In Article No. (206) of the Kuwaiti Penal Code, the sale and importation of intoxicants are prohibited, with embassies being exempted from this.
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The questioner : In Article No. 206 of the Kuwaiti Penal Code, the circulation of intoxicants, their sale, and their consumption are prohibited.
Another questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
The Shaykh : And embassies were exempted from this, as were diplomatic missions...?
The Shaykh : I think the expression needs clarification. Do you mean to say the embassies of disbelievers?
The questioner : There are no disbeliever embassies and no Muslim ones; they are all...
The Shaykh : This is contrary to what we heard!
The questioner : I am speaking based on the reality that has occurred.
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : So, embassies were exempted without distinguishing between Muslim, disbeliever, polytheist, or others.
The Shaykh : No, I did not intend for there to be a distinction; it could be an Islamic embassy.
The questioner : The Saudi embassy...
The Shaykh : A Saudi embassy, for example, or a Tunisian one, and so on.
The questioner : No, there is no distinction.
The Shaykh : Are they included in the text?
The questioner : They are included in the text.
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : These embassies have exploited this matter, of course, in a bad way. First, they import through some Kuwaiti companies for Kuwaiti individuals, and then they give a type of gift to Muslims, including citizens and residents and others. There is also room for buying and selling. So, my brother Khalid and I, along with three others from the group, submitted a bill to the Council to amend this article and abolish the exception.
The Shaykh : For what?
The questioner : To keep the text.
The Shaykh : General.
The questioner : General, and to abolish this exception.
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : So that there is no exception. But the truth is, we encountered some statements from disbelievers, Christians, or Jews, who have the right to use intoxicants even in the lands of Muslims, and consequently, it can be imported. So, what is the ruling on this matter?
Another questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
The questioner : Because... the matter will be discussed in the Council tomorrow.
The Shaykh : It is certain that this law or decision is not Islamic. Since it exempted embassies without restricting them to the embassies of disbelievers, this explicitly means that the law allowed Muslim embassies to drink intoxicants, to buy them as well, and to bring them into Kuwait.
Another questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. This is a clear violation that contradicts the intent of what the Muslim groups submit as a proposal to the state to obligate the prohibition of what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden from intoxicants, not only drinking, but also selling, buying, and the like, which helps them to drink this evil. So, the decision is not Islamic in its origin. If it must be amended, it should be restricted to allowing the embassies of disbeliever states, with the condition that first, they do not oblige any of the Muslims or Muslim companies in the state to import those intoxicants for them. This is first. Second, that they do not announce their drinking in front of Muslims in their communities, and that they do not appear in the streets drunk or half-drunk, but rather they consume their intoxicants in the privacy of their homes and residences. If they adhere to these conditions, we will hold them to their pledge and allow them to bring in with their furniture, belongings, food, and drink what they need of their intoxicants. As for obliging, even secretly, some individuals or companies to import intoxicants, this is prohibited first, and it is a condition upon them that if they breach this condition, they will be prevented from bringing in intoxicants, even if, as they say, via the diplomatic bag. It is absolutely not permissible. This is what can be said regarding this question.
The questioner : Okay, Shaykh, it is known that in their parties and occasions which they are currently announcing, they serve intoxicants openly, despite the fact that there are Muslim guests and non-Muslims as well. The gifts and sales are happening, and bribery is occurring through intoxicants because they are prohibited in...
The Shaykh : All of this will be a reason for revoking their license.
The questioner : And for this reason, from the perspective of blocking the means to harm, we submitted this bill.
The Shaykh : No, but we, especially in the first step in the path of implementing the Sharia ruling and enforcing it, do not go to extremes by forbidding other religions what is permissible for them. It is not part of Islam to forbid them from eating pork, which is forbidden for us by the explicit text of the Noble Qur'an. But they buy pork, slaughter it, and eat it, but within their circle, in their homes, in their private places. We do not want to go to extremes in one leap, because the truth is that the wisdom in things is what the wise poet indicated:
"If you cannot do something, leave it, and move on to what you can do."
