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:

Dear brother assalamu alaikum

Dear brother i am asking this question because i see so many muslim brothers are having habit of consuming alcohol . One of my town mate died while he was returning from bar in the stae when he was fully drunked .. i want to stop all my brothers around me from commiting haram sins. i really need your help to put forward my words in front of them in the light of Quraan & hadith . everybody knows that it is haraam but still they commit this hiding behind the excuse that Allah is Gafoor ur rahim. how can Allah forgive one who is in the state of haraam at the time of his death. pls reply at the earliest. These type of peoples use one story from hadith about one prostitute who gave water to thirsty dog &  because of her this deed her all sins were washed out . please let me know the exact hadith or story about that prostitute is it true.

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Answer:

Alcohol haraam

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.

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 3672 Narrated by Abdullah Ibn Abbas

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: “Every intoxicant is khamr (alcohol, wine, etc.), and every intoxicant is haraam.”

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.”

Respected brother in Islam, make no mistake, Allah and His Messenger (saws) have categorically forbidden the consumption of any type, quality, or quantity of intoxicant. The consumption of intoxicants, without an iota of a doubt, is a grave sin in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

Your Question: ….everybody knows that it is haraam but still they commit this hiding behind the excuse that Allah is Gafoor ur rahim. how can Allah forgive one who is in the state of haraam at the time of his death.

As grave as the sin of consuming intoxicants is in the Sight of Allah Subhanah, it obviously is not amongst the listed unforgivable sins of ‘shirk’ (polytheism), ‘kufr’ (disbelief), or ‘nifaq’ (hypocrisy).

But for one to intentionally continue transgressing the Prescribed Boundaries of the Lord Most Majestic and boldly indulge in the ‘haraam’ in the hope that Allah Subhanah will forgive them their daring indulgence in major and/or minor sins only because He is the Most Merciful is to make a complete mockery of the Mercy of the Lord Most Gracious!!!

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."

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.”

Those who boldly continue to transgress the Prescribed Limits of Allah Subhanah should either seek sincere forgiveness and amend their conduct….or prepare for a severe accounting in the Presence of their Lord Most Majestic.

Your Question: …..These type of peoples use one story from hadith about one prostitute who gave water to thirsty dog &  because of her this deed her all sins were washed out . please let me know the exact hadith or story about that prostitute is it true.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.538 Narrated by Abu Huraira

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "A prostitute was forgiven by Allah, because, passing by a panting dog near a well and seeing that the dog was about to die of thirst, she took off her shoe, and tying it with her head-cover she drew out some water for it to quench its thirst. So, Allah forgave her because of that."

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