Surah al-Ma'idah (The Table) 5 : 90

Overview (Verses 90- 92)

A Categorical Prohibition of Intoxicants
 
It is within the context of legislation, permissibility and prohibition, as well as the moulding of the Muslim community in Madinah, purging it from all remaining traces of past tradition of the dark days, that a clear and decisive verdict is given on intoxicating drinks and gambling, coupled with practices of associating partners with God.
 
Believers, intoxicants, games of chance, idolatrous practices and divining arrows are abominations devised by Satan. Therefore, turn away from them so that you may be successful. Satan seeks only to stir up enmity and hatred among you by means of intoxicants and games of chance, and to turn you away from the remembrance of God and from prayer. Will you not, then, desist? (Verses 90-1)
 
Drinking, gambling, idols and divining arrows were important aspects of pre- Islamic Arabia. They were closely related in both practice and tradition. The Arabs used to drink to the point of extravagance. They considered that drinking afforded people distinction. They often mention drinking in their poetry as a practice to be proud of or to praise others with. In social gatherings, drinking was coupled with the slaughter of animals which were immediately cooked to provide food to those who took part in these drinking bouts, those who served wine and those who frequented such gatherings. The animals were slaughtered at the feet of idols which were sprayed with the blood of their sacrifice. In such social events, the act of divining arrows was practised in order to determine the sharing out of the sacrificial meat. Everyone’s share was determined by his arrow, with the highest arrow giving the largest share, and the lowest giving no share whatsoever, even though it might have been the arrow of the person who provided the animal for slaughter. This gives us an idea of how traditions were intertwined with ignorant ideological concepts.
 
Islam did not address such traditions at the start, because they are based on mistaken beliefs. To try to reform them at the surface level before establishing the right foundation of faith was bound to be a wasted effort, and this a Divine system would not even consider. Islam begins its reform with the paramount question for every human being, namely, faith. It uproots the very basic ideological concepts of ignorance in order to put in place the Islamic concept, which is in complete harmony with human nature. It explains to people how grossly mistaken their concepts of God are and guides them to recognise their true Lord and Creator. Once they know Him, they begin to listen with great attention in order to find out what pleases and displeases their Lord. Prior to this they are not even ready to listen or obey an order or commandment. They are not prepared to abandon their ignorant practices no matter how often they are advised against them. The key to human nature is that of faith. Unless the right key is used, nothing of morality or social reform will take root in human nature. Thus, it remains closed, unenlightened, and unfathomable.
 
The Islamic method of reform did not start with correcting the deviations and abominations of the dark ages, or Jāhiliyyah. It addressed the question of faith, beginning with the declaration that there is no deity save God. It took around 13 years to establish this concept of God’s oneness, with all that it entails, in the hearts of the early Muslims. In this period, the only aim was its establishment, so that people could know their Lord and submit themselves to His authority. When faith was clearly established in their hearts and they recognised that they could have no choice other than what has been chosen for them by God, then the next phase of outlining their duties, including worship, began. This was combined with the process of eradicating the social, economic, moral and behavioural traces of ignorance. It began in effect at the moment when God’s order could be obeyed without hesitation because people realised that God could only order them to do what is good for them.
 
In other words, commandments were issued after submission had become clear, when every Muslim realised that he had no say other than the say of God. Shaikh Abu’l Ĥasan `Alī al-Nadwī describes this stage succinctly and clearly in his invaluable book Islam and the World, under the subtitle “Highest Pinnacle of Development”:
 
Once the Gordian knot of unbelief had been cut, it was easy to unfasten the other knots that bound them (meaning the early Muslims). Once the Prophet had opened their hearts to Islam, he did not have to struggle at each step to make them reject the Wrong and accept the Right. They had entered into the new faith heart and soul and submitted themselves without demur to what the Prophet decreed. They unhesitatingly confessed before the Prophet such crimes as were not known to anyone but themselves. If they committed any crime, they voluntarily submitted themselves for punishment. Many of them actually had wine cups in their hands when the Qur’ānic injunction against the use of intoxicants was revealed, but the Word of God came between them and the cups. They threw away the cups at once and broke their wine barrels so that the drains of Madinah literally overflowed with their detestable contents.
 
