It was reported in one of the newspapers in a country where Allah’s wrath and punishment had become manifest that, at one o’clock after midnight, a young man entered upon his mother and told her that he wanted to have intercourse with her. She forbade and rebuked him, so he went and brought a knife, saying, “If you do not submit to me, I will kill myself.” Her motherly tenderness and compassion overcame her, so she yielded herself to him, and he committed fornication with his mother. When morning came, it was as though he realized that he had committed this grave crime with his mother. He entered the bathroom with petrol, poured it over himself, and then set himself on fire—Allah’s protection is sought.

Whoever reflects on the evils and harms arising from drinking wine will recognize therein Allah’s wisdom and mercy towards His servants in forbidding it to them. Sound judgment requires its prohibition, and an intelligent person keeps away from it by the dictates of his reason, even without knowing Allah’s ruling concerning it.

His statement, “Nor is drinking it permissible for pleasure”: If someone were to say, “I will drink wine for enjoyment”—claiming that he is weary and worn down by worries, and wishing to drink this cup of wine so that he may relax and enjoy himself, imagining that he has before him neither worry nor distress, neither worldly concerns nor family nor children, but that he is one of the kings of this world—and says, “Have mercy on me! I have grown weary of my life, and time holds no pleasure for me until I drink a cup of wine”—would it be permissible for him to drink it for this purpose?

We say: It is not permissible, and we show you mercy by preventing you from it. If you do this, you may experience exhilaration, merriment, distraction, and forgetfulness for a few moments, but this will be followed by worry and distress greater than what came before. It is the mother of all evils.