Permissibility of consuming Khamr and punishing the one coerced to consume it

A: Drinking Khamr is Haram (prohibited). It is one of the major sins. Allah (Exalted be He) says, O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), and gambling, and Al-Ansâb, and Al-Azlâm (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaitan’s (Satan) handiwork. So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be successful. Shaitân (Satan) wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allâh and from As-Salât (the prayer). So, will you not then abstain? Besides, it is narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) in the Two Sahih (authentic) Books of Hadith (i.e. Al-Bukhari and Muslim) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, A committer of Zina (sexual intercourse outside marriage), when he commits Zina, does not commit it while he is a believer; and a stealer, when he steals, does not steal while he is a believer; and he does not drink Khamr, when he drinks it, while he is a believer. Moreover, Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, Khamr has been cursed in ten aspects: (the very Khamr) itself, the one who squeezes it (the grapes etc.), the one for whom it is squeezed, the one who buys it and the one for whom it is bought, the one who carries it, the one to whom it is carried, the one who consumes its price, the one who drinks it and the one who serves it. (Related by Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah and the wording quoted above is that of Ibn Majah). Drinking Khamr is impermissible under all circumstances. However, if someone is compelled to do so (Part No. 22; Page No. 84) because, for example, they are in a barren land where they can not find any food to the extent that they fear ruin; it will be permissible for them only under such necessity to drink the amount of Khamr that will keep them alive.On the other hand, drinking Khamr for medical treatment is impermissible. Medical treatment does not fall under the necessity mentioned above for it is not Wajib (obligatory) like saving the soul. Besides, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, Allah did not make your cure in what He prohibited for you. (Related by Abu Ya`la and Ibn Hibban who graded it as a Sahih (authentic) Hadith and narrated by Um Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her)) The prohibition of drinking Khamr is thus ascertained while the effectiveness of using it as a medical treatment is doubted or, according to the most proper view, Khamr is not a treatment at all as the general meaning of the Hadith shows.Regarding whoever has been compelled to drink Khamr, they are not sinful provided that they have been subjected to real force. Proof for the foregoing is the Ayah (Qur'anic verse) in which Allah (Exalted be He) says, Whoever disbelieved in Allâh after his belief, except him who is forced thereto and whose heart is at rest with Faith If a Muslim who says a word of Kufr (disbelief) while being forced to do so is excused, whoever drinks Khamr while being compelled to do so will then be excused for a better reason. Besides, it is narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, Allah has pardoned for me my people for [their] mistakes and [their] forgetfulness and for what they have done under duress. (Related by Ibn Majah and Al-Bayhaqy and narrated by Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both)). (Part No. 22; Page No. 85) May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.