Is Dying in a State of Drunkenness or Intoxication Disbelief?
Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Question
Is it true that if you die in a state of intoxication, you die a kafir and get raised as a kafir?
Answer
I’m not aware of this being a hadith. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Alcohol is the source of all vileness. Whoever drinks it shall have 40 days of prayer not accepted, and whoever dies in this state dies a death of Ignorance.” [Tabarani, al-Mu‘jam al-Saghir – with a sound chain]
Drinking alcohol is categorically prohibited-given its grave worldly and spiritual harms. Thus, it is unbecoming of a believer. The hadiths warning against it or it being disbelief relate to this meaning of “being unbecoming of the believer.”
The hadiths don’t affirm that the person becomes a disbeliever. Instead, they are warnings–out of Divine Mercy–and a call to desist, repent, and return to Allah Most High. [Munawi, Fayd al-Qadir; Kurani, al-Kawthar al-Jari ila Riyad Ahadith al-Bukhari; Azizi, al-Siraj al-Munir Sharh al-Jami al-Saghir]
All Sins Are Lifted by Sincere Repentance
Know without a doubt that all sins are lifted by sincere repentance.
Kindly check these links:
How Do You Know If Your Repentance is Sincere?
Chapter on Repentance: From Imam Nawawi’s Gardens of the Righteous
Prayer of Repentance: Salat al-Tawba
Does Sincere Repentance Eradicate Sin?
What is the Difference Between” Tawbah”,” Inabah”, and” Awba”?
What Are the Conditions of Making Tawba? (Transcript) – Ustadh Abdullah Misra
The Messenger of Allah (peace & blessings be upon him)said, “Truly, Allah Most High outstretches His Hand by night in order for those who erred by day to repent. And He outstretches His Hand by day in order for those who erred by night to repent–until the Sun rises from the West.” [Muslim; Ahmad]
Allah Most High says: “Say: My servants who have wronged yourselves, never despair of God’s mercy. God forgives all sins: He is truly the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.” [Quran, 39:53]
And Allah is the giver of success and facilitation.
[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus, and then in Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), as well as his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance in order to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of: Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.
