Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Salaam o walekum my daddy is namazi after goin to umrah but hasn`t stop drinking alcohol. he drinks alcohol everyday..plz give us some solution...according to quran....khuda hafiz 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Prayer and alcohol

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Respected sister in Islam, if one is addicted to the evil of alcohol and at the same time one is steadfast in offering one’s obligatory prayers…..it is evident that such a person fears their Lord Creator and the Last Day, and has kept their relation with their Lord alive in their hearts…..for such a person there is hope that if made aware, with wisdom and with patience, of the gravity of their sin of consuming alcohol which has been absolutely prohibited by their Lord, the person will be inclined towards ‘taubah’ and repentance, Insha Allah.

Depending on the nature of the person, one should try with patience and with wisdom, to amend the evil habit of consuming alcohol either by encouraging the person to turn back to his Lord Most Gracious in ‘taubah’ and seeking repentance for his past transgressions….and if after one’s very best efforts that does not work, one might try to warn the person regarding the severity and the gravity of the punishment which the Lord and His Messenger (saws) have described for those who consume intoxicants.

As long as the person does not leave his obligatory prayers, there is always hope and a very good chance that one day the person might be persuaded to turn unto his Lord Most Merciful in repentance and thus amend his conduct, Insha Allah.

Ref: Encourage the person towards the Mercy and Forgiveness of the Lord

Whatever deeds one might have done in one’s past, if one turns to Allah Subhanah in sincere ‘Taubah’ and seeks forgiveness, Allah Subhanah has promised in the Holy Quran that He will forgive all the sins of such a repentant believer, even if one has committed the gravest sin of all: ‘Shirk’! Not only that, our Lord is so Merciful and Generous, that He not only will forgive the sins of such sincerely repentant believers, He will change their evil deeds done into good deeds!

The conditions or ways to seek sincere Taubah or Repentance from the Merciful Lord are:

• One is aware that he has sinned, and feels sorry and ashamed at his sin.
• Makes a solemn covenant and promise with Allah that he will not repeat his sin again.
• Turns to Allah and seeks forgiveness, before he has met with his appointment of death.
• Is a believer and does righteous good deeds thereafter.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verses 53-54:

(O Prophet) say: “O My servants who have wronged their own souls….Do not despair of Allah’s Mercy! Surely, Allah forgives all sins. He indeed is the All Forgiving, All Merciful. Return to your Lord and submit to Him before the scourge overtakes you; for then you may get no help from anywhere.”

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:

Allah likes such good people very much, who, if ever they commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their shortcomings. For who, but Allah, can forgive sins? (And Allah loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah, and with Gardens beneath which canals flow, and they will reside therein forever! How excellent is the reward of those who do good deeds!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 25 Surah Furqaan verses 63-71:

The (true) servants of the Merciful are those who walk humbly on the earth. When the ignorant people behave insolently towards them, they say, “Peace to you”; (And those) who pass their nights in prostrating themselves and standing before their Lord and pray, “O our Lord, save us from the torment of Hell, for its torment is killing! It is an evil abode, and an evil resting place”. (And those) who, when they spend are neither extravagant, nor miserly, but keep the golden mean between the two extremes. (And those) who do not invoke any god but Allah Alone, nor kill a soul unjustly, which Allah has forbidden, nor commit adultery… He who does this shall be punished for his sin, and his torment shall be doubled on the Day of Resurrection, and he shall abide in a state of ignominy; EXCEPT THE ONE WHO MAY HAVE REPENTED (AFTER THOSE SINS), AND HAVE BELIEVED AND DONE RIGHTEOUS DEEDS. For then, Allah will change his evil deeds into good deeds, and He is very Forgiving and Merciful. In fact, one who repents and does righteous deeds, returns to Allah as one rightly should!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 54:

When those come to you who believe in Our Signs, say: "Peace be on you! Your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy. Verily if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented and amended (his conduct), Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2357 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "He who repents of a sin is like him who has committed no sin."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2338 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Allah accepts a servant's repentance (taubah) till he gives up his spirit in death."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2339 Narrated by Abu Sa'id

Allah's Messenger (saws) said that the Shaytaan said, "By Thy Might, my Lord, I shall continue to lead Thy servants astray as long as their spirits are in their bodies!" The Lord, Who is Great and Glorious, replied, "By My Might, Glory and Exalted Station, I shall continue to pardon them as long as they ask My forgiveness!"

Sahih Muslim Hadith 6499 Narrated by Abu Dharr Ghaffari

Allah's Messenger (saws) said that Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, stated: “He who comes with goodness, there are in store for him ten like those and even more than those; and he who comes with vice, it is only for that that which he is called to account. I even forgive him as I like, and he who draws close to Me by the span of a palm, I draw close to him by the cubit; and he who draws close to Me by the cubit, I draw close to him by the space (covered) by two hands; and he who walks towards Me, I rush towards him; and he who meets Me in the state that his sins fill the earth, but not associating anything with Me, I would meet Him with the same (vastness) of pardon (on My behalf)."

Ref: Warnings regarding the Wrath and the Anger of Allah on those who consume intoxicants.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verses 90-91:

90 O ye who believe! Intoxicants (wine, alcohol, etc.), and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are (all) an abomination of the Shaytaan's handiwork: stay far far away from such (abominations) that ye may prosper.

91 The Shaytaan's plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the Remembrance of Allah and from prayer: will ye not then abstain?

All types of intoxicants are so detestable and despicable in the Sight of Allah Subhanah that not only has The Lord Most Exalted and His Messenger (saws) declared all types of intoxicants (wine, alcohol, etc.) absolutely unlawful and haraam for the believers to consume, Allah Subhanah has specifically Commanded the believers in His Glorious Quran to ‘stay far far away from it’.

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2776 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik

Allah's Messenger (saws) invoked the Curse of Allah on ten (types of) people in connection with wine: the wine-presser, the one who has it pressed, the one who drinks it, the one who conveys it, the one to whom it is conveyed, the one who serves it, the one who sells it, the one who benefits from the price paid for it, the one who buys it, and the one for whom it is bought.

Sahih Muslim Hadith 4962 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: “Every intoxicant is haraam! Verily Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, made a covenant to those who drank intoxicants to make them drink ‘Tinat al-Khabal’. The companions asked: “O Allah's Messenger (saws), what is ‘Tinat al-Khabal?’” He (saws) said: “It is the sweat of the denizens of Hell, or the discharge of the denizens of Hell.”

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 4477 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah

The Prophet (saws) said, "He who believes in Allah and the Last Day must not (even) sit at a cloth (table or gathering) where wine is being circulated."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 3653 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr

The Prophet (saws) said, "An undutiful son, a gambler, one who casts up what he has given, and one who is addicted to wine will not enter Paradise."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 3643 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "If anyone consumes ‘khamr’ (intoxicants), Allah will not accept prayer from him for forty days, but if he repents Allah will forgive him. If he repeats the offence Allah will not accept prayer from him for forty days, but if he repents Allah will forgive him. If he again repeats the offence Allah will not accept prayer from him for forty days, but if he repents Allah will forgive him. If he repeats it a fourth time Allah will not accept prayer from him for forty days, and if he repents Allah will not forgive him, but will give him to drink of the river of the fluid flowing from the inhabitants of Hell."

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan