Hadiths on Drinking Alcohol
Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Question: Assalamu alaykum
Please explain the following hadiths on drinking alcohol:
1. Abu’l-Darda’ narrated that the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: “No one who is addicted to alcohol will enter Paradise.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 3376.
2. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allah has cursed alcohol, the one who drinks it, the one who pours it, the one who sells it, the one who buys it, the one squeezes (the grapes, etc), the one for whom it is squeezed, the one who carries it and the one to whom it is carried.”
3. ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Amr narrated a hadith about someoneIf who drinks repeatedly and repents repeatedly. The end of it is, ‘if he does that again, Allah will give him to drink of the mud of khabaal on the Day of Resurrection.” They said, “O Messenger of Allah, what is the mud of khabaal?” He said, “The juice of the people of Hell.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 3377
4. Allah’s Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace, said, “When an adulterer commits illegal sexual intercourse, then he is not a believer at the time he is doing it; and when somebody drinks an alcoholic drink, then he is not believer at the time of drinking, and when a thief steals, he is not a believer at the time when he is stealing; and when a robber robs and the people look at him, then he is not a believer at the time of doing it.”
Answer: Wa ‘alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh
I pray you are well. Thank you for your question.
Will Every Threat of a Punishment be Carried Out?
The first hadith refers to someone who keeps drinking wine unrepentant. Such a person is threatened with Hell – even if he is a believer. Having said this, there are other similar hadiths about other sins too, and what we understand from the Qur’an and the Sunna of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, is that Allah can forgive anything. Some may be sent to Hell for purification.
With the exception of all forms of disbelief, Allah can forgive any sin, and even someone who commits such sins could be forgiven. However, the purpose of the hadith is to dissuade people from such heinous acts, because they are very likely to lead a person to a punishment in the Afterlife. Therefore, a firmer wording was chosen to get this point across.
What is a Curse?
The second hadith refers to people who do this act actively and unrepentantly. It shows a lack of concern for the severity of the sin, so they are threatened with a curse. A curse is a very serious thing because it entails being distanced from the mercy of Allah Almighty; the one thing we are all desperately in need of at all times.
The doors of repentance are always open. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “He who repents from a sin is like someone who has no sin.” (Ibn Majah)
Does Hajj Expiate all Sins?
With regards to your question on the third hadith, the above answer applies here too. The chances are that such a person will be made to drink the pus of the people of Hell, but ultimately the matter does return to Allah. It’s a serious affair, otherwise the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, would not have told us of this. However, Allah is the ultimate judge; He knows everything, and His mercy is tremendous.
As for the Hajj, many scholars have noted that an accepted Hajj does indeed wipe away of one’s past sins – minor or major. There is a difference regarding financial rights owed to others, and it seems that they will have to be compensated for somehow in this life or the next.
The final hadith means that the person who commits them has severely deficient iman at the time of doing them. We know this because faith does not leave a person because of sins like zina and drinking wine. Rather, it’s state of great deficiency.
(Bajuri, Sharh Jawhara al Tawhid; Usmani, Bath al Mulhim, Mustfa Muhammad ‘Ammara, ed. al Targhib wa al Tarhib)
I pray that helps. May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.
Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 to study and sit at the feet of some of the most erudite scholars of our time.
Over the following eighteen months he studied a traditional curriculum, studying with scholars such as Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh Abdurrahman Arjan, Shaykh Hussain Darwish and Shaykh Muhammad Darwish.
In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years, in Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Shama’il, and Logic with teachers such as Dr Ashraf Muneeb, Dr Salah Abu’l-Hajj, Dr Hamza al-Bakri, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Dr Mansur Abu Zina amongst others. He was also given two licences of mastery in the science of Qur’anic recital by Shakh Samir Jabr and Shaykh Yahya Qandil.
His true passion, however, arose in the presence of Shaykh Ali Hani, considered by many to be one of the foremost tafsir scholars of our time who provided him with the keys to the vast knowledge of the Quran. With Shaykh Ali, he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Qur’anic Sciences, Tafsir, Arabic Grammar, and Rhetoric.
When he finally left Jordan for the UK in 2014, Shaykh Ali gave him his distinct blessing and still recommends students in the UK to seek out Shaykh Abdul-Rahim for Quranic studies. Since his return he has trained as a therapist and has helped a number of people overcome emotional and psychosomatic issues. He is a keen promoter of emotional and mental health.