I think that if you ask the state to prohibit intoxicants absolutely, even for these disbeliever diplomats, your request will not be granted. Therefore, we should overlook this, because this overlooking is not contrary to the Sharia, but it is the Sharia itself. And we suffice by saying that you drink intoxicants and import intoxicants through the ways you import any need you have, but you do not exceed that to other people, even as a gift.
As for the thing you mentioned that they serve intoxicants in their parties and there are Muslims present; in reality, this is another Sharia violation. The Messenger (peace be upon him) said:Sunan al-Bayhaqi 10:1861, meaning we will be refuted by them, by these disbelievers, when we tell them that you are displaying it in your parties and there are Muslims present. They will say... your Islam says such and such. This is if they know, of course, what is in our religion, and there may be, of course, some Orientalists among them who know the details of the rulings of the Sharia with us. Therefore, we do not open a path for them to attack, and the right is with them. We block the path before them and say this is for you in your religion, but in our religion and with our Muslims, this is forbidden, so it is not permissible to exceed those limits. I see that this is first more in accordance with the Sharia, and then closer to achieving this proposal.
The questioner : No, it is closer to achieving the proposal of the supporter, my Shaykh. As for... the government will object by citing diplomatic customs, and what is it called? The Geneva Convention, that it does not distinguish between Muslim and non-Muslim diplomats, and that in many Muslim ambassadors' countries, intoxicants are permissible. So, it is impossible for the government to come and distinguish between an embassy and an embassy, whether disbeliever or Muslim?
The Shaykh : How is it impossible?
The questioner : It does not distinguish between them.
The Shaykh : No, excuse me.
The questioner : We...
The Shaykh : Excuse me, you are saying it does not distinguish, meaning you do not want it to distinguish?
The questioner : Yes, it does not want to distinguish.
The Shaykh : But is it impossible to distinguish? How is it impossible? If this is impossible, it is even more impossible to ask it to prohibit the importation of intoxicants absolutely. It will not object with Geneva or the Geneva resolutions either!
The questioner : Yes, now, excuse me, Shaykh, it is currently objecting with this thing. There is a difference for us between the proposal we propose to the government, which may be accepted or may not be accepted.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And the bill submitted. We are submitting a bill, and this is stipulated in the Council... and is binding on the government to implement it.
The Shaykh : The issue, may Allah bless you, is not here. This is understood, but you are saying that there is a Geneva Conference.
The questioner : Yes, the Geneva Convention.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : The Geneva Conventions.
The Shaykh : The Geneva Convention. It objects with the convention that the state is not prepared to break this convention. In what is it not prepared? In distinguishing between a Muslim ambassador and a disbeliever ambassador. It is prepared to not allow the disbeliever, as well, to give permission to drink intoxicants? Which is easier?
The questioner : Yes, what are they saying, Shaykh? They say: The Islamic states, the embassies of the Islamic states that we are preventing from this, will protest against the state. They will protest against Kuwait, asking how you prevented us but allowed others? If they argue from the perspective of Islamic and other states, in our countries this is permitted. There are two ways, Shaykh: the way of import... and the way of diplomatic bags. We did not touch the diplomatic bags. So these disbelieving embassies can bring it with them via their diplomatic bags without needing the intoxicants. We addressed the issue of import and the issue of public permission for them.
The Shaykh : Import is absolutely forbidden, my brother... Regarding import, we said that the condition is that they do not make a Muslim company import the intoxicants for them. So import is definitely prohibited. The proposal must be like that; there is no disagreement. But does the proposal include preventing the disbelieving diplomats from drinking intoxicants in their embassies or not?
The questioner : ... Khalid has an addition for clarification.
The Shaykh: Please proceed.
The questioner : Shaykh, the concept of import is not that the condition is that the company imports it, or that Muslims import it. The concept of import here is that the embassy may import it, but the Kuwaiti customs allow it to enter Kuwait.
The Shaykh : Kuwait is well known.
The questioner : So the intent of the concept of import is allowing it to enter Kuwait via customs...
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : This is one point. Second, it is possible to reach a distinction between the Muslim embassy and the disbelieving embassy by the text of the law, and remove the difficulty from the government, and thus the protest that the treatment is not reciprocal is possible...!
