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:

Assalamu Aleikum Brother.

First of all let me wish you Ramadan Mubaarak.

Brother what I need to know is, we have some of our relatives who hold parties and also they serve liquor (but in a separate room)  so we are also invited for these parties.  Brother, please let me know should we attend such parties since their our relatives or should we avoid. 

Appreciate your answer.

Jazakallah.

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Answer:

Attend parties with 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.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3732 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar

The Prophet (saws) said: ‘He who does not accept an invitation (without a genuine or valid reason) which he receives has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger (saws).

The Messenger of Allah (saws) commanded and guided the believers to accept the invitations of their believing brethren; and in light of the above guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws), if one rejects an invitation without an absolutely genuine or valid reason has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger (saws).

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

O you who have believed! ‘Khamr’ (all types of intoxicants), games of chance, idols, and divining arrows are all abominable works of the Shaytaan; therefore, stay (far) away from these so that you may attain success. Indeed, the Shaytaan seeks to sow enmity and hatred among you by means of ‘khamr’ (intoxicants) and gambling, and to prevent you from the Remembrance of Allah and from Salaah. Will you not, then, abstain from these things?

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2776 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik

Allah's Messenger (saws) invoked the curse of Allah on ten 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.

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 4477 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah

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

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3765 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar

The Messenger of Allah (saws) forbade the sitting at a cloth (table or gathering) on which wine is drunk.

Allah Subhanah has commanded the believers to stay far far away from any and all types of intoxicants, and the Messenger of Allah (saws) explicitly forbade the believers to sit or join in a gathering where alcohol is being served.

Thus, if one has prior knowledge that alcohol will be served at a gathering or party, it would be purer and better for them to fear Allah and abstain from attending such gatherings, for Allah indeed has the biggest right that He be obeyed.

But if one attends a gathering or party, knowing that alcohol will be served there, even if they do not consume alcohol themselves, they will indeed share a burden of the sin.

Thus as much as it is an extremely preferred Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) to accept the invitations of their believing brethren, if one has prior knowledge that alcohol will be served at the gathering, it would be best to decline such an invitation.

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