After that an announcer of Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) announced at the time of
prayers: “People, don’t approach the prayers while intoxicated.”
Again Umar was summoned and the verse was recited to him and he
repeated his supplication once more. This time was revealed the verse of:
وَهُدُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱلطَّيِّبِ مِنَ ٱلْقَوْلِ وَهُدُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطِ ٱلْحَمِيدِ (٢٤)
“The Shaitan only desires to cause enmity and hatred to spring
in your midst by means of intoxicants and games of chance, and
to keep you off from the remembrance of Allah and from
prayer. Will you then desist?”1
At that point, Umar said: “I give it up! I give it up!”2
Allamah Amini says: Our aim from quoting these traditions was not to
prove that Umar drank (liquor) during period of Ignorance, because Islam
purifies the past acts:
وَهُدُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱلطَّيِّبِ مِنَ ٱلْقَوْلِ وَهُدُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطِ ٱلْحَمِيدِ (٢٤)
“On those who believe and do good there is no blame for what
they eat, when they are careful (of their duty) and believe and
do good deeds, then they are careful (of their duty) and believe,
then they are careful (of their duty) and do good (to others), and
Allah loves those who do good (to others).”3
On the contrary, the aim was to make the reader aware about the level of
Caliph’s knowledge of Quran and the quantum of his understanding the meaning
of divine verses to such an extent that:
وَهُدُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱلطَّيِّبِ مِنَ ٱلْقَوْلِ وَهُدُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطِ ٱلْحَمِيدِ (٢٤)
“They ask you about intoxicants and games of chance. Say: In both of them there is a great sin.”4
That he was not aware of its prohibition, whereas this verse was revealed
forbidding liquor and all companions of Prophet also understood that. Ayesha
says: “When Surah Baqarah was revealed, the prohibition of liquor was also
revealed in it. Thus, Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) prohibited it.”5 When
restraining is better than drinking liquor, while prohibiting liquor, there will be no need to explain it in detail. Especially regarding the verse of ‘sin’, for example:
وَهُدُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱلطَّيِّبِ مِنَ ٱلْقَوْلِ وَهُدُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطِ ٱلْحَمِيدِ (٢٤)
“Say: My Lord has only prohibited indecencies, those of them
that are apparent as well as those that are concealed, and sin
and rebellion.”6
…which explains and prohibits the ‘sin’ mentioned in the verse above it.
‘Ithm’ means sin, and ‘Aathim’ and ‘Atheem’ means sinner. Sometimes
liquor itself is called ‘sin’. Like statement of the poet:
“I drank to such an extent that I lost my senses. Yes liquor makes one lose
sense in this manner.”7
As mentioned in Tafseer Tabari, before its prohibition, liquor was not
having more than two benefits: one was the profit earned through its sale and
another, the pleasure one gets when one drinks liquor.8
The only cause, which made the Caliph ask for verse and again asked for its
justification and he did not give it up before its prohibition and promise of
chastisement, was his liking for liquor. Such that during the period of Ignorance,
no one equaled him in drinking and he has himself confessed this fact as
mentioned in the Seerah Ibne Hisham:9 “I was remote from Islam and during
period of Ignorance I was always drinking liquor and was very fond of it. We
used to have gatherings of wine in Hazora10 besides the house of Umar bin Abad
bin Imran Makhzumi, where Quraish men gathered. One night, I came out of my
house with an aim to participate in that gathering and to meet friends. But when I
reached there, I did not find any of my friends over there. So I said to myself: If I
go to that man, who sells liquor in Mecca, I might be able to get some liquor and
become intoxicated…”
Another evidence is the quotation of Baihaqi in Sunanul Kubra,11 from
Abdullah bin Umar regarding the statement of his father during his Caliphate;
that he said:
“During the period of Ignorance, I was foremost in drinking liquor and
drinking is not like fornication.”12
It was for this reason that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) only summoned him
and recited the verse prohibiting liquor to him. He was among the persons, who had justified these verses and did not give up drinking till the verse of Surah
Maidah was revealed and which clearly prohibited it; and promised divine
chastisement to one who drank liquor.