Why can't Muslims drink alcohol?

As Muslims we know that Allah knows what is right and beneficial for His creation, and what is wrong and harmful. The Quran clearly states the lawful and unlawful actions and we all must follow these laws.

Allah says in the Quran (translation of the meaning):

“They ask you (O Muhammad, Sallahu alaihi wa sallam) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: “In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit.”” (Surah Baqarah, verse 219)

In the early days of Islam, consumption of alcohol, just like other ills and evils of society, was also prevalent.

When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, migrated from Makkah to Madinah, he found that the people of Madinah were also indulging in drinking. The masses were so attracted by the superficial and deceptive benefits offered by drinking that their minds became oblivious of the harmful effects and the evils which result from these addictions.

Imam al-Qurtubi says in his Tafsir (commentary of the Quran):

The prohibition of alcohol occurred in stages and after many incidents, for the Arabs used to love to drink it. The first[verse revealed regarding the matter of alcohol was:

"They ask you about alcohol and gambling. Say: 'There is great sin in both although there is some benefit for people…" (Surah Baqarah, verse 219)

i.e. (benefit) in their trade. Hence, when this verse was revealed, some people left [alcohol] saying, "We have no need for that in which there is great sin," and some did not leave it saying, "We take (from its) benefit and we leave its sin." Thereafter, the verse was revealed:

"Do not approach prayer while you are drunk…"

(Surah Nisa, verse 43) So some people left it saying, "We have no need for that which distracts us from the prayer," and some drank it outside the times of prayer until the verse was revealed:

"O you who believe! Alcohol, gambling, (sacrificing for) idols, and divining of arrows are only an abomination (of Satan's work…)"

(Surah Maidah, verses 90-91)So alcohol became prohibited for them such that some of them said, "Allah did not prohibit anything as strictly as alcohol."

The history of alcoholic beverages is believed to date back as far as 10,000 BC. The ancient Egyptian civilization believed that one of their ‘gods’, Osiris, invented beer. Both beer and wine were offered to the ‘gods’.

Among the Babylonians, beer was a major beverage, and as early as 2,700 BC they worshiped a wine ‘goddess’ and other wine deities. They too regularly used beer and wine as offerings to their ‘gods’.

In ancient Greece there was the cult of Dionysus, the ‘god’ of wine. They believed that intoxication brought people closer to their deity.

In modern times drinking is still prevalent.

The dangers associated with drinking are many. One of which is drunk driving, which has staggering statistics. Roughly every 39 minutes a drunk driver kills someone, and roughly every minute someone is injured by a drunk driver. Driving under the influence (DUI) is a crime in many countries, due to the damages it causes.

Drinking has many other bad effects that affect society as a whole. The harmful social effects of drinking include crime, sexual abuse, violence and unemployment. Drinking also causes problems amongst families where one or more members of the family become abusive due to excessive drinking. This can cause families to fall apart, resulting in divorce and separation of children. There is even a link between youth suicide and an abusive environment in the home (due to drinking).

Many young people today have taken up the habit of ‘binge drinking’, which is the drinking of alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. This drinking habit is causes many problems amongst the youth, such as fighting, stealing, rampaging, rape, and other reckless criminal activities.

Some of the youth, when they become drunk, like to go driving. Just as mentioned previously, drink driving kills many people. It is estimated that on average 8 teenagers die every day in alcohol-related car crashes. The highest percentage of drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes are aged 18-24.

So from this we can see the damaging social effects of drinking. But what about the effects to health?

Alcohol can have many negative effects on health, which include, increased risk of liver diseases, oropharyngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, and pancreatitis, cardiovascular disease, anxiest disorder, schizophrenia, suicide, major depression, neurologic deficits (e.g. impairments of working memory, emotions, executive functions, etc) and brain damage. The list of damaging health effects can go on and on.

Some might say ‘What about moderate drinking?’. Well first of all we have to know what is moderate drinking? The meaning of the term “moderate” is highly subjective, however, and what one person considers being moderate drinking, another may view as heavy drinking.

There are some people who will not go to excess and become drunk all of the time but this is not the same for everyone. In fact many people who drink alcohol have usually been drunk at some point in their life. Islam is a religion for a person to develop himself and get closer to Allah, but it is also a religion which deals with how a society should be. In Allah’s infinite wisdom, He prohibited alcohol all together. Because we can see that in most societies there have been many people who abused alcohol and became drunk and doing all kinds of evils.

Some people say that drinking in moderation is good for the health. While there may be some health benefits, the bad outweighs the good.

A doctor at the World Health Organization stated that recommending moderate alcohol consumption for health benefits is "ridiculous and dangerous".

A study made in 2003 shows that even drinking ‘moderately’ may even damage brain tissue. Another study links ‘moderate’ drinking with an increased bowel cancer risk. Another study shows that it is also linked to higher blood pressure.

What is interesting is the findings of a new study, conducted over a 21-year period, which seem to contradict recent reports that moderate consumption of alcohol has significant health benefits. In fact, the opposite could be true.

To summarize, we know that drinking has many harms and evils associated with it, and some minor benefits, but the bad outweighs the good. Just as Allah says in the Quran (translated meaning):

“They ask you (O Muhammad, Sallahu alaihi wa sallam) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: “In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit.”” (Surah Baqarah, verse 219)