالك]

Although the word "prohibition" or "haram" is not explicitly mentioned in this verse regarding alcohol and gambling, the style of expression made it clear to all the Companions that these things had become unlawful. In this style, the word "innama" is used for restriction, and alcohol and gambling are mentioned along with idols and divining arrows, whose prohibition has been clarified in many places. (2) These things are called impure. (3) They are declared as Satanic acts. (4) The command to avoid them is given. (5) They are described as causes of mutual enmity. (6) They are described as things that make one neglect the remembrance of Allah. And finally, (7) in a sarcastic and questioning manner, it is asked whether, despite all these evils, you will still not abstain? In response, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "We abstain."

There is some difference of opinion regarding the punishment for alcohol: whether it is a hadd (fixed punishment) or ta'zir (discretionary punishment). The reason for this doubt is that in the Prophetic era, the means of punishment were not limited to lashes; sometimes punishment was given by hand, with shoes, with a stick, with cloth, or with branches, and in some hadiths, the number forty is not mentioned, as is evident from hadith number 3 below. Also, Imam Bukhari did not use the word "hadd" in the chapter title; the title is "What has been reported regarding the beating of the one who drinks alcohol," a statement on the punishment for drinking alcohol." Also, in hadith number 7, the last words of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) are: "That is because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not prescribe it," meaning the Messenger of Allah did not specify a fixed method or set it.

And those who do not consider it ta'zir but rather hadd—and this is the view of the majority—their evidence is the following hadith:

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, "No one should be punished with more than ten lashes except in the limits of Allah." [مسلم۔ كتاب الحدود۔ باب قدر اسواط التعزير]

And since in the Prophetic era, the punishment for the one who drank alcohol was forty lashes, therefore this is hadd, not ta'zir. Now we mention such hadiths that are found in Bukhari and Muslim regarding the punishment for the one who drinks alcohol.

1. Utbah bin Harith says that the son of Nu'ayman was brought to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He had drunk alcohol. The people present in the house were ordered by you to beat him. So I was among those who beat him with sticks and shoes. [بخاري۔ كتاب الحدود۔ باب ماجاء فى ضرب شارب الخمر]

2. Sa'ib bin Yazid says that when a person who had drunk alcohol was brought to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, and at the beginning of Sayyiduna Umar's caliphate, we would get up and beat him with our hands, shoes, and cloaks. Until the last period of Sayyiduna Umar's caliphate came, he gave forty lashes to the one who drank alcohol, but when people became rebellious and disobedient, he gave eighty lashes. [بخاري۔ كتاب الحدود۔ باب ماجاء فى ضرب شارب الخمر]

3. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says that in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, there was a man whom people used to call Abdullah Himar. He used to make the Messenger of Allah ﷺ laugh. You also gave him the hadd for alcohol. Once (during the Battle of Khaybar), he drank alcohol and people brought him. You ordered him to be lashed, and he was lashed. Meanwhile, a person (Sayyiduna Umar himself) said, "O Allah, curse him! How many times has he been brought because of alcohol?" You said, "Do not curse him. By Allah! I know that he loves Allah and His Messenger." And in another narration, you said, "Do not help Satan against your brother." [بخاري۔ كتاب الحدود۔ باب ماجاء فى ضرب شارب الخمر]

4. Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man who had drunk alcohol was brought to you. You struck him forty times with two branches. And Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) did the same during his caliphate. Then when Sayyiduna Umar's caliphate came, he consulted the Companions about this. Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf said, "The lightest of the hudud is eighty lashes (i.e., the hadd for slander mentioned in the Quran)." So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) prescribed eighty lashes for the one who drank alcohol. [مسلم۔ كتاب الحدود۔ باب حد الخمر]

5. Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to give forty strikes with shoes and branches for alcohol. [مسلم۔ كتاب الحدود باب حد الخمر]

6. Husayn bin Mundhir narrates that in my presence, people brought Walid bin Uqbah to Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him). Walid had drunk alcohol, and two men testified against him. Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) (out of respect and honor) said to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), "Get up and lash him." And Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) told Sayyiduna Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him, his son) to lash him. Sayyiduna Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, "Let the one who has tasted the sweetness of caliphate taste its bitterness as well (i.e., let Sayyiduna Uthman himself lash him)." At this, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) became angry with Sayyiduna Hasan and said to Abdullah bin Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him), "Get up and lash Walid." Abdullah got up and began lashing Walid, and Sayyiduna Ali was counting. When forty lashes were completed, he said, "Wait a moment." Then he said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave forty lashes, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) also gave forty, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) gave eighty, and all of these are Sunnah. And in my view, forty is better."

7. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "If I establish a hadd on someone and he dies, I do not care. But if someone dies due to the hadd for alcohol, I will pay his blood money, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not specify it." [مسلم۔ كتاب الحدود۔ باب حد الخمر۔ بخاري۔ كتاب الحدود۔ باب ماجاء فى ضرب شارب الخمر]

[134]
Types of Gambling:

Maisir means that abundant wealth or property which is obtained for free or easily. This is also called gambling and qimar. The well-known form of gambling is both religiously and legally unlawful, and a gambler is not considered an honorable member of any society. However, in the present era, many new forms of gambling have emerged, in which no evil is considered, and some are even patronized by governments, although all such new forms are also unlawful, such as lotteries, puzzle games, raffle tickets, prize bonds, horse races, and some forms of insurance. Also, chess and backgammon, etc., are also types of gambling.

[135]
Idols and Shrines:

Such places which, due to the belief in an existing or non-existing idol or any other polytheistic belief, have attained a status of sanctity among the public, and where offerings and vows are presented. Since the central role in these is of an idol, a saint, or his spirit, therefore, idol-making, idol-worship, and idol-selling have all been declared unlawful by the Shariah. In addition, making statues and drawing images of living beings is also declared unlawful, especially of such people who have or had a distinguished position in society, whether religiously or worldly.

[136] For azlam, see Surah Al-Ma'idah, verse 3, footnote 16.