The Shaykh : So let us proceed... and import, and your detail regarding import is a formal issue; because if import is by any means, it must pass through customs, and customs will allow the dhimmi (a non-Muslim under Muslim protection) to import intoxicants. And originally, you all know that there is nothing in Islam called customs...
Another questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
The Shaykh : And embassies were exempted from this, as were diplomatic missions...?
The Shaykh : I think the expression needs clarification. Do you mean to say the embassies of disbelievers?
The questioner : There are no disbeliever embassies and no Muslim ones; they are all...
The Shaykh : This is contrary to what we heard!
The questioner : I am speaking based on the reality that has occurred.
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : So, embassies were exempted without distinguishing between Muslim, disbeliever, polytheist, or others.
The Shaykh : No, I did not intend for there to be a distinction; it could be an Islamic embassy.
The questioner : The Saudi embassy...
The Shaykh : A Saudi embassy, for example, or a Tunisian one, and so on.
The questioner : No, there is no distinction.
The Shaykh : Are they included in the text?
The questioner : They are included in the text.
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : These embassies have exploited this matter, of course, in a bad way. First, they import through some Kuwaiti companies for Kuwaiti individuals, and then they give a type of gift to Muslims, including citizens and residents and others. There is also room for buying and selling. So, my brother Khalid and I, along with three others from the group, submitted a bill to the Council to amend this article and abolish the exception.
The Shaykh : For what?
The questioner : To keep the text.
The Shaykh : General.
The questioner : General, and to abolish this exception.
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : So that there is no exception. But the truth is, we encountered some statements from disbelievers, Christians, or Jews, who have the right to use intoxicants even in the lands of Muslims, and consequently, it can be imported. So, what is the ruling on this matter?
Another questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
The questioner : Because... the matter will be discussed in the Council tomorrow.
The Shaykh : It is certain that this law or decision is not Islamic. Since it exempted embassies without restricting them to the embassies of disbelievers, this explicitly means that the law allowed Muslim embassies to drink intoxicants, to buy them as well, and to bring them into Kuwait.
Another questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. This is a clear violation that contradicts the intent of what the Muslim groups submit as a proposal to the state to obligate the prohibition of what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden from intoxicants, not only drinking, but also selling, buying, and the like, which helps them to drink this evil. So, the decision is not Islamic in its origin. If it must be amended, it should be restricted to allowing the embassies of disbeliever states, with the condition that first, they do not oblige any of the Muslims or Muslim companies in the state to import those intoxicants for them. This is first. Second, that they do not announce their drinking in front of Muslims in their communities, and that they do not appear in the streets drunk or half-drunk, but rather they consume their intoxicants in the privacy of their homes and residences. If they adhere to these conditions, we will hold them to their pledge and allow them to bring in with their furniture, belongings, food, and drink what they need of their intoxicants. As for obliging, even secretly, some individuals or companies to import intoxicants, this is prohibited first, and it is a condition upon them that if they breach this condition, they will be prevented from bringing in intoxicants, even if, as they say, via the diplomatic bag. It is absolutely not permissible. This is what can be said regarding this question.
The questioner : Okay, Shaykh, it is known that in their parties and occasions which they are currently announcing, they serve intoxicants openly, despite the fact that there are Muslim guests and non-Muslims as well. The gifts and sales are happening, and bribery is occurring through intoxicants because they are prohibited in...
The Shaykh : All of this will be a reason for revoking their license.
The questioner : And for this reason, from the perspective of blocking the means to harm, we submitted this bill.
The Shaykh : No, but we, especially in the first step in the path of implementing the Sharia ruling and enforcing it, do not go to extremes by forbidding other religions what is permissible for them. It is not part of Islam to forbid them from eating pork, which is forbidden for us by the explicit text of the Noble Qur'an. But they buy pork, slaughter it, and eat it, but within their circle, in their homes, in their private places. We do not want to go to extremes in one leap, because the truth is that the wisdom in things is what the wise poet indicated:
"If you cannot do something, leave it, and move on to what you can do."
