Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

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One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Salaam Alaikum,

I have never consumed alcohol in my life nor do I ever want to, but my friends occasionnaly do. I have read somewhere that even being near alcohol is not allowed. I am unable to understand this statement as I can understand not being allowed to consume it, but why not go near it or near people who consume it?

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Answer:

Stay away from 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.

Your Question: I have read somewhere that even being near alcohol is not allowed.

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 Shaitaan; therefore, stay (far) away from these so that you may attain success. Indeed, Shaitaan 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?

Allah Subhanah in the above aayah clearly declares that ‘khamr’ or all types of intoxicants are the abominable works of Shaitaan, and commands the believers to stay far away from them! The term used by Allah in the Quran to guide the believers to stay away is ‘fajj-tanebu’, commanding the believers that this ‘khamr’ is so hated by Allah for the believers, that they not only should abstain from consuming it, they should stay far away from it! Some scholars have opined that the term ‘fajj-tanebu’ is stronger than the term ‘haraam’, and a believer who sincerely fears Allah and the Last Day, must not even put himself in a position that he sits with those who consume intoxicants!

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3679 Narrated by Aisha

I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: “Every intoxicant is haraam; if a quantity of anything causes intoxication, a handful of it is (also) haraam.”

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.

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: “Allah's Messenger, 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 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."

Your Question: I am unable to understand this statement as I can understand not being allowed to consume it, but why not go near it or near people who consume it?

Just as one believes it would only be prudence and intelligence to stay away from any infectious and contagious deadly diseases like Aids, plague, etc…..Allah Subhanah, in His Supreme and Absolute Wisdom, has guided the believers who sincerely believe in Him and the Last Day to not only absolutely abstain from ever consuming ‘khamr’ (intoxicants), but not even to ever approach or get close to it!

Such is this evil of ‘khamr’ (all types of intoxicants, wine, drugs, etc.) hated, detested, loathed and despised by Allah and His Messenger (saws), that the Messenger of Allah (saws) termed ‘khamr’ as the ‘umm-ul-khabaith’ or literally the ‘mother’ or source of all evil!!!!

If one treats the abomination of ‘khamr’ casually, and even though one may not actually consume it, one sits with people who consume it, or sits in a surrounding where it is consumed, or simply involves or indulges oneself with a people or a place where ‘khamr’ is being consumed and abused….there is a chance that the person, in a moment of weakness or lapse might be tempted to try that one ‘fatal’ drink…which might lead to another, and then another!!!!

Allah and His Messenger (saws) have recognized the evil of this contagious abomination, and guided and commanded the believers to not even approach or get near this abomination of ‘khamr’, so that even that risk is absolutely and totally eliminated….such is the level of detestation for this abomination of ‘khamr’ for the believers in the Sight, Knowledge, and Wisdom of Allah Subhanah, the Lord of the Worlds!

Ask any habitual alcoholic on how he/she got addicted to alcohol, and he/she will invariably tell you the story of that ‘first’ drink which they consumed in casual ignorance!

Allah Subhanah is He Who created everything in existence, and He Knows to Absolute Perfection the weakness that is inherent in each soul! One may search or study for the wisdom behind the Commands of Allah; but whether they are able to comprehend the wisdom or not, if one has sincerely professed belief in Allah Subhanah, they should put their full trust and belief in Him and His Guidance, above all else in creation.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

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