An Assessment of the Concept of Drinking Intoxicants with a View to Article 264 of Islamic Penal Law

The Holy Quran considers intoxicants to be among the vices, and the Infallibles have described wine as the mother of all evils. Hence, in Islamic Shar i’ah, the consumption of intoxicants is prohibited and whoever drinks them would be sentenced to flogging. Nevertheless, the scholars are not agreeable about the behavior which leads to a punishment. Some say drinking intoxicants and according to some othe rs eating and consuming it entail punishment. They have also discussed whether or not consuming intoxicants by way of sniffing, injection, smoking and enema lead to punishment. According to article 264 of the Islamic penal law approved in the year 2013 , a s also stated by some jurisprudents, one who consumes intoxicants through injection and smoking is punished. In this research, which uses an analytical – descriptive method, the said views have been examined along with the associated arguments. Finally, t he punishment for consuming intoxicants has been generalized to any form of consumption (getting of intoxicating liquor into the stomach by way of throat). As for taking injections, eating and sniffing intoxicants, the punishment would be proved on the con dition that it leads to drunkenness.