Why Drinking Alcohol is Forbidden?

STUDY ISLAM - Reason (mind/intellect) is the Almighty God favors the most general and most expensive given by Him only to humans (not given to other creatures). With reason, humans have privileges compared to other beings (animals) and he can control nature to benefit themselves and their surroundings.

Drinking khamr (wine, beer, or any beverages that contain alcohol) is sin (immoral acts) which can be damaging and destroying reason and mind, and also the greatest evil in the sight of Allah. This is the principal of all evil and sin. Someone who drank alcohol would dare commit adultery (fornication), killing, stealing, and destroying the honor of himself and others.



The human beings possess an inhibitory centre in their brains. This inhibitory centre prevents the person from doing things that he considers wrong. For instance, a person does not normally use rude or abusive language while addressing his parents or elders. Or if he has to answer "the call of nature", his inhibitory centre will prevent him from doing so in public. He uses the toilet instead.

When a person consumes khamr, the inhibitory centre itself is inhibited. That is precisely the reason that an inebriated person is often found to be indulging in behaviour that is completely uncharacteristic of him. For instance, the intoxicated person is found to use abusive and foul language and does not realize his mistake even if he is addressing his parents. Many even urinate in their clothes. Neither do they talk nor walk properly. They even misbehave.

There are several scientific reasons for the prohibition of consumption of intoxicants i.e. khamr/alcohol. The maximum number of deaths in the world related to any one particular cause is due to the consumption of alcohol. Millions of people die every year only because of intake of alcohol. I need not go into the details of all the ill-effects of alcohol since most of them are commonly known. Below is a simple list of few of the alcohol related illnesses:

1. Cirrhosis of Liver is the most well known alcohol associated disease.
2. Cancer of Oesophagus, Cancer of Head and Neck, Cancer of Liver (Hepatoma), Cancer of Bowel, etc.
3. Strokes, Apoplexy, Fits and different types of Paralysis are linked with alcohol intake.
4. Oesophagitis, Gastritis, Pancreatitis and Hepatitis are linked with alcohol consumption.
5. Cardiomyopathy, Hypertension, Coronary Artherosclerosis, Angina and Heart Attacks are linked with heavy alcohol intakes.
6. Peripheral Neuropathy, Cortical Atrophy, Cerebellar Atrophy are well-known syndromes caused by alcohol consumption.
7. Wernicke – Korsakoff syndrome with amnesia of recent events, confabulations and retainment of memory to old events with different types of paralysis are mainly due to thiamine deficiency due to excessive alcohol intake.
8. Beriberi and other deficiencies are not uncommon among alcoholics. Even Pellagra occurs in alcoholics.
9. Delerium Tremens is a serious complication that may occur during recurrent infection of alcoholics or post operatively. It also occurs during abstention as a sign of withdrawal effect. It is quite serious and may cause death even if treated in well equipped centres.
10. Numerous Endocrine Disorders have been associated with alcoholism ranging from Myxodema to Hyperthyroidism and Florid Cushing Syndrome.
11. Hematological ill effects are long and variable. Folic acid deficiency, however, is the most common manifestation of alcoholic abuse resulting in Macrocytic Anemia. Zeive’s syndrome is a triad of Hemolytic Anemia, Jaundice and Hyperlipaedemia that follows alcoholic binges.
12. Thrombocytopenia and other platelet abnormalities are not rare in alcoholics.
13. The commonly used tablet metronidazole (flagyl) interacts badly with alcohol.
14. Recurrent infection is very common among chronic alcoholics. The resistance to disease and the immunological defense system are compromised by alcohol intake.
15. Chest infections are notorious in alcoholics. Pneumonia, Lung Abcess, Emphysema and Pulmonary Tuberculosis are all common in alcoholics.
16. During acute alcoholic intoxication, the drunk person usually vomits, the cough reflexes which are protective are paralysed. The vomitus thus easily pass to the lung causing Pneumonia or Lung Abscess. Occasionally it may even cause suffocation and death.
17. The ill effects of alcohol consumption on women deserves special mention. Females are more vulnerable to alcohol-related Cirrhosis than men. During pregnancy alcohol consumption has a severe detrimental effect on the foetus. Foetal Alcohol Syndrome is being recognised more and more in the medical profession.
18. Skin diseases are also related to alcohol indulgence.
19. Eczema, Alopecia, Nail Dystrophy, Paronychia (infection around the nails) and Angular Stomatitis (inflammation of the angle of the mouth) are common diseases among alcoholics.

Allah Almighty God, already warned in the Glorious Qur'an:

O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan's handwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper. [QS. Al-Maaidah 5:90]

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) also said:

Abdullah ibn Umar ibn Khattab ra said that the Messenger of Allah. Said, "Allah has cursed khamr (wine), its drinker, its server, its seller, its buyer, its presser, the one for whom it is pressed, the one who conveys it, and the one to whom it is conveyed." (Narrated by Abu Dawud and Imam Hakim)

Ibn Abbas said that the Messenger of Allah. Said, "Who would believe in Alah swt and final day (of Judgement), then he should not sit on a table where wine is being drunk." (Narrated by Tabaraani)

According to Sunan Ibn-I-Majah Volume 3, Book of Intoxicants, Chapter 30 Hadith No. 3380.  It was reported by Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:  "God’s curse falls on ten groups of people who deal with alcohol. The one who distills it, the one for whom it has been distilled, the one who drinks it, the one who transports it, the one to who it has been brought, the one whom serves it, the one who sells it, the one who utilizes money from it, the one who buys it and the one who buys it for someone else."

Many may argue in favour of liquor by calling themselves ‘social drinkers’. They claim that they only have one or two pegs and they have self-control and so never get intoxicated. Investigations reveal that every alcoholic started as a social drinker. Not a single alcoholic or drunkard initially starts drinking with the intention of becoming an alcoholic or a drunkard. No social drinker can say that "I have been having alcohol for several years and that I have so much self-control that I have never been intoxicated even a single time".

Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: The Prophet (pbuh) said: If a large amount of anything causes intoxication, a small amount of it is prohibited.

Islamic rules toward khamr and his problem is extremely strict, because khamr can be very dangerous, not only physical but also human mentality. Khamr is also a danger to society and the environment. If the drinkers aware of the potential danger of khamr, he would definitely stay away or even run away from khamr.