Yet, the prohibition of intoxicants and games of chance did not come as a surprise. Before this categorical prohibition, some steps were taken to loosen the hold of such social traditions which were closely intertwined with personal habits as well as with economic aspects. Indeed, this was the third or fourth step Islam took to solve the problem of intoxicant drinks.
 
The first step was no more than firing a shot in the right direction, when God (limitless is He in His Glory) says in Sūrah 16, The Bee, revealed in Makkah: “And from the fruit of date palms and vines you derive intoxicants as well as wholesome food.” (16: 67) This was the first indication to Muslims whereby intoxicants were placed in opposition to wholesome sustenance.
 
The second step addressed the Muslims’ religious conscience through legislative logic, with the verse revealed in Sūrah 2, The Cow: “They ask you about intoxicants and games of chance. Say: In both there is great evil although they have some benefits for people; but their evil far exceeds their benefit.” (2: 219) The import here is clear: since the evil of a particular practice is far greater than its benefit, then it is better to abandon it altogether. Hardly anything is totally devoid of benefit, but its permissibility or prohibition depends on how far its evil outweighs its benefit.
 
The third step broke the habit of drinking and put it on a collision course with attendance to obligatory prayer. Here we have the verse revealed in Sūrah 4, Women: “Believers, do not attempt to pray when you are drunk, [but wait] until you know what you are saying.” (4: 43) Since Muslims offer five obligatory prayers every day, with a close time range between them, which is not sufficient to get drunk in and then regain sobriety, this instruction practically restricted the times available for drinking. This, in effect, abolished the habits of midmorning and mid-afternoon drinking, which were part of the traditions of pre-Islamic Arabia. Moreover, it militated against addiction, which is closely related to the amount of time available for drinking. In this way, it became practically impossible for a Muslim to attend to his prayers on time, and to drink at his usual times.
 
The fourth and final stage was this categorical prohibition which came after people had become fully ready to accept it. It needed only a clear order and the Muslims were sure to obey it without hesitation.
 
Obedience: A Main Characteristic of Muslim Society
 
It seems that the first of these verses, i.e. the one in Sūrah 16, caused `Umar ibn al- Khaţţāb, who described himself prior to embracing Islam as a man of drink, some worry and he wished for a clear-cut ruling on drinking. That verse makes a distinction between what people use dates and grapes for, as it describes them as “intoxicants and wholesome food.” (16: 67)
 
`Umar ibn al-Khaţţāb [may God be pleased with him] reports that he said: “My Lord, give us a clear-cut ruling on drinking.” The verse in Sūrah 2 was then revealed, stating: “They ask you about intoxicants and games of chance. Say: In both there is great evil although they have some benefits for people; but their evil far exceeds their benefit.” (2: 219) `Umar was called in and the verse was recited to him. He said: “My Lord, give us a clear-cut ruling on drinking.” The verse in Sūrah 4 was then revealed: “Believers, do not attempt to pray when you are drunk, [but wait] until you know what you are saying.” (4: 43) `Umar was called in and the verse was recited to him. He once again said: “My Lord, give us a clear-cut ruling on drinking.” The verse in this sūrah, The Repast, was then revealed, stating: “Satan seeks only to stir up enmity and hatred among you by means of intoxicants and games of chance, and to turn you away from the remembrance of God and from prayer. Will you not, then, desist?” (Verse 91) `Umar was called in once more and the verse was recited to him. He said: “We do desist, my Lord! We do desist.” (Related by al-Nasā’ī, Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, and Ibn Mājah.)
 
