Within Islam it is generally forbidden to drink alcohol. Within Christianity it is not forbidden to drink alcohol but it is forbidden to be drunk. Ephesians 5:18 says “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,”. Although drinking wine is not forbidden, there are many places in the Bible that warn against the dangers of abuse. Therefore we do not need Deedat to guide us in this.

 

So to part (a). Firstly if we read this from Proverbs 31 we see that it is advice to a King from his mother to stay away from wine and beer (alcohol basically). It reads like this in verses 4 and 5 (Proverbs 31:4-5) “It is not for kings, Lemuel—it is not for kings to drink wine,

not for rulers to crave beer,

lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,

and deprive all the oppressed of their rights”

 

Now that all seems wise but what does verses 6 and 7 mean (Proverbs 31:6-7)? The general consensus amongst Christians and the opinion I hold is that King Lemuel’s mother is being ironic. She is saying don’t you be like the down and outs that abuse alcohol because they can’t help themselves. Whatever they may do, you are to stay in control of yourself so that you may rule justly.

 

Part (b) is very interesting. Is drinking a little (notice the verse says a little) good for your digestion? I remember asking a Christian friend of mine this question a number of years back. My friend is a top rated heart surgeon and his answer was that yes it does. Now that is the opinion of one person (expert that he might be) but I looked further into the question and found this.

“Wine also has several indirect benefits on food digestion. Wine stimulates the production of gastric juices (McArthur et al., 1982)^[3] and fosters a healthy appetite. At the levels found in most table wines, ethanol also activates the release of bile into the intestines. Wine acids and aromatics induce the same effects. In contrast, high alcohol levels suppress the flow of digestive juices and the release of bile. At high concentrations, alcohol can induce stomach spasms.”

So I guess Paul was ahead of his time.

 

Now I did say at the start of this section that alcohol is forbidden in Islam but notice that I didn’t say it was forbidden in the Quran. It is true that the Quran says in Surahs 2:219 and 5:90 (it is this one that says it is the handiwork of the Devil, not verse 93) that alcohol should be avoided but Surah 16:67 says you will get wholesome drink from the vine. Also Surah 4:43 seems to say you shouldn’t indulge in alcohol only when praying. The fact that the Quran promises that in paradise the blessed will have “Their thirst will be slaked with Pure Wine sealed” Surah 83:25 and “rivers of wine, a joy to those who drink” Surah 47:15 makes a mockery of Deedat’s point (c) that drink is the Devil’s handiwork. Also to add a point about drink being the Devil’s handiwork. Is Deedat suggesting that the Devil created alcoholic drinks? Is he making Satan into a creator now?