Woe to the drinker of wine / alcohol

Drinking alcohol is a major sin, for wine is the mother of all evils. It clouds the mind, wastes money, causes headaches, tastes foul, and is an abomination of the Shaytaan’s [Satan’s] handiwork. It creates enmity and hatred between people, prevents them from remembering Allaah and praying, calls them to zina [unlawful sexual relationships], and may even call them to commit incest with their daughters, sisters or other female relatives.

It takes away pride and protective jealousy (gheerah), and generates shame, regret and disgrace, and puts the drinker in the same category as the most imperfect type of people, namely those who are insane. It leads to the disclosure of secrets and exposure of faults. It encourages people to commit sins and evil actions. It makes people transgress sacred limits and the one who is addicted to it is like an idol-worshipper. 

How many wars has it started, how many rich men has it made poor, how many noble people has it brought low, how many blessings has it destroyed, how many disasters has it caused?

How often has it created division between man and wife?  

How much regret has it generated and how many tears has it caused to flow? 

How often has it closed the doors of goodness to the drinker and opened the doors of evil to him? 

How often has it brought about calamity and hastened death? 

How much trouble has it brought to the one who drinks it? 

It is the source of sin, the key to evil; it takes away blessings and brings calamity. 

Even if it did not have all these evil consequences, the fact that one cannot have both the wine of this world and the wine of Paradise is sufficient deterrent. 

And the evil consequences of alcohol are many time more than we have mentioned.

From the words of Ibn al-Qayyim in Haadi al-Arwaah. 

Allaah has warned us against it in His Book and on the lips of His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

1 – Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), and gambling, and Al-Ansaab (stone altars for sacrifices to idols, jinn, etc), and Al-Azlaam (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaytaan’s (Satan’s) handiwork. So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be successful”

[al-Maa’idah 5:90] 

2 – Allaah has cursed the drinker of alcohol. In Sunan Abi Dawood (3189) it is narrated that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has cursed alcohol, the one who drinks it, the one who pours it, the one who sells it, the one who buys it, the one squeezes (the grapes, etc), the one for whom it is squeezed, the one who carries it and the one to whom it is carried.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani as stated in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 2/700. 

3 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) likened the one who is addicted to alcohol to one who worships idols. It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The one who is addicted to alcohol is like one who worships an idol.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 3375; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah, 2720. 

4 – The one who is addicted to alcohol will be denied admission to Paradise. It was narrated from Abu’l-Darda’ that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No one who is addicted to alcohol will enter Paradise.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 3376; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani as stated in Saheeh Ibn Maajah, 2721. 

5 – It was narrated that ‘Uthmaan (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Avoid alcohol for it is the mother of all evils. There was a man among the people who came before you who was a devoted worshipper. A seductive woman fell in love with him, and she sent her slave-woman to him to call him to bear witness. He went with the slave-woman, and every time they passed through a door, she locked it behind them, until he reached a beautiful woman with whom was a child and a vessel of wine. She said, ‘I did not call you to bear witness, rather I called you either to have intercourse with me, or to drink a cup of this wine, or to kill this child.’ He said, ‘Pour me some of this wine.’ So she poured him a cup, then he said, ‘Give me more,’ and he did not stop until he had has intercourse with her and killed the child. So avoid alcohol, for by Allaah faith and addiction to wine cannot be combined except soon one of them will be expelled.”

Narrated by al-Nasaa’i, 5666; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Nasaa’i, 5236. 

6 – His prayers will not be accepted for forty days. It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever drinks alcohol and gets drunk, his prayers will not be accepted for forty days, and if he dies he will go to Hell, but if he repents, Allaah will accept his repentance. If he drinks wine again and gets drunk, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days, and if he dies he will go to Hell, but if he repents, Allaah will accept his repentance. If he drinks wine again and gets drunk, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days, and if he dies he will go to Hell, but if he repents, Allaah will accept his repentance. If he does that again, Allaah will give him to drink of the mud of khabaal on the Day of Resurrection.” They said, “O Messenger of Allaah, what is the mud of khabaal?” He said, “The juice of the people of Hell.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 3377; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah, 2722. 

