The Companions Who Drank Wine by Misinterpreting a Verseتأوّل بعض الصحابة في شرب الخمر
(audio unclear) the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, with regard to drinking wine — this was of the acceptable interpretation (ta'wil) in their era, because the matter had not become clear to him from every angle, nor to those with him. For Allah says, "There is no blame upon those who believe and do righteous deeds for what they have consumed, so long as they are God-conscious and believe" — the verse comes in the context of drinking wine — so he thought, on that basis, that if a person is God-conscious, there is nothing held against him in drinking wine. This was an interpretation of the verse.
Interpretation in that era differs from interpretation among those who came after, as Ibn Rajab established in Jami' al-'Ulum wa al-Hikam, where he says that if something was overlooked for those who have passed, that does not mean it is overlooked for those who come later. For interpretation may occur in the earliest eras, when the evidences had not yet become manifest from every side, nor been compiled, nor laid out in a single place that one could read and consult; a person needed to travel the land to hear a hadith, and there was nothing to read, so whoever had not heard [the two texts] did not know them. So there was a kind of interpretation on their part: [they said,] Allah says, "There is no blame … for what they have consumed" — that is, of wine — "so long as they are God-conscious," so they thought that one who was God-conscious could drink wine, and interpreted this verse as being specific to those who were not God-conscious. When this reached the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, they explained to them the correct sense of the verse, that this was not right, and they asked them to repent. And 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "If they repent, flog them; and if they do not repent, kill them." They had been interpreting, and they turned back.
This is considered [excusable] in their era, but in [this] era it is not possible. Why? Because the prohibition of wine has become one of the definitive matters, and the meaning of this verse has been made clear; there is no ambiguity in it. [Besides,] we have never heard of a man who is truly God-conscious and drinks wine! How can one be God-conscious and drink wine? This is why Allah, Majestic and Exalted is He, said, "So avoid it" — absolutely. Rather, the meaning of this verse — "There is no blame upon those who believe and do righteous deeds for what they have consumed, so long as they are God-conscious and believe and do righteous deeds, then are God-conscious" — concerns those who died before that. This is the meaning of the verse: it concerns those who died before that, such as Hamzah, may Allah be pleased with him, who died before wine was prohibited. He used to drink wine, as in the two Sahihs, when he said to the Prophet ﷺ, "Are you anything but slaves of my father?" — addressing the Prophet ﷺ — and that was before wine was prohibited. But after wine was prohibited, the matter was settled, and knowledge of it became widespread, the case is different.
النص العربي الأصلي
(غير واضح في التسجيل) الصحابة رضي الله عنهم بالنسبة لشرب الخمر، كان من التأويل السائغ في عصرهم؛ لأنه ما تبيّن له [الأمر] من كل وجه، ولا لمن معه؛ لأن الله يقول: ليس على الذين آمنوا وعملوا الصالحات جناح فيما طعموا إذا ما اتقوا وآمنوا، الآية في سياق شرب الخمر، فظنّ لذلك أنه إذا اتقى الإنسان فما عليه شيء في شرب الخمر، وهذا تأويل للآية.
والتأويل في ذلك العصر يختلف عن التأويل فيمن جاء بعده، كما قرّر هذه القضية ابن رجب في جامع العلوم والحكم، يقول: إذا اغتُفر لمن مضى لا يعني أنه يُغتفر لمن جاء من بعد؛ لأن التأويل قد يوجد في العصور الأولى، والأدلة لم تكن ظهرت من كل جانب، ولا جُمعت، ولا قُرّرت في مكان واحد يقرؤه الإنسان ويطّلع عليه، بل يحتاج الإنسان أن يضرب في الأرض ليسمع الحديث، ولم يكن هناك شيء يقرؤه، فمن لم يسمعهما لم يعرفهما. فهذا فيه نوع تأويل منهم، [قالوا:] الله يقول: ليس على الذين آمنوا جناح فيما طعموا، أي فيما طعموا من الخمر، إذا ما اتقوا، فظنّوا أنه إذا كان متقيًا يشرب الخمر، فتأوّلوا هذه الآية أنها خاصة بغير المتقين. فالصحابة رضي الله عنهم حين بلغهم ذلك بيّنوا لهم وجه الآية، وأن هذا غير صحيح، واستتابوهم، وقد قال علي رضي الله عنه: إن تابوا فاجلدهم، وإن لم يتوبوا فاقتلهم. فكانوا متأوّلين فرجعوا.
هذا يُعتبر [سائغًا] في عصرهم، أما في [هذا] العصر فلا يمكن هذا؛ لماذا؟ لأن تحريم الخمر أصبح من القطعيات، وتبيّن معنى هذه الآية، وليس فيها لبس. [ثم] ما سمعنا رجلًا يتقي أصلًا ويشرب الخمر! كيف يتقي ويشرب الخمر؟ ولذلك قال الله جل وعلا: فاجتنبوه، مطلقًا. وإنما معنى هذه الآية: ليس على الذين آمنوا وعملوا الصالحات جناح فيما طعموا إذا ما اتقوا وآمنوا وعملوا الصالحات ثم اتقوا، فيمن مات قبل ذلك؛ هذا معنى هذه الآية: فيمن مات قبل ذلك، كحمزة رضي الله عنه، مات قبل أن تُحرّم الخمر، وكان يشرب الخمر، كما في الصحيحين، حين قال للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: وهل أنتم إلا عبيد لأبي؟ يخاطب النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، وكان ذلك قبل أن تُحرّم الخمر. أما بعد أن حُرّمت الخمر، واستقرّ الأمر، وشاع العلم بذلك، فهذا يختلف.