Effects and position of intoxication in islam

Thesis Overview

<p> &nbsp;<br><strong>INTRODUCTION</strong><br>&nbsp;<br>Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent to humanity while taking intoxicants was wide spread among Arabs, as almost none of them could prevent himself from drinking. However, there were few people from the pre-Islamic society who loathed drinking wine or intoxicants out of their sense of honour and social dignity, such as Zayd ibn `Amr ibn An-Nufail. The pre-Islamic Arabs adored wine; cherished its different substances; and they even composed poetry in its praise. They gave wine many names as an indication of its honour and importance to their lives. No doubt, it was a booming and lucrative trade to them. When Imri’u al-Qais, the late well-known Arab poet, was told about his father’s murder, he could not give up the wine he was drinking or leave his drinking companions and uttered his famous word: “Wine today, and business tomorrow.”As an indication of the Arabs’ fondness of and passion for wine, many companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) continued to drink even after the first two related ayahs (representing first two stages of wine prohibition) were revealed. They took advantage of the fact that complete prohibition was not imposed yet. Only when the third and final ayah was revealed, they knew it was the total and absolute prohibition thereof and only then they gave up drinking.In the Holy Qur’an the word ‘Khamr’ (intoxicant), has been used for alcoholic drinks. During the days of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon &nbsp;him) the sources of alcoholic beverages were grapes, dates, wheat, barley and honey. Although alcohol may be prepared nowadays from any other source, it is still considered to be forbidden as long as it intoxicates people. <br></p>