Unfortunately this is a dilemma that plagues many otherwise nice people who are muslims by faith. Even in my own social circle I have a friend who argues that Alcohol is not declared haram in the Quran. And sure enough you will not find a verse in the Quran where the word HARAM or translated (FORBIDDEN) is mentioned in the same line as Alcohol or Khamr. This slanted perception of Alcohol not being declared haram in the Quran arises from a very rudimentary lack of understanding the fundamental concepts and their implications in Islam and the Quran.
Just like these folks who otherwise appear so nice but see no harm in them drinking because they are not bringing the vice to others is reflective of their acute lack of knowledge about the fundamental concepts in our religion.
Let me start by saying … A SIN IS HARAM. Every sin we commit is because we are performing a haram act. When something is not permissble and you act upon it, we aearn sin for it in Islam. This unpermissible act may be from telling a simple lie to taking a life unjustly. The severity of the sins are different from one another. The Quran has classified the gravest of sins as KABEER ones, this is also how we have the term in urdu language which is commonly used “Gunnah Kabeera”. When we talk about something as a KABEER sin, no one could mistake it for something we can do. Its strictly forbidden and will definitely earn you a place in hellfire save Allah SWT mercy on you.
I wanted to quote these verses to make it more lucid:
[FONT=Traditional Arabic]يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالأَنصَابُ وَالأَزْلاَمُ رِجْسٌ مِّنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
5:90 (Y. Ali) O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan’s handwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper.
[FONT=Traditional Arabic]يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ قُلْ فِيهِمَا إِثْمٌ كَبِيرٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَإِثْمُهُمَآ أَكْبَرُ مِن نَّفْعِهِمَا وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنفِقُونَ قُلِ الْعَفْوَ كَذَلِكَ يُبيِّنُ اللّهُ لَكُمُ الآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَفَكَّرُونَ
2:219 (Y. Ali) They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: “In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit.” They ask thee how much they are to spend; Say: “What is beyond your needs.” Thus doth Allah Make clear to you His Signs: In order that ye may consider-
As one can see from the verses … Allah SWT has equated wine (without any of its effects … drunk or no drunk) with KABEERA sin, the greatest of sins. Not an ordinary one but one of the worst kind.
In the other verse if it is declared to be the handiwork of Satan (AMAL USH SHAITAN) and our prosperity has been linked with it.
People who understand the basic fundamental concepts of Islam can never mistake these verses and go off looking for an explicit declaration with the words of HARAM in it.