Refraining From Taking Liquor

Abu Baseer was once in the company of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a) when a woman came and said to the Imam, “I have come to ask a question. I am ill. Physicians in Iraq have told me to take liquor. Now I want to know what to do in such circumstances?”

The Imam asked her, “Why don't you drink what the doctors have prescribed for you?”

She replied, “As I am your follower, I shall obey what you say. If you permit me, I shall drink it; if not, I shall keep away from it; so that if I am asked by the Almighty God on the Day of Judgement why I did so, I shall reply that I followed the instructions of the Imam of the day.”

Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a) turned to Abu Baseer and said: “O Abu Baseer. Did you listen to what this woman has to say? Are you not moved by her faith? Inspite of her illness, she is refraining from taking liquor without the Imam's permission.”

The Imam then turned to the woman and said, “By God, I do not permit you to drink. If you do so, you shall be sorry when your soul reaches your throat (that is at the time of death)”.

So saying the Imam pointed at her throat; and asked her three times if she understood what he had said. The woman nodded her head.