In Islam, drinking alcohol is a capital offence along with adultery, fornication, slander, grand larceny and murder, and this may even apply to taking medicines dissolved in alcohol substances. Among the 20 greatest sins in Islam, the consumption of alcohol ranks thirteenth. The prohibition for devout Muslims is inextricably linked to Mohammed (570-632), the founder of Islam. Wine or alcoholic beverages were thus banned forever from almost all countries that adopted the new religion. Drinking wine (shurb al-chamr) is one of the hadd punishments in Islamic criminal law. These are punishments imposed to protect property, public safety and public morals and are considered "legal claims of God". Depending on the school of law, alcohol consumption can be punished with 40 to 80 lashes or, as in Iran, even death in case of repetition.
Serious sources on the internet are rare - and Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one such source. When researching for my articles, I regularly consult the wein.plus encyclopaedia. There I get reliable and detailed information.
Thomas Götz
Weinberater, Weinblogger und Journalist; Schwendi