Dought & clear,- Ruling on drinking beer and the like.

What is the ruling on drinking beer and similar drinks?
Praise be to Allah.
If the beer is free of that which causes intoxication, then there is
nothing wrong with it.However if it contains any intoxicating
substances, it is not permissible to drink it. The same applies to all
other intoxicants, whether they are drunk or eaten – they must be
avoided and it is not permissible to drink or eat any of these things,
because Allah, may He beglorified and exalted, says (interpretation of
the meaning):
"O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks),
gambling, AlAnsab, and Al-Azlam (arrows for seeking luck or
decision)are an abomination of Shaitans (Satan) handiwork. So avoid
(strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be successful.
Shaytaan (Satan) wants only to excite enmity and hatred between
youwith intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder you
from the remembrance of Allah and from As-Salat (the prayer). So, will
you not then abstain?"
[al-Maa'idah 5:90-91].
And the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
"Every intoxicant is khamr and every intoxicant is haraam." Narrated
by Imam Muslim in his Saheeh. And it was proven from the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he cursed alcohol, the
one who drinks it, the one who pours it, the one who squeezes (the
grapes etc), the one for whom it is squeezed, theone who carries it,
the one to whom it is carried, the one who sells it, the one who
buysit and the one who consumes its price. It is narrated from him
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in a saheeh report that he
said: "Every drink that intoxicates is haraam." And it was narrated
fromhim in a saheeh report that he forbade every intoxicant and
relaxant.
What the Muslim should do is avoid all intoxicants and beware of them.
The one who does any of that must give it up and hasten to repent to
Allah, may He be exalted, from that, as Allah, may He be exalted,says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you
may be successful"
[an-Noor 24:31]
"O you who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance!"
[at-Tahreem 66:8].
End quote.
Majmoo' Fataawa Ibn Baaz
Ends.

The value of repentance

The value of repentance
Mullah Ali Qari (ra) in his Arabic commentary of Mishkaat wrote an
incident about Ibrahim bin Adham (ra), who wasan eminent spiritual
leader of his time. He writes that Ibrahim bin Adham (ra) said "While
walking one day I came across a wealthy young man who was spewing due
to having drank liquor. He vomited so much that flies started buzzing
around him. This excessive spewing caused him to lose consciousness."
Upon initially seeing him Ibrahim bin Adham was very upset. The
thought occurred to him that the very tongue that pronounces the name
of Allah has been spoiled by the impurity of liquor. He fetched a pail
of water and washed the vomit around his mouth. He prayed to Allah
with the following words: "Oh Allah, thoughhe is unworthy and
disobediently involved in sin, You are my Friend and he is a servant
of myFriend. In view of the fact that I consider him to be Your
servant even though he is a sinner I will cast my attention onhim, for
he is nonetheless connected to You."
The splash of cold water on his face immediately woke him up. He came
to his senses and sat up. He said: "Ibrahim you are such a prominent
Wali Allah (friend of Allah), he who has given up the Kingdom of
Balkh, yet you are tending to a miserable drunkard like myself?"
Ibrahim replied, "Seeing you in this disabled statearoused compassion
in me. I saw you in a state where flies are buzzing around you, but
becauseyou are a servant of my Allah, I deemed it correctto serve
you." The youngman was very surprised saying, "I was always under the
impression that men of Allah look down upon sinners. Today have I come
to realize that none are as compassionate upon sinners as the friends
of Allah. Please give me your hands, so that I can make Taubah, I can
repent for my sins and become Bayat to you."
Sultan Ibrahim (ra) accepted his request for Bayat and made him repent
from his sins. At that moment he received kashf (ability tosee some
hidden things) that this young man who had just repented had surpassed
many pious individuals of that period.
Indeed, at the very moment a person repents from his sins, he becomes
the most beloved to Allah. Even the angels celebrate in the heavens
saying that so and so has asked forgiveness from Allah and has come
close to Allah.

The smart thing to do

The smart thing to do
Here is another story about Sultan Mahmud ofAfghanistan and his
servant, Ayyaz. Sultan Mahmud would respect Ayyaz for his wisdom even
though he was a servant. This made the ministers and other people of
high positions very jealous of Ayyaz. They talked wrong against him
and started a rumour that Ayyaz wasnothing but a fool. The king came
to know of this and he decided to prove to them who werethe real
fools. An announcement was made to all the people that the King will
distribute his belongingson a particular date. Whatever a person touch
will become his onthat day. When the day came, many people appeared by
the king's palace. The king made his announcement againthat a person
can have whatever he touches. The door was opened and everyone ran to
touch whatever was of value in the palace. Some touched jewelery of
gold while others touched fancy furnitures, etc. But Ayyazwas just
standing by the king and was not touching anything. People thought
that Ayyaz was crazy as he wasn't taking advantageof this great event.
Now,Ayyaz asked the king if the announcement he made was certain. The
king said "Yes, whatever you touch is yours." Immediately, Ayyaz
placed his right hand on the king's head and the left hand on his
shoulder. He then shouted, "Listen everyone. I was waiting for this
moment to aquire the most expensive thing. All of you took whatever
the king possessed, but you forgot about the owner of all these, which
is the king himself. I hereby declare that my hands are on the king,
so the king is mine. You cannot remove one thing from this palace
because I am the owner of all these now." After hearing this from
Ayyaz, everyone realized that actually, Ayyaz is the only smart one
and everyone else was in error.
Today people are only running after the creations but, very few are
running towards theCreator Himself. If Allah, the King of all kings,
becomes our Friend thenwhat else do we need?

Flash Quran Recitation by Mishary Rashed al-Efasy

Flash Quran Recitation by Mishary Rashed al-Efasy