I think that if you ask the state to prohibit intoxicants absolutely, even for these disbeliever diplomats, your request will not be granted. Therefore, we should overlook this, because this overlooking is not contrary to the Sharia, but it is the Sharia itself. And we suffice by saying that you drink intoxicants and import intoxicants through the ways you import any need you have, but you do not exceed that to other people, even as a gift.
As for the thing you mentioned that they serve intoxicants in their parties and there are Muslims present; in reality, this is another Sharia violation. The Messenger (peace be upon him) said:
Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him not sit at a table where intoxicants are circulated.
من كان يؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر ؛ فلا يقعد على مائدة يُدار فيها الخمرThe questioner : No, it is closer to achieving the proposal of the supporter, my Shaykh. As for... the government will object by citing diplomatic customs, and what is it called? The Geneva Convention, that it does not distinguish between Muslim and non-Muslim diplomats, and that in many Muslim ambassadors' countries, intoxicants are permissible. So, it is impossible for the government to come and distinguish between an embassy and an embassy, whether disbeliever or Muslim?
The Shaykh : How is it impossible?
The questioner : It does not distinguish between them.
The Shaykh : No, excuse me.
The questioner : We...
The Shaykh : Excuse me, you are saying it does not distinguish, meaning you do not want it to distinguish?
The questioner : Yes, it does not want to distinguish.
The Shaykh : But is it impossible to distinguish? How is it impossible? If this is impossible, it is even more impossible to ask it to prohibit the importation of intoxicants absolutely. It will not object with Geneva or the Geneva resolutions either!
The questioner : Yes, now, excuse me, Shaykh, it is currently objecting with this thing. There is a difference for us between the proposal we propose to the government, which may be accepted or may not be accepted.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And the bill submitted. We are submitting a bill, and this is stipulated in the Council... and is binding on the government to implement it.
The Shaykh : The issue, may Allah bless you, is not here. This is understood, but you are saying that there is a Geneva Conference.
The questioner : Yes, the Geneva Convention.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : The Geneva Conventions.
The Shaykh : The Geneva Convention. It objects with the convention that the state is not prepared to break this convention. In what is it not prepared? In distinguishing between a Muslim ambassador and a disbeliever ambassador. It is prepared to not allow the disbeliever, as well, to give permission to drink intoxicants? Which is easier?
The questioner : Yes, what are they saying, Shaykh? They say: The Islamic states, the embassies of the Islamic states that we are preventing from this, will protest against the state. They will protest against Kuwait, asking how you prevented us but allowed others? If they argue from the perspective of Islamic and other states, in our countries this is permitted. There are two ways, Shaykh: the way of import... and the way of diplomatic bags. We did not touch the diplomatic bags. So these disbelieving embassies can bring it with them via their diplomatic bags without needing the intoxicants. We addressed the issue of import and the issue of public permission for them.
The Shaykh : Import is absolutely forbidden, my brother... Regarding import, we said that the condition is that they do not make a Muslim company import the intoxicants for them. So import is definitely prohibited. The proposal must be like that; there is no disagreement. But does the proposal include preventing the disbelieving diplomats from drinking intoxicants in their embassies or not?
The questioner : ... Khalid has an addition for clarification.
The Shaykh: Please proceed.
The questioner : Shaykh, the concept of import is not that the condition is that the company imports it, or that Muslims import it. The concept of import here is that the embassy may import it, but the Kuwaiti customs allow it to enter Kuwait.
The Shaykh : Kuwait is well known.
The questioner : So the intent of the concept of import is allowing it to enter Kuwait via customs...
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : This is one point. Second, it is possible to reach a distinction between the Muslim embassy and the disbelieving embassy by the text of the law, and remove the difficulty from the government, and thus the protest that the treatment is not reciprocal is possible...!
The Shaykh : So let us proceed... and import, and your detail regarding import is a formal issue; because if import is by any means, it must pass through customs, and customs will allow the dhimmi (a non-Muslim under Muslim protection) to import intoxicants. And originally, you all know that there is nothing in Islam called customs...
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.