Alcohol is not confined to only liquid drink
Fatwa No: 478585

Question

It is no doubt that weed and alcohol are haram, but drinking Alcohol means one’s prayers won’t be accepted for forty days. Does the ruling apply to weed as well? I read your other fatwa regarding it, and it says it does, but in the Hadith it is stated that whoever DRINKS khamr, their prayer won’t be accepted for forty days. This sounds like it only applies to an intoxicant on liquid form such as wine, alcohol and the likes because if it were all types of intoxicants I’m not sure if the word DRINK would have been used by the prophet(S.A.W). Please correct me if I am wrong.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

You should know that alcohol is not confined to the liquid drink, rather everything that intoxicates and distracts the mind is alcohol, whether it is liquid or solid. The proof of this point is found in the saying of Ibn 'Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, "an alcoholic drink is that which disturbs the mind." [Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. The meaning of “disturbs the mind” is that it covers it and does not leave it in its normal state, as the interpreters of the hadeeth have said. Thus, this applies to all solid drugs that distract the mind, and for this reason, the punishment is imposed on those who use solid drugs, just as it is imposed on the drinker of liquid alcohol. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said in Majmoo' AL-Fatawa: “Weed made from grape leaves is also forbidden, who uses it is flogged as a drinker of wine is flogged. It is worse than alcohol as it corrupts the mind and mood to the extent that a man becomes effeminate, promiscuous, and other forms of corruption. However, wine is more malicious as it leads to discord and fighting, both of which prevent one from remembering Allah Almighty and from prayer.” [End of quote]

The same applies to the one who uses solid drugs and is described as debauchery, his testimony is not accepted just like the drinker of liquid alcohol, without any difference. If the definition of alcohol applies to non-liquid (alcohol or weed) which distracts the mind, and whoever uses it receives a prescribed punishment, and is described as “debauchery”, their testimony is not accepted, and other provisions that result from the liquid drinking from it, then all these are included in the warning that prayer would not be accepted for forty days.

Allah knows best.

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