The fact that his prayers are not accepted does not mean that the person’s prayers are invalid, or that he should give up prayer. Rather what it means is that he will not be rewarded for them. So the purpose of his prayer is to fulfil his duty and to avoid the punishment for not praying.

Abu ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mandah said: The phrase “his prayers will not be accepted” means that he will not be rewarded for his prayers for forty days, as a punishment for drinking alcohol. This is like what they said about the one who speaks when the imam is delivering the khutbah on Friday: he prays Jumu’ah [Friday prayer] but there is no Jumu’ah for him, meaning that he will not be given the reward for praying Jumu’ah, as a punishment for his sin. 

Ta’zeem Qadr al-Salaah, 2/587, 588.

Al-Nawawi said: 

With regard to his prayer not being accepted, what this means is that he will not be rewarded for it, even though it is valid, and he does not have to repeat it. 

With regard to what the questioner was told about her fasting not being accepted, this is based on the view of some of the scholars that the mention of prayer in the hadeeth quoted above is a warning that no other acts of worship will be accepted either. 

Al-Mubaarakfoori said in Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi: 

It is said that prayer was singled out for mention because it is the best physical act of worship, and if it is not accepted, it is more likely that other acts of worship will not be accepted either. 

Al-‘Iraaqi and al-Mannaawi also said something similar. 

Based on this view, fasting is not accepted either, but this does not mean that the person who drank alcohol should not fast, rather he is enjoined to fast, but it will not be accepted from him, as a rebuke. 

Undoubtedly the person who drinks alcohol should still offer the prayers on time, and fast in Ramadaan. If he omits some of his prayer or fasting, he will be committing a major sin that is even greater than the sin of drinking alcohol. 

It should be noted that if a Muslim commits sin and is unable to repent because of his weakness of faith, that should not be used to justify his persisting in sin or his addiction, or his neglecting to do acts of worship. Rather he has to do whatever he can of acts of worship and strive to give up the sins that he is committing. 

The Muslim has to fear Allaah and beware of the wiles and snares of the Shaytaan [Satan]. He should not let his soul become a plaything of the Shaytaan. If his Shaytaan overpowers him and makes him fall into sin and disobedience towards his Creator, then he must hasten to repent, for “the one who repents is like the one who did not sin.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 2450; classed as saheeh by al-Busayri as stated in al-Zawaa’id Haashiyat Sunan Ibn Maajah. 

This punishment for the one who drinks alcohol applies to the one who does not repent. As for the one who repents and turns to Allaah, Allaah will accept his repentance and accept his good deeds. 

We ask Allaah to protect us from the tricks of the Shaytaan and to help us avoid temptations both obvious and hidden. 

Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds.

What is the punishment for one who drinks alcohol, and are his prayer and fasting valid?

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), and gambling, and Al-Ansaab, and Al-Azlaam (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaytaan’s (Satan’s) handiwork. So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be successful”

[al-Maa’idah 5:90] 

In Saheeh al-Bukhaari (2295) and Saheeh Muslim (86) it is narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No one who commits zina is a believer at the moment when he is committing zina, and no one who drinks wine is a believer at the moment when he is drinking it, and no thief is a believer at the moment when he is stealing, and no robber is a believer at the moment when he is robbing and the people are looking on.” This means that such a person is not a believer in the sense of having complete faith, rather his faith is greatly lacking because of this evil action. 

It is also narrated in al-Bukhaari (5147) and Muslim (3736) from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever drinks wine in this world and does not repent from that, he will be deprived of it in the Hereafter.”

