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If an ignorant, unreasonable objector demands wording in the Quran explicitly declaring wine forbidden, it is indeed found in more than one place. Allah calls it defilement, saying:
“Wine, gambling, sacrificial altars, and divining arrows are nothing but defilement from Satan’s handiwork, so avoid them, that you may prosper.” [al-Mā’idah: 90]
He then explicitly declares defilement forbidden, saying:
“Say: ‘I find nothing in what has been revealed to me forbidden for anyone to eat, unless it be carrion, flowing blood, or pork—for it is defilement—or a sinful offering over which a name other than Allah’s has been invoked.’” [al-An‘ām: 145]
He also describes it elsewhere, saying:
“They ask you about wine and gambling. Say: ‘In them is great sin.’” [al-Baqarah: 219]
He then explicitly declares sin forbidden, saying:
“Say: ‘My Lord has only forbidden shameful deeds, whether committed openly or secretly, and sin.’” [al-A‘rāf: 33]
Even if the Quran contained nothing concerning wine beyond a prohibition against it, the prophetic traditions declaring wine unlawful would clarify the meaning of Allah’s prohibition: that He intended it to be forbidden, not merely disliked. For He sent the Prophet only to explain to people what had been revealed to them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stated that Allah had forbidden it, and the Muslim community unanimously agrees that it is forbidden. Its prohibition is known as an essential teaching of the Prophet’s religion (peace and blessings be upon him).
Whoever says that wine is not forbidden is therefore a disbeliever by unanimous agreement. He is called upon to repent, as an apostate is called upon to repent; if he repents, he is spared, otherwise he is executed.
“It is reported that some people from Yemen came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he taught them prayer, the Sunnah, and the obligatory duties. They then said, ‘Messenger of Allah, we have a drink that we make from wheat and barley.’ He asked, ‘Does it undergo a change?’ They replied, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Do not drink it.’ Two days later, they asked him about it again, and he said, ‘Do not drink it.’ Then, when they were about to leave, they asked him about it once more, and he said, ‘Do not drink it.’ They said, ‘But they will not give it up.’ He said, ‘Whoever does not give it up, strike off his head.’”
He meant someone who denies that it is forbidden. Allah knows best. Whoever drinks it while acknowledging its prohibition is given the prescribed punishment of eighty lashes.
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Drinking wine is among the gravest major sins. The reports sternly warning against drinking wine are numerous, and people have cited them extensively, so there is no point in reproducing them here.