Verse 219 of Surah Al-Baqarah, as one of the pivotal verses of the Holy Qur'an, by posing inquiries regarding intoxicants (Khamr) and gambling (Maisir) and providing the divine response to them, opens a gateway towards a deeper understanding of the ethical and value system within Islam. This verse, revealed in the context of the divine dialogue with the early Islamic community, addresses not only the subjects of intoxicants and gambling but also, through the topic of almsgiving, alludes to fundamental ethical and social issues. The interpretation of this verse, considering its multifaceted dimensions, necessitates a specialised and multidisciplinary approach drawing from jurisprudence (Fiqh), theology (Kalam), and sociology. This treatise, by aggregating the content of the lecture series alongside supplementary analyses, endeavours to examine this verse with a scientific and systematic outlook, whilst also offering critiques of prevailing deficiencies in religious understanding as well as linguistic and educational challenges. The structure of this document has been designed to provide profound and coherent reflections in an elevated and research-appropriate style for an expert and academically accomplished readership.
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ ۖ قُلْ فِيهِمَا إِثْمٌ كَبِيرٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَإِثْمُهُمَا أَكْبَرُ مِنْ نَفْعِهِمَا ۗ وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنْفِقُونَ قُلِ الْعَفْوَ ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَفَكَّرُونَ
They ask you about intoxicants and gambling. Say: "In them is a great sin and [some] benefits for people, but their sin is greater than their benefit." And they ask you what they should spend. Say: "The excess [beyond needs]." Thus does Allah make clear to you the verses that you might reflect.
Verse 219 of Surah Al-Baqarah, owing to its multilayered structure and reference to juridical, ethical, and social topics, is considered among the specialised verses of the Qur'an. By presenting questions from the early Islamic community and divine replies, it addresses matters such as intoxicants, gambling, and charity, thereby necessitating a profound and multidisciplinary analysis. The interplay between the interrogative structure (يَسْأَلُونَكَ) and the divine responses (قُلْ) indicates a direct discourse between God and the Muslim community, emphasising the urgency and significance of these issues within their historical context of revelation.
The interrogative form يَسْأَلُونَكَ, repeated in other verses such as those addressing combat, underscores the gravity and importance of the topics under discussion. Notably, the section concerning intoxicants and gambling occupies only half of the verse, while the portion related to charity (مَاذَا يُنْفِقُونَ) forms the other half. These two thematic segments are independent in content yet juxtaposed in the verse structure due to the multiple inquiries from the early Muslim community. This topical independence reflects the diverse intellectual and practical needs of the community at the time of revelation and illustrates the Qur'ans comprehensiveness in addressing various issues.
A distinctive attribute of the Qur'an is its precise engineering in prioritising topics, evident through the volume and structure of its verses. In this verse, intoxicants and gambling constitute only half of a single verse, whereas combat is discussed in lengthy, detailed verses. This disparity in length signals the relative importance of subjects within the Qur'anic ethical system. Analogous to a precise scale that weighs each matter correctly, the Qur'ans statistical engineering elucidates moral and social priorities clearly.
Verse 219 of Surah Al-Baqarah, through its question-and-answer format, addresses intoxicants, gambling, and charity, requiring specialised jurisprudential, theological, and sociological analysis. The thematic independence of its parts and their volume differences compared to other subjects like combat highlight the Qur'ans precise engineering in expressing ethical and social priorities. This verse serves as a gateway to understanding Islams value system and invites researchers to undertake multidisciplinary studies.
In early Islam, intoxicants and gambling were not merely consumptive activities but also widespread commercial trades, much like bread and meat in everyday life. Intoxicants were beverages commonly used both personally and commercially, while gambling, as games of chance involving wins and losses, was prevalent among the populace. This widespread prevalence rendered the prohibition of these two practices a major challenge for the Qur'an, comparable to forbidding bread or meat in a society where these items are necessities.
The term Khamr derives from a root meaning "to cover" or "to obscure," reflecting how this substance, by affecting the nervous system, disrupts human rationality as if casting a veil over the intellect. Maisir comes from Yusr, meaning "ease" or "facilitation," and denotes earning without effort. The word Qimr, derived from Muqmara, refers to games played under the moonlight in pre-Islamic deserts, where, in the absence of artificial light, people gambled under the moons illumination.
Prohibiting intoxicants and gambling in a society where these practices were widespread required a gradual approach. The Qur'an introduced the prohibition of intoxicants progressively in three stages (Al-Baqarah: 219; An-Nisa: 43; Al-Ma'idah: 90), reflecting divine wisdom in confronting entrenched social habits. This gradual method resembles a gardener carefully removing weeds to avoid harming the primary plants.
While the Qur'an references three types of intoxicants, today more than a thousand varieties of alcoholic beverages exist. This diversity indicates the widespread cultural and economic significance of intoxicants globally. For instance, Lebanese red wine, as a commercial product, holds global market value exceeding that of some natural resources such as oil. This fact reveals the complexity of prohibiting intoxicants in modern societies.
Intoxicants and gambling in early Islam, due to their commercial and consumptive prevalence, presented major challenges for divine prohibition. The etymology of these terms points to their destructive roles within the Islamic moral and economic framework. The Qur'ans gradual prohibition demonstrates divine wisdom in dealing with entrenched social practices. The contemporary diversity of intoxicants underscores the complexity of this issue today, highlighting the need for deeper analysis.
Within the Qur'anic value system, oppression and combat carry greater importance than intoxicants and gambling. Combat, extensively addressed in long and detailed verses, deals with fundamental ethical and social matters, whereas intoxicants and gambling occupy only half of verse 219. Oppression, as a sin that, like disbelief, entails spiritual impurity, has broader impacts on both society and individuals. This distinction is akin to a scale that weighs sins precisely, placing oppression at the pinnacle.
