Is it just me or are there a lot o nice guys out there who drink alcohol? Jeez Louise!
Re: Alcohol
^ Yes there are! And most of them rationalize it by describing it as social drinking. Funny thing, most people expect you to be okay with it or for it to not be a dealbreaker for an otherwise acceptable rishta.
Re: Alcohol
Practically every guy drinks - and they drink hard. They time when to stop drinking, so before ramzan or eid ul adha etc. They also love the old nose candy and marijuana plus the ladies. It is what it is I suppose!
Re: Alcohol
So either I’m totally non-practical or not a guy.. where is my drink? 
Re: Alcohol
Dude, only your banker friends.
Re: Alcohol
Maybe the nose powder, but I’ve met engineers and lawyers (I can’t remember any of the doctors copping to drinking), who were open about their social drinking.
Which reminds me of a conversation I had the other day. The folks at work got together for Cinco de Maya sangrias and when I politely declined, the shocked question was: You don’t drink? Not at all? Not even a sip? What about college?
And my answer was that this was probably the easiest of the Islamic restrictions for me to follow. I don’t wear hijab, have a few guy acquaintances, have many qaza namazes, etc. - so if I can do myself the easy favour of at least not getting this one sin added to my list, why not?
Re: Alcohol
Speak for yourself!
Re: Alcohol
In the end you realize it’s a hollow existence. I gave up 5 years ago, did my tauba and haven’t looked back. WTF was I thinking?
Re: Alcohol
I can see where people try it but by the time you’re serious about settling down, why are you doing it?
I ask them…what are you going to say when your kid figures out you drink? And yet you’re trying to teach them how to be muslim?
Re: Alcohol
Yea, I meant the whole shebang - drinking, drugs and ladies.
I’ve had exactly the same question and gave a very similar response!
Re: Alcohol
I was unaware of this till two years back my fiance asked if he could. I have written so many posts about it. Thankfully I made him quit..but it was one very tough journey for me. And that’s when I realised every nice guy I knew was doing it.
Re: Alcohol
I agree. You have to grow up at some point. Once my hangover recovery time started to increase, I just quit. More hassle then it’s worth. You can’t drink to enjoy around the guys and girls I use to drink with - they drank to get smashed. A lot of them would puke up by the time we got to the 4th bottle of black label and then they’d just carry on drinking. I had a incident where I literally face planted outside a pub near my house and was out cold for 12 hours - that was all I needed to know it was time to grow up.
Re: Alcohol
I’m in serious hate over smokers as well. I know it has no Islamic ruling but it’s still a killer. Why would you chain smoke in front of the people you love? Some dude puffing on smoke has the gall to tell me that it’s very immoral of girls to smoke. Like wat? Smh.
Re: Alcohol
There is definitely an increasing number of people who drink. The party guys who experiment in college probably grow out of it, but not sure if the older social drinkers do. I know plenty in my own family who are mature and “decent” but drink socially.
Re: Alcohol
Sadly, that is the Investment Banking culture in general - so Muslim hanger-ons to it is the next logical step.
Re: Alcohol
When first join an IB, that’s how it is, after 4-5 years it fizzles out for most. It’s just rinse and repeat, day in day out after work, kinda boring.
Re: Alcohol
I know it happens but I don’t know how common it is. I just happened to hear that some girls I know of rejected several rishtas for that reason. 
nobody that I kept company with drank.
Re: Alcohol
The thing is, nobody in my immediate circle knows about my past, so I don’t see how any rishta would find out.
Not a drinker but I do love my benson and hedges. Hehe
Re: Alcohol
I don’t think it’s common, but it’s not uncommon either. I think to PCG’s point, initially, it is surprising that a guy who otherwise ticks all of the boxes, comes across as sharif, loves his mother, loves Islam (regardless of his actual level of practice) - when he admits to drinking you immediately think wow, he’s rare!
But then when you meet several of these guys, you realize, it’s not uncommon. Heck, I met a guy back from the home country who admitted to drinking when he would be sent abroad. So, it’s not even limited to people living abroad.
A guy’s drinking used to be an absolute deal-breaker for me, but then I was convinced to at least consider guys who have reformed and regret it. The whole - “Don’t judge a person based on their past” argument.