Appendix B. Al-Ḥākim's Ordinance Prohibiting the Use of Wine

Origins of the Druze People and Religion, by Philip K. Hitti, [1924], at sacred-texts.com

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APPENDIX B

AL-ḤĀKIM'S ORDINANCE PROHIBITING THE USE OF WINE

In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful.

Praise be to Allah who has rendered Islam strong and dear through its pious saints, and has entrusted its laws to the imāms of his religion and to his blessed confidants who have preserved them! And may Allah's grace be upon our grandfather Muḥammad, the seal of the prophets and the chief of all messengers—may Allah's grace be upon him and upon all members of his holy family!

The Commander of the Believers, duly authorized by Allah and entrusted by him with the management of the affairs of both religion and state over which his word is supreme, is devoting all his energy, judgment, and deliberations to defend these two institutions, to guard them against any damage that may find its way into them, to promote their interests and welfare, to strengthen the agencies that make firm their foundations, to give preference to whatsoever maintains their organization, and to preserve whatever alterations and modifications have been introduced for their perfection and completion. Allah (may he remain majestic and glorious!) accords his support to the Commander of the Believers in all that conforms to his favor, and enables him to succeed in accomplishing whatever makes him merit his favor and pleasure and deserve his grace and his power.

Verily the measure that will produce the most useful results to Islam and the Moslems, and that will contribute more than any other measure to the maintenance of the fundamentals of our religion, is to declare a general prohibition for everybody against the use of intoxicating liquor, and to deny them the right of insisting upon the drinking of intoxicating liquor which

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is the center of all sorts of evil and the conductor to all kinds of detestable and abhorrent acts.

The Commander of the Believers has therefore ordained, expecting from Allah success, that this edict be written so that it be read to the privileged classes as well as to the common people, whether they be high in rank or low, making illegal the use of any kind of intoxicating liquor, no matter what its brand, name, color or taste may be (liquor being used here to include every kind of drink, whether it be intoxicating in large or in small quantities), and prohibiting all resort to the sayings and opinions justifying its use together with all interpretations and excuses which the rabble hold fast to; for the Commander of the Believers has declared all that illegal, after having heard all things connected with it. He has prohibited the use of intoxicating liquor, its purchase, storage, manufacture, and extraction to the end that the whole empire may be purified of its evil effects.

The execution of this edict he has left as a trust in the hands of those of his officials who are ever loyal to him, and as a sign of allegiance in charge of his counsellors and those who are faithful to him, holding them responsible for investigating all cases and submitting full reports regarding their findings. The Commander of the Believers himself has thus become discharged before Allah of all responsibility and evil consequence in this world and in the next.

Let all the godly, the believers, and those included within the fold of true religion know that this is issued by the Commander of the Believers; and let them do accordingly. Let them unhesitatingly obey its command and beware of violating it; for the Commander of the Believers has prepared for the enemies of his ordinance painful punishment and shameful degradation.

And Allah alone is all-sufficient to the Commander of the Believers and the best one to depend upon.

Written in the month of Dhu-al-Qa‘dah, 400.

Praise be to Allah alone, and may his grace be upon his Messenger, the seal of the prophets, as well as upon his holy family; and may he give them peace!