Question: What is the meaning of Allah’s statement, “They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, ‘In them is great sin and [yet there is] benefit for people, but their sin is greater than their benefit’” (2:219)?

Answer: Allah, exalted and glorified, prohibited wine by gradual stages. In the early days of Islam people were steeped in drinking and could not abandon it all at once, so in His wisdom Allah forbade it step by step.

In the first stage He said, “They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, ‘In them is great sin and benefit for people, but their sin is greater than their benefit’” (2:219). This was the opening step. Allah made clear that the harm of wine outweighs its benefit, and when a rational person knows that something’s harm exceeds its benefit he keeps away from it. No sensible person wants to take or consume something whose damage is greater than its advantage. Therefore, when an intelligent listener hears this verse he will abandon wine and gambling, for reason itself commands him to shun what is predominantly harmful; a rational person does not embark on something whose harm predominates.

In the second stage He forbade it at certain times. This is the verse in Sūrat al-Nisāʾ: “O you who believe, do not approach the prayer while you are intoxicated until you understand what you are saying” (4:43). Thus drinking was prohibited during the times of prayer. Because the five daily prayers recur throughout the day and night, a long portion of every day was off-limits for drinking. This forced a Muslim to leave wine during five distinct periods each day, lightening his attachment and habituation to it. Once its grip on him had weakened, Allah—majestic and sublime—then