Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad
Question:
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum,
Thank you for your question. I want to first commend you for asking to clear up your doubts and confusion, for that is the only way to seek true knowledge. May Allah always guide you in this way!
Prophetic hadith
The hadith that you are referring to is here: Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Whoever drinks alcoholic drinks in the world and does not repent (before dying), will be deprived of it in the Hereafter. “[Bukhari]
Enormity
Not just drinking
Allah’s Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace, said, “The Messenger of Allah said: ‘No one who commits fornication is a believer at the moment when he is fornicating, and no one who drinks wine is a believer at the moment when he is drinking it, and no thief is a believer at the moment when he is stealing, and no killer is a believer at the moment he is killing” [Nasa’i].
Dissuasion
Truth
The truth of the matter is that some sins are greater than others, and Allah and His Messenger have defined drinking wine as one of the worst sins a man can commit, probably because of the harm that it causes to the one drinking and those around him. How many homes have been destroyed, how much violence has it caused, how many devastating words have been said because of it? Its harm knows no bounds. So, although it may not seem fair to you, Islam sees a drop of wine as an abomination, straight from the Devil, and that is the truth.
Repentance
The good news is that the door to repentance is open, as were are told in Allah’s book, “Say, O Prophet, that Allah says, “O My servants who have exceeded the limits against their souls! Do not lose hope in Allah’s mercy, for Allah certainly forgives all sins. He is indeed the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. “[Qur’an, 39:53] A person who drinks has only to fulfill the conditions of his repentance and should hope from Allah’s mercy that he will be like one who has not sinned at all.
May Allah protect us all from enormities, and may He give you the best of this world and the next.
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her master’s in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.