When is drinking intoxicants permissible, and is the one coerced into drinking it punished?

The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta

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The fourth question of Fatwa No. ( 17627 )
Q 4: When is drinking intoxicants permissible, and is the one coerced into drinking it punished?
A 4:Drinking intoxicants is forbidden, and it is one of the major sins. Allah the Exalted said:

⁽⁹⁰⁾ O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful. ⁽⁹¹⁾ Satan only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you not desist?

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالأَنْصَابُ وَالأَزْلامُ رِجْسٌ مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ (90) إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَنْ يُوقِعَ بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاءَ فِي الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ وَيَصُدَّكُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَعَنِ الصَّلاَةِ فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُنْتَهُونَ

[Al-Ma'idah 5:90-91]

In the two Sahihs, from the hadith ofAbu Hurayrah(may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

The fornicator who fornicates is not a believer so long as he commits it and no thief who steals is a believer as long as he commits theft, and no drunkard who drinks wine is a believer as long as he drinks it.

لا يزني الزاني حين يزني وهو مؤمن، ولا يسرق السارق حين يسرق وهو مؤمن، ولا يشرب الخمر حين يشربها وهو مؤمن

Sahih Muslim 57a

. And fromIbn 'Umar(may Allah be pleased with them both), he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Wine is cursed from ten angles: The wine itself, the one who squeezes (the grapes etc), the one for whom it is squeezed, the one who sells it, the one who buys it, the one who carries it, the one to whom it is carried, the one who consumes its price, the one who drinks it and the one who pours it.

لعنت الخمر على عشرة أوجه: بعينها، وعاصرها، ومعتصرها، وبائعها، ومبتاعها، وحاملها، والمحمولة إليه، وآكل ثمنها، وشاربها، وساقيها

Sunan Ibn Majah 3380Hasan (Darussalam)

It was narrated byAbu Dawudand Ibn Majahand the wording isthat of Ibn Majah. And drinking intoxicants is not permissible under any circumstances, as for one who is compelled to drink it by
For example, if a person is in a desolate part of the earth, or if he chokes on food and fears for his life, and he finds nothing to drink but intoxicants, then he should drink from them only the amount necessary to satisfy his dire necessity, and no more. As for using them as medicine, that is not permissible, and it does not fall under the dire necessity mentioned, for seeking medical treatment is not obligatory in the same way as saving one’s life. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Allah did not make your cure in what He made Haram (unlawful) to you.

إن الله لم يجعل شفاءكم فيما حرم عليكم

Bulugh al-Maram 10:50

It was narrated byAbu Ya'laand Ibn Hibbanand he graded it as authentic from the hadith ofUmm Salama(may Allah be pleased with her). Also, the prohibition of intoxicants is certain, whereas their being a medicine is doubtful; indeed, it is more likely that they are not a medicine at all, based on the generality of the hadith. As for the one who is coerced into drinking them, there is no sin on him if he is truthful in that he is coerced; for Allah the Exalted said:

Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief... except for one who is forced [to renounce his religion] while his heart is secure in faith

مَنْ كَفَرَ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ إِيمَانِهِ إِلا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُ مُطْمَئِنٌّ بِالإِيمَانِ

[An-Nahl 16:106]

the verse. So if a Muslim is excused for a word of disbelief when he is coerced into it, then the person coerced into drinking intoxicants is even more so. It was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:

Allah has forgiven for me my nation their mistakes and forgetfulness, and what they are forced to do.

إن الله تجاوز عن أمتي الخطأ والنسيان وما استكرهوا عليه

Sunan Ibn Majah 2043Sahih (Darussalam)

narrated byIbn Majahand al-Bayhaqifrom the hadith ofIbn 'Abbas(may Allah be pleased with them both).
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.

Source www.alifta.gov.sa

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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