The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page clxxxvii
GENERAL INTRODUCTION their relations with Muslims and forced them to fight against the Jews. But Muslims only turned them out of Medina. One of the two Jewish tribes migrated to Syria. Of the other, some went to Syria and some settled in Khaibar, a well-fortified Jewish stronghold, to the north of Medina. In the interval of peace between Uḥud and the next battle, the world witnessed an outstanding example of the influence of Islam on its followers. We refer to the prohibition of alcohol. In describing the condition of Arab society before Islam, we pointed out that the Arabs were confirmed drunkards. To drink five times a day was in fashion throughout Arabia. To lose oneself under the effect of drink was a common practice and of this the Arabs were not in the least ashamed. Rather they thought it was a virtue. When a guest arrived, it was the duty of the housewife to send drinks round. To wean such a people from this deadly habit was no easy matter. But in the fourth year after the Hijrah, the Prophet received the command that drinking had been forbidden. With the promulgation of this command, drinking disappeared from Muslim society. It is recorded that when the revelation making alcohol unlawful was received, the Prophet sent for a Companion and ordered him to proclaim the new command in the streets of Medina. In the house of an Anṣārī (a Muslim of Medina) a drinking party was going on. Many persons had been invited and cups of wine were being served. One large pot had been consumed and a second one was going to be broached. Many had lost their senses, and many more were on the way to lose them. In this condition they heard someone proclaim that drinking had been forbidden by the Prophet under a command of God. One of the party stood up and said, "It looks like a proclamation against drinking; let us find out if this is so. " Another stood up, struck the earthen pot full of wine with his staff, broke it to pieces and said, "First obey, then inquire. It is enough that we have heard of such a proclamation. It is not meet that we should go on drinking while we make inquiries. It is rather our duty to let the wine flow in the street and then inquire about the proclamation" (Bukhārī and Muslim, Kitābul-Ashribah). This Muslim was right. For, if drinking had been forbidden, they would have been guilty of an offence, had they gone on drinking. On the other hand, if drinking had not been forbidden, they would not lose much if for once they should let the wine in their pots flow into the streets. Drinking disappeared from the entire Muslim society after this proclamation. No special effort or campaign was needed to bring about this revolutionary change. Muslims who heard this command and witnessed the ready response with which it was received lived up to seventy or eighty years. No case is known of any Muslim who, having heard of this prohibition, showed the weakness of offending against it. If there was any such case, it must have been of one who did not have the chance to come under the direct influence of the Prophet. Compare with this the clxi