When these two verses which make intoxicants absolutely forbidden were revealed in the third year of the Islamic calendar, shortly after the Battle of Uĥud, the matter did not require more than sending someone around the places where people gathered in Madinah to announce: “All intoxicants are forbidden.” Everyone who had a glass of wine in his hand broke it and everyone who was in the actual process of drinking threw out what was in his mouth. Barrels and bottles of wine and other intoxicants were broken. The whole matter was over as if the people had never before drunk intoxicants.
 
Let us now look at the way the Qur’ānic statement is phrased, because it tells us much about the Qur’ānic method of cultivating people’s minds and reforming their behaviour. It begins with the address so familiar in this part of the sūrah: “Believers.” This address awakens the hearts of believers on the one hand and reminds them, on the other, of the basic requirement of faith, namely, obedience and submission.
 
This is followed by a decisive statement on the nature of those practices which admit no counter argument: “Intoxicants, games of chance, idolatrous practices and divining arrows are abominations devised by Satan.” (Verse 90) These are, then, foul practices and cannot be included among good and wholesome things which God has permitted. Moreover, they have been devised by Satan, man’s old enemy. It is sufficient for a believer to know that something is devised by Satan to make it totally repugnant to him.
 
At this point, the prohibition is issued, but is combined with the prospect of attaining success, which itself has its profound effect on the human mind: “Therefore, turn away from them so that you may be successful.” (Verse 90) The Qur’ānic verses go on to further expose Satan’s scheme behind the devising of these abominations: “Satan seeks only to stir up enmity and hatred among you by meaner of intoxicants and games of chance, and to turn you away from the remembrance of God and from prayer.” (Verse 91) Satan’s aim and the purpose of his scheming are thus exposed before every Muslim. Satan seeks nothing except the stirring up of enmity and hatred among believers so as to turn them away from their worship. What a wicked scheme!
 
Satan’s aims can easily be recognised in our practical life after we have accepted them as true, since God has stated them so. It does not take anyone with an open mind long to recognise how Satan actually stirs up enmity and hatred, utilising for this purpose intoxicants and gambling. Intoxicants weaken one’s consciousness and self-control, heighten tempers and stir up whims and impulses. Gambling and all games of chance leave people with a sense of loss and grudges. It is natural that a losing gambler nurses a strong grudge against the winner who takes away his money from under his nose and leaves him empty handed. It is only natural that such matters stir up enmity and hatred, regardless of the impression of happiness they initially give off.
 
The fact that intoxicants and gambling do turn people away from their remembrance of God and from prayer is too clear to require elaboration. Drinking makes people forget and gambling makes them oblivious to everything else. Indeed, games of chance keep gamblers in a state of intoxication which is not dissimilar to that produced by drink. The world of a gambler is akin to that of a drunk: tables, glasses and a strike of fortune or misfortune.
 
As this clear reference to Satan’s aim in devising these abominations produces its effect and awakens the hearts of those who believe, the question is then put which admits only the sort of answer `Umar gave when he heard it for the first time: “Will you not, then, desist?” His immediate response was: “We do desist, my Lord! We do desist.”
 
The sūrah goes on to put the whole matter in its proper perspective: “Obey God, and obey the Messenger, and be ever on your guard. But if you turn away, then know that Our Messenger’s only duty is a clear delivery of the message [entrusted to him].” (Verse 92)
 
This is the basic rule to which all matters are referred: obedience to God and His Messenger, i.e. submission which leaves no room except for absolute obedience and total compliance. There is also an implicit warning in this statement: “If you turn away, then know that Our Messenger’s only duty is a clear delivery of the message [entrusted to him].” (Verse 92) He has certainly conveyed God’s message with absolute clarity. Anyone who disobeys bears full responsibility for his disobedience. This warning, implicitly as it is expressed, is indeed very strong. The believers are made aware that should they slip into disobedience they only harm themselves. God’s Messenger has fulfilled his trust and conveyed his message. Hence, he is no longer responsible for them. Nor will he shield them from punishment, since they have disobeyed him. Their faith is in the hands of God, who is able to punish those who disobey. Thus does the Qur’ānic method open up our hearts and penetrate our depths.