Some Of The Sayings Of The Early Muslims About Wine
“Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Whenever a drunkard dies, let him be buried crucified. Then disinter his grave to find out whether he is directed to Qiblah or not. If not, let him be crucified.”
It is narrated that once Al-Fudail ibn ‘Ayd visited one of his disciples when he was dying. He began to instruct the deceased on the testimony of Faith, ‘There is no god but Allah; Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah,’ but the disciple could not repeat after him. When Al-Fudail repeated it, the disciple said, “I could never pronounce it. I am free of it.’ Then, Al-Fudail left weeping. Afterwards, he dreamed of the disciple being dragged to the fire. He asked him, “O poor disciple, why did you turn to ignorance?”
He replied, “O master, when I was ill, I went to a physician who advised me to drink a glass of wine every year. If not, you would remain sick. Therefore, I used to drink it annually for treatment.” If that is the abode of those who drink it for treatment. How about the others?
When a penitent was asked, “Why did he repent? ” he answered, “I was used to entering graves.” Once, I saw a dead person not directed to Qiblah. I, then, asked his kinsmen about him, and they said, “He used to drink wine in the world and died without doing repentance.
One of the righteous men said, “Having buried one of my kids, I saw him in a dream with a white, hairy head. I asked, O my kid, I had buried you as a child. What happened to you?” A drunkard was buried beside me, Father. Then Hell-Fire received him with just a puff. It was so violent that all the children grew white hair.
Hence, we should repent to Allah the Almighty before dying disobedient and then be cast into the Fire. We seek Allah’s refuge from it.
Hashish, which is made from marijuana, is like wine. It is unlawful, and whoever smokes it should suffer the same penalty as a drunkard. Actually, it is worse than wine. It affects one’s mind and perception to the extent that he may turn into an effeminate or a pimp, etc. Wine is also an abomination, as it often leads to disagreement and fighting, and they in turn take the Muslim away of Prayer and remembrance of Allah.
Some of the earliest scholars held that those who eat or smoke hashish should be disciplined, but such disciplinary action may not reach the amount of the least prescribed legal penalty. This is because they considered it as something that befogs the mind, but not desired like narcotics. Nevertheless, hashish is something that is desired, and it is hard for the addict to renounce it. Therefore, he who eats or smokes it should be penalized like the one who drinks wine.
Because hashish is solid, the scholars are not unanimous as to whether it is filthy or not. There are three points of view, as shown in the Hanbali school of jurisprudence and others: It is as filthy as wine, and this is the correct point of view.
It is not filthy due to its solidity. Solid hashish is pure, but liquid hashish is filthy. Once, Abu Musa asked, “O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), what is the ruling of Bit’ and Mizr (two intoxicating beverages made in Yemen). The former is made of honey, and the latter is made of barley. He added, “The Prophet is so eloquent. The Prophet (peace be upon him) answered, “Every intoxicant that causes the negligence of prayer is forbidden.” (Reported by Muslim)
“Of that which intoxicates in a large amount, a small amount is unlawful.” (Reported by At- Tirmidhi, An-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, Abu Dawud, and Ahmad)
In the hadith above, there is no reference to the dichotomy of intoxicants into solid or liquid. Whatever the kind or form of an intoxicant, it is unlawful. Hashish is not mentioned by the early Muslims because it was used only after the coming of the Tatars to the Islamic world.
Abdul-Malik Ibn Marawan recounted a story about a young man who came to him weeping because of a sin he had committed. The young man asked, “Is repentance available to me?” Abdul-Malik said, “What sins did you commit? I committed a grievous sin, the man declared. Abu Malik said, “You would better repent to Allah.” Who accepts the repentance of His servants and forgives all sins.” Then, the young man said, “O leader of the believers, I was used to robbing graves. There, I have seen many wondrous scenes. He asked him: “What did you see?” He said, “One night I robbed a grave where I noticed the corpse was not directed to Qiblah. I was scared and started to leave, but I heard someone saying, “Would not you ask why he was turned away from Qiblah? “Why?” I asked. He said, “Because he was not serious in prayer.”
When I stole from another grave, I noticed that the corpse was turned into a pig and its neck was tied by chains. I was scared and attempted to leave, but I heard someone saying, “Would you not ask about his deeds and why he was tortured?” I asked, “Why?” He said, “He drank wine in the world and died without doing repentance.”
In the third grave I saw that the corpse was spinned into the earth by wedges of fire and that the tongue was pierced to the back of his head. I became scared and tried to go back, but someone called me by saying, “Would you like to know why he was tortured?” I asked. “Why”? He said, “He did not free himself of traces of urine and was a talebearer.”
In the fourth grave, I saw that the corpse was blazing in the fire. I was scared and attempted to leave, but I was called. Would you like to know why he was tormented? I asked, “Why?” He replied that he had neglected prayers.
Eventually, I stole from a fifth grave, which was so wide as far as the eye could see and shiny. The corpse was lying on a bed, illuminated and well dressed. I honored him and tried to leave, but someone called me, saying, “Would you like to know why he was honored?” “Why? I asked.” He said, “He was a devout young man who was brought up obeying and worshipping Allah.” Then Abdul-Malik commented, “This is a lesson to the sinful men and good tidings to the devout people. May Allah count you and us among the devout and obedient people and let us be protected from wrongdoing. He is the most generous, the most bounteous.