(Before Zuhr)
Tobacco, opium and alcohol, etc. were under discussion and it was observed that it becomes difficult to abstain from them once one becomes addicted to them. It is written in the books, particularly with regard to alcohol that, even after one abandons the habit, like other relapsing diseases, one suffers such a fearsome and severe relapse sometimes that one becomes crazy and in the end takes a drink even though the person may regret it after coming to his senses.
The Promised Messiah (as) said:
That is a fit of sinfulness. Otherwise, there is nothing impossible before Allah the Exalted. Sins cannot stand where there is the might of faith. Look at the life of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all. Once the verse mentioning prohibition was revealed, they quit so resolutely that they remained in this state of abstinence till their death. There were no such relapses into drinking nor did it overwhelm or enamour anyone to such a degree as to force him [to drink again]. The day the verse of prohibition was revealed, alcohol spilled into the streets of the town ankle high. All this was the result of the holy spiritual influence and impact of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that the faith of the Companions (ra) grew so strong that even alcohol, which they used to consume in place of water, was eliminated in such a way that—like idolatry—it could not make any comeback.
Allah the Exalted had kept the Holy Prophet (sas) so very safe from the very beginning that although all his family, friends, and countrymen were absorbed in the consumption of this evil substance and although he spent forty years of his life among these people, yet he was not influenced by anyone. This was as if Allah the Exalted had made him immaculate from the very first day of creation. This is a special sign of his righteous predisposition and protection from sin.1
1 Al-Hakam, vol. 12, no. 30, p. 1, dated 26 April 1908