In Sunan Abi Dawood (3189) it is narrated that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has cursed alcohol, the one who drinks it, the one who pours it, the one who sells it, the one who buys it, the one who squeezes it (squeezes the grapes, etc), the one for whom it is squeezed, the one who carries it and the one to whom it is carried.” (Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 2/700) 

In Sunan al-Nasaa’i (5570) it is narrated that Ibn al-Daylami said to ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr, “O ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr, did you hear the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say anything about wine?” He said, “Yes, I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘If any man from among my ummah drinks wine, Allaah will not accept his prayers for forty days.’” This was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilat al-Saheehah (709).

What this means is that he will not be rewarded for them, but he is still obliged to pray; in fact he is obliged to do all the prayers. If he forsakes prayer during this time, he will be committing one of the worst of major sins, one which some of the scholars said amounts to kufr, Allaah forbid. 

There are very many ahaadeeth and reports which state that alcohol is emphatically forbidden and that it is the mother of all evils; whoever falls into this sin, it will lead him into other evil actions. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound. 

With regard to the punishment of the drinker in this world, the punishment is flogging, according to the consensus of the fuqaha’, because of the report narrated by Muslim (3281) from Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) flogged the one who had drunk wine with palm branches stripped of their leaves and with shoes.

But there is some difference of opinion as to the number of lashes. The majority of scholars are of the view that it is eighty lashes for a free man and forty for others. 

They quoted as evidence the hadeeth of Anas quoted above, in which it says that a man who had drunk wine was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he had him flogged forty times with two palm branches that had been stripped of their leaves. Abu Bakr also did likewise (during his caliphate). When ‘Umar was the caliph, he consulted the people and ‘Abd al-Rahmaan said, “The minimum punishment is eighty,” so that is what ‘Umar commanded. 

The Sahaabah agreed with ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) and did not differ. The Council of Senior Scholars is agreed that the punishment for one who drinks wine is the hadd punishment, which is eighty lashes. 

Some of the scholars – such as Ibn Quddamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) and Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] in al-Ikhtiyaaraat – think that giving more than forty lashes is left to the discretion of the Muslim leader. So if he thinks that there is a need to give more than forty lashes, as happened at the time of ‘Umar, then he may make it eighty. And Allaah knows best.” 

(See Tawdeeh al-Ahkaam, 5/330) 

With regard to the wine-drinker’s prayer and fasting, undoubtedly he is obliged to perform the prayers on time and to fast in Ramadaan. If he neglects any of his prayers or fasts, then he is committing a major sin which is worse than the sin of drinking alcohol. If he drinks wine during the day in Ramadaan then he is committing two major sins: the first is breaking the fast during the day in Ramadaan and the second is drinking alcohol.  He should note that if a Muslim falls into sin and is unable to repent because his faith is weak that does not justify him persisting in sin or failing to do acts of worship and being negligent concerning them. Rather he should do whatever he can of acts of worship and strive to give up the major sins that he is committing. We ask Allaah to help us to avoid sins, both major and minor, for He is the All-Hearing, Ever Near.

And Allaah knows best.

Will the prayers of one who drinks alcohol not be accepted for forty days?

Yes, there are many saheeh ahaadeeth concerning the punishment for one who drinks alcohol, which say that his prayers will not be accepted for forty days. This was narrated from ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas, Ibn ‘Abbaas, Ibn ‘Umar and Ibn ‘Amr. 

See al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 709, 2039, 2695, 1854. 

One of these ahaadeeth was narrated by Ibn Maajah (3377) from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr who said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever drinks alcohol and gets drunk, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days and if he dies he will go to Hell. But if he repents, Allaah will accept his repentance. If he again drinks alcohol and gets drunk, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days and if he dies he will go to Hell. But if he repents, Allaah will accept his repentance. If he again drinks alcohol and gets drunk, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days and if he dies he will go to Hell. But if he repents, Allaah will accept his repentance. If he commits (this sin) again, then Allaah pledges to make him drink the mud of khabaal on the Day of Resurrection.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allaah, what is the mud of khabaal?” He said, “The juices of the people of Hell.” 

Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah. 

The fact that his prayers are not accepted does not mean that they are not valid, or that he should give up praying, rather it means that he will not be rewarded for them. 

So the benefit of praying will be that he will have discharged his duty and will not be punished for not doing it. 

Abu ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mandah said: The words “his prayer will not be accepted” mean that he will not be rewarded for his prayer for forty days, as a punishment for his drinking alcohol, just as they say that the one who speaks on Friday when the imam is delivering the khutbah should pray Jumu’ah but there is no Jumu’ah for him, meaning that he will not be given the reward for Jumu’ah as a punishment for his sin. 

Ta’zeem Qadr al- Salaah, 2/587, 588.

Al-Nawawi said: 

With regard to his prayer not being accepted, what this means is that he will not be rewarded for it, even though it is valid in the sense that he has discharged his duty and does not need to repeat it. End quote. 

No doubt the person who drinks alcohol still has to perform the prayers on time. If he were to delay any of his prayers, he would be committing a grave major sin, which is worse than the sin of drinking alcohol. 

This punishment for drinking alcohol applies to the one who does not repent. But if he repents to Allaah and turns to Him, He will accept his repentance and accept his good deeds, as it says in the hadeeth quoted above: “… but if he repents, Allaah will accept his repentance.” And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The one who repents from sin is like one who did not commit sin.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 4250; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah. 

And Allaah knows best.

If the prayer of a wine-drinker will not be accepted for forty days, will his Hajj not be accepted either?

Drinking alcohol is a major sin, and there are stern warnings to the one who does that in many ahaadeeth which point to the seriousness of this crime and the severe punishment for it by Allaah, one example of which is the fact that the person’s prayers will not be accepted for forty days.

A number of scholars are of the view that this does not apply only to prayer; rather other acts of worship will also not be accepted. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound. 

Al-Mubaarakfoori said in Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi: It was said that prayer was singled out for mention because it is the best of physical acts of worship. If it is not accepted then it is more likely that other acts of worship will not be accepted either. End quote from Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi. This was also stated by al-‘Iraaqi and al-Munaawi. 

We pointed out two things in the answers referred to:

1 – The fact that it is not accepted means that one does not attain the reward; it does not mean that one should stop worshipping. Rather if a person stops praying then he will have committed another sin which may be worse than drinking alcohol, namely giving up prayer. 

If a person is able to do Hajj, then he must do it straightaway according to the majority of scholars, and it is not permissible for him to delay it; if he delays it then he is sinning. 

2 – This punishment for drinking alcohol only applies to the one who does not repent. If a person repents and turns to Allaah, then Allaah will accept his repentance and his good deeds. 

Thus you know that you have to repent to Allaah and resolve never to go back to that. You should do a lot of righteous deeds, which includes Hajj, for there is no reward for an accepted Hajj but Paradise. If an accepted Hajj is combined with repentance, then all sins will be expiated, minor and major. 

Beware of these bad companions who dragged you into this major sin. Hasten to advise them and call them to repent and turn back to Allaah. If they respond, all well and good, otherwise flee from them as you would flee from a lion, for a man will be gathered with those whom he loved on the Day of Resurrection, and a bad friend only brings loss and doom. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“And (remember) the Day when the Zaalim (wrongdoer, oppressor, polytheist) will bite at his hands, he will say: ‘Oh! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم).

28. ‘Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had never taken so‑and‑so as a Khaleel (an intimate friend)!

29. ‘He indeed led me astray from the Reminder (this Qur’aan) after it had come to me. And Shaytaan (Satan) is to man ever a deserter in the hour of need’”

[al-Furqaan 25:27-29] 

We ask Allaah to accept your repentance and forgive you, and to guide you to His straight path, and make you steadfast in adhering to it, and to keep the devils of mankind and the jinn away from you. 

And Allaah knows best.