The fact that a person has become accustomed to something does not make the act permissible, just as the Muslims were accustomed to drinking intoxicants when they first arrived in Madinah.

The questioner : I want you to explain to us... a clear and concise explanation.

The Shaykh : This is something that must not be missed by you and must not be absent from your mind. The fact that a person has become accustomed to a habit does not make that habit permissible for him. Rather, if the Shari'ah has made it permissible for him, then praise be to Allah; otherwise, he must stop. You know that the Muslims, in the early days of Islam and when they first arrived in Madinah, before intoxicants were forbidden, used to drink intoxicants. They were so accustomed to it that it is almost unbelievable. It is reported in "Sahih al-Bukhari"—the most authentic book after the Book of Allah—that when 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) intended to marry Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her), he began preparing for the wedding. This required some money. He had a camel—do you call it a "sharif"? I mean a camel. I do not know if you know this word. A camel is called a "sharif." So, in "Sahih al-Bukhari," he had a "sharif." He agreed with a goldsmith—a goldsmith is one who works with goldsmithing by melting metals—and these people need firewood and "idhkhar" to light the fire. So he agreed with one of these men to bring him a load on his camel in exchange for a price. It happened that he made his camel kneel in front of one of the houses of the Ansar, then went to attend to some of his affairs. When he returned, he was shocked by what he saw of the camel's condition. Its belly had been cut open, and its "mu'alla" had been taken out. What do you call this "mu'alla"?

The questioner : The "mu'alla," the liver.

The Shaykh : The liver. He nearly lost his mind. He asked: Who did this? They said to him: Your uncle Hamzah. Allahu Akbar! His uncle Hamzah had cut open the belly of his camel, which was the source of his livelihood. So he went to the Messenger (peace be upon him) to complain about his matter. The Messenger (peace be upon him) hurried and entered the house where his uncle Hamzah was. He spoke to Hamzah about this act and his harm to his nephew in his "sharif," his camel. Do you know what Hamzah said to his Prophet? He said: "Are you not the slaves of our fathers?" Hamzah was saying to the Messenger: "Are you—meaning, you who are speaking to me about why I did this—what are you? You are the slaves of our fathers." He said this because he was in a state of intoxication. So here is the point. The Arabs in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance were accustomed to drinking intoxicants, and it was their habit and their daily routine, until Hamzah did to 'Ali's camel what he did. When the Messenger (peace be upon him) came to draw his attention to the fact that this is not permissible, that this is harm and so on, he said to him: "Are you not the slaves of our fathers?" And when the Messenger (peace be upon him) realized that he was a drunkard—meaning intoxicated—he left him and withdrew. This habit was a habit in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, but the Lawgiver allowed it for a period of time, and then He revealed the verse: . The prohibition came. After the prohibition came, it is not permissible for a Muslim to say, "By Allah, we are accustomed to this!"