Why does Islam forbid the consumption of intoxicants?

Allah Almighty has made man distinct from all other creatures by the faculty of mind. He has forbidden us from whatever could harm us, our minds, or our bodies. Thus, He has forbidden us from everything causing intoxication since it conceals and harms the mind and it leads to various types of corruption. The one who is drunk may kill others, commit adultery, steal, or commit any of such grave crimes that result from consuming intoxicants.

{O you who believe, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters and divining arrows are of Satan’s evil work; therefore avoid such [evil], so that you may be successful.} [288] Surat al-Mā’idah: 90.

Intoxicants refer to everything that causes intoxication regardless of its name or form, as the Prophet said: "Everything that causes intoxication is an Khamr (intoxicant), and everything that causes intoxication is unlawful." [289] Narrated by Muslim.

It has been forbidden on account of the grave damage it causes to the individual and society.

Intoxicants were also forbidden in Christianity and Judaism; however, the majority today do not comply with this.

"Wine is a mocker, strong drink leads to brawl, and whoever is led astray by one of them is not wise." [290] Book of Proverbs, Chapter 20, verse 1.

"And do not get drunk with wine, which involves dissipation." [291] Book of Ephesians, Chapter 5, verse 18.

In 2010, the famous medical magazine, The Lancet, published a research on drugs with the most destructive effects on the individual and society. The study was based on 20 drugs including alcoholic drinks, heroin, tobacco and others. They were evaluated according to 16 criteria, nine of which were related to the harm inflicted on the consumer himself and seven were related to the harm inflicted on others, and the evaluation was out of one hundred degrees.

The conclusion drawn, considering both the individual and communal harm together, was that alcohol is absolutely the most harmful among all drugs and it was ranked number one.

Another study that tackled the safe consumption rate of alcohol stated:

"Zero is the safe consumption rate of alcohol to avoid the loss of lives given the diseases and injuries that result from consuming it." Researchers declared this clearly in a report published on the website of the famous scientific magazine, Lancet, itself. The study included the biggest data analysis on this topic until now. It comprised 28 million people from around the globe representing 195 countries during the period from 1990 to 2016 to estimate the extent of alcohol consumption and the consumed quantities, using 694 informational sources, and how such consumption is related to health risks resulting from alcohol that were derived from 592 studies conducted before and after sickness. Results revealed that alcohol causes the death of 2.8 million people around the world annually.

In this context, researchers recommended that actions must be taken to impose taxes on alcohol to restrict its availability in the market, and to propagate this as a preliminary step before its prevention from the markets in the future. Allah, the Great, has spoken the truth as He said:

{Is not Allah the Most Just of all judges?} [292] Surat at-Tīn: 8.