surely in the cattle there is a lesson for you: We give you to drink of what is in their bellies, between filth and blood, pure milk, sweet to drinkers. And of the fruits of the palms and vines, you take therefrom an intoxicant and a provision fair. And the Lord revealed to the bees, saying, "Take to yourselves, of the mountains, houses, and of the trees, and of what they are building. Then eat of all manner of fruit, and follow the ways of your Lord [that are] easy to go upon." Then comes there forth out of their bellies a drink of diverse hues wherein is healing for men. Surely in that is a sign for a people who reflect (Q. ١٦:٦٥-٦٩).

Thus God, Exalted and Glorified be His name, mentions that among his signs is that He causes the rain to descend from the heavens, and brings the earth back to life after death. Then He mentions His plan in creating animals and causing pure milk to come out from between filth and blood. He goes on to point out the quality he placed in palms and vines that makes it possible to extract an intoxicant from them as well as fair provisions. Indeed, the palm and vine are distinguished from other fruits be‌ cause of their capacity. Then He goes on to mention the activities of the bee, whose work perplexes the mind of those who know about the requirements and procedure of making honey. This is through the revelation of God and His inspiration to the bee. Therefore, there is no evidence in the verse at all about the lawfulness of drink‌ ing an intoxicant. Moreover, if we were to admit that sakar here means muskir (an intoxicant), [we would say] the verse contains an indication that wine-drinking is not permitted, for it places sakar opposite fair provisions. In other words, the intoxi‌ cant is not among the fair provisions, and, therefore, it is not permitted. What sup‌ ports this interpretation are the traditions, which have reached us from the Imams, indicating that wine was always among the forbidden things.
Al-Shaykh aH)aduq relates a tradition which he traces back to Mul:lammad b. Muslim, who said:

The sixth Imam al-Sadiq was asked about wine. He. said, "The Prophet of God said,
The first thing that my Lord forbade me was idol worship and wine-drinking...."

Al-Rayyan reports on the authority of the eighth Imam, al-Riqa, who said, "God did not send a prophet but that He ordered him to forbid wine." ١٣٨ Earlier, in chap‌ ter ١, on the inimitability of the Quran, we mentioned the prohibition of wine in the Torah. ١٣٩ However, what is beyond doubt is that Islamic law, for a time, did not publicize the prohibition of wine. Then it did so. This is the situation with all the ordinances in Islamic law.lt is evident that this does not mean that wine was permit‌ ted at one time in the Sharia and that then it was prohibited through abrogation.

(٣٠) The fornicator shall marry none but a fornicatress or an idolatress; and the fornica‌ tress-none shall marry her but a fornicator or an idolater; that is forbidden to the believers. (Q. ٢٤:٣)

According to SaId b. al-Musayyib and the majority of scholars, this verse was abro‌ gated by the following one, in which God, the Exalted, says, "And marry (ankil:zu) such of you as are solitary and the pious of your slaves and maidservants" (Q. ٢٤:٣٢). He thus included the fomicatress among the "solitary" of the Muslims. ١٤٠
The fact is that the verse was not abrogated, for the abrogation in it [would be]
dependent on [whether] the word al-nikal:z signifies al-tazwfj (marriage), and there