Fatwa ID: 02141

Answered by Ustaadha Bint Salih

Question:

If one is drinking alcohol what does he lose in his life being Muslim?

Answer:

Narrated Ibn `Umar:
"Alcoholic drinks were prohibited (by Allah) and there was nothing of it (wine) in Madinah.”
(Sahih al Bukhari, Book of Drinks, Hadith 5579)

Ibn 'Umar reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:
Every intoxicant is Khamr and every intoxicant is forbidden. He who drinks wine in this world and dies while he is addicted to it, not having repented, will not be given a drink in the Hereafter
(Sahih Muslim, Book of Drinks, Hadith 2003)

It was narrated that Ibn 'Umar said:

"Every intoxicant is Khamr and every intoxicant is unlawful."
(SunanNasai, Book of Drinks, Hadith 5699)

It was narrated from Salim bin 'Abdullah, from his father, that:

The Messenger of Allah said: "Allah has forbidden Khamr, and every intoxicant is unlawful."
(SunanNasai, Book of Drinks, Hadith 5700)

Above are just a handful of the countless ahadith which have been narrated that condemn alcohol.

Alcohol is not only a sin which brings the displeasure of Allah Almighty. It is something which causes many health and social issues and problems. Some of the serious ones are listed below:

• Cancer of the throat, oesophagus or larynx. Regularly drinking two large glasses of wine (ABV 13%) or two pints of strong lager (ABV 5.2%) a day could make you three times as likely to get mouth cancer.
• Breast cancer in women. Regularly drinking just above the guidelines increases the risk of getting breast cancer by around 20%
• A stroke
• Heart disease or an irregular heartbeat, which can lead to a heart attack
• High blood pressure
• Liver disease such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. If you regularly drink just above the lower-risk guidelines, the risk of liver cirrhosis increases 1.7 times
• Pancreatitis
• Reduced fertility

(Extracted from NHS Change4Life Website)

Is it important to understand, that like other harmful substances, alcohol is addicting. There are many reasons which lead one to drinking and even though they may just start off having it the one or twice, eventually they get addicted. If anyone is in such situation, they must firstly do tawbah and seek the forgiveness of Allah. They must seek help in order to wean them off. If one is in a bad state, it is the duty of those around them to support them in this.

Returning to your question, the few ahadith quoted above give an insight onto the losses alcohol causes to a believer. First and foremost, it in an act of disobedience, thus it will incite the anger of Allah. Other reports have mentioned it being the ‘root to all sins’ which of course will only cause further displeasure of Allah . The narrations have also stated that an alcoholic will be deprived of the beverages of Paradise.

I pray Allah protects us all from falling into any such sin.

Only Allah knows best.

Ustaadha Bint Salih.     

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

DarulIfta Birmingham.