108.For 'altars' and divination by arrows see (nn.12 )and
14 )above. For games
of chance see (n. 14) above.
While divination by arrow-shooting essentially constitutes a game of chance
there is nevertheless a certain difference between the two, since divination
by arrow-shooting, in addition to being a game of chance, is also tainted with
polytheistic beliefs and superstitions. As for games of chance, this expression
is applied to those games and acts in which accidental factors are considered
the criteria for acquisition, fortune-making and the division of goods and property.
109. In this verse four things are categorically prohibited:
(1) intoxicants;
(2) games of chance;
(3) places consecrated for the worship of anyone else besides God, and altars
for either sacrifices or offerings in the name of others than God; and
(4) polytheistic divination by arrow-shooting.
The last three items have already been explained. (See Towards Understanding
the Qur'an, vol. I,( Surah 2: 219, n. 235 )and
(Surah 5: 3, n. 14 above). Two injunctions
had already been revealed concerning the prohibition of intoxicants See
(Surahs 2: 219 )and( 4: 43). Before the revelation of the last injunction, the Prophet
(peace be on him) had warned the people that intoxicants were highly displeasing
to God. Hinting at the possibility of their being prohibited, he advised people
to dispose of intoxicants if they had any. A little later on the present verse
was revealed and the Prophet (peace be on him) then proclaimed that those who
had intoxicants should neither consume nor sell them, but rather destroy them.
Intoxicating liquors were poured into the streets of Madina. When asked if such
liquor might be offered to the Jews as a gift the Prophet (peace be on him)
replied in the negative and said: 'He Who has prohibited it has also required
it not to be given away as a gift.' Some people inquired whether it was permitted
to make vinegar out of such liquor. The Prophet (peace be on him) told them
not to do so, but to throw it away instead. Another person asked insistently
whether or not an intoxicant could be used as medicine. The Prophet (peace be
on him) replied that far from being a remedy for any malady it was in itself
a malady. Others sought permission to consume intoxicating liquor on the plea
that they lived in a very cold region and had to work very hard, and that the
people of that region habitually drank intoxicants to combat exhaustion and
cold. The Prophet (peace be on him) inquired if the drink concerned did cause
intoxication. On being told that it did, he said that they should abstain from
it. They pointed out that the people of their region would not accept this,
to which the Prophet (peace be on him) replied that they should fight them.
It is reported by 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Umar that the Prophet (peace be on him) said:
'God has cursed khamr (wine) and him who drinks it, him who provides it to others
and him who buys or sells it, him who squeezes (the grapes) into wine and him
who causes others to squeeze grapes (in order to make wine), him who carries
it and him to whom it is carried.' (See Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 2, p.
97; vol. 1, p. 316; Abu Da'ud, 'Ashribah', 2 - Ed.)
According to another tradition the Prophet (peace be on him) instructed not
to eat at the table where intoxicating drinks were being taken. In the beginning
the Prophet (peace be on him) even forbade the use of vessels in which intoxicating
drinks had either been made or served. Later on, when the prohibition of drinks
was completely observed the Prophet (peace be on him) withdrew the interdiction
regarding the use of these vessels. (See Abu Da'ud, 'At'imah', 18; Tirmidhi,
'Adab', 43; Darimi, 'Ashribah', 15; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 1, p. 20;
vol. 3, p. 339 - Ed.) Though the word khamr in Arabic means literally 'the drink
made from grapes', it was also used figuratively for intoxicating liquors made
from wheat, barley, raisins, dates and honey. The Prophet (peace be on him)
applied the prohibition of wine to all intoxicants. In this regard we find categorical
statements from the Prophet (peace be on him) embodied in traditions: 'Every
intoxicant is khamr, and every intoxicant is prohibited.'
'Every drink which causes intoxication is prohibited.' 'I forbid everything
which intoxicates.' In a Friday sermon 'Umar defined khamr in the following
manner: 'Whatever takes hold of the mind is khamr.' (See Bukhari, 'Wudu", 71;
'Maghazi', 60, 'Ashribah', 4,10, 'Adab', 8, 'Ahkam', 22; Muslim, 'Ashribah',
67-9; Abu Da'ud, 'Ashribah', 5, 71; Ibn Majah, 'Ashribah', 9, 13, 14; Darimi,
'Ashribah', 8, 9; Muwatta', 'Dahaya', 8; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 1, pp.
274, 289, 350; vol. 2, pp. 16, 158, 171, 185, 429, 501; vol. 3, pp. 63, 66,
112, 119, 361; vol. 4, pp. 41, 416; vol. 6, pp. 36, 71, 72, 97, 131, 190 and
226 - Ed.)
The Prophet (peace be on him) also enunciated the following principle: 'If anything
causes intoxication when used in large quantity, even a small quantity of it
is prohibited.' 'If a large quantity of something causes intoxication, to drink
even a palmful of it is prohibited.' (See Abu Da'ud, 'Ashribah', 5; Ibn Majah,
'Ashribah', 10; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 2, pp. 167, 179 and vol. 3, p.
343 - Ed.)
In the time of the Prophet (peace be on him) no specific punishment had been
laid down for drinking. A person caught drunk would be struck with shoes, fists,
and whips made of twisted cloth and palm sticks. The maximum number of lashes
to which any culprit was subjected was forty. In the time of Abu Bakr the punishment
continued to be forty lashes. In the time of 'Umar the punishment initially
remained at forty lashes also, but when he saw people persist in drinking he
fixed the punishment at eighty lashes after consulting the Companions. This
was considered the prescribed legal punishment for drinking by Malik and Abu
Hanifah, and even by Shafi'i according to one tradition. But Ahmad b. Hanbal,
and, according to a variant tradition, Shafi'i, considered the punishment to
consist of forty lashes, and 'Ali is reported to have preferred this opinion.
According to Islamic Law, it is the bounden duty of an Islamic government to
enforce this prohibition. In the time of 'Umar the shop of a member of the Thaqif
tribe, by the name of Ruwayshid, was burnt down because he carried on the sale
of liquor. On another occasion a whole hamlet was set on fire because it had
become a center of illegal traffic in liquor.