Drink ALCOHOL

So, we (myself and two other Muslims) were having a discussion about ALCOHOL sometime last month, and I ignorantly said "Allah does not even tell us not to drink ALCOHOL, He only said its benefits is far lesser than its detriment", none of those two others countered my assertion and we moved on to other issues.

The Quranic Passage that came to my mind was actually in Chapter 2: verse 219. It has been a very long time I revised (read/study) my Quran, so I have unconsciously somehow forgotten exactly what was written in that verse, hence quoting it wrongly, very wrongly.

Quran 2 (Sarah Albaqorah) : Verse 219 says... "They question thee about strong drink (ALCOHOL) and game of chance. Say: In both is great SIN, and (some) utility for men, but the SIN of them is greater than their usefulness."

According to my Quranic understanding, this simply means Muslims are not allowed to drink pure ALCOHOL, mix it with other soft drinks or use it to soak some herbal leaves and roots to cure illness.

This is a reminder to myself first and other Muslims to henceforth read and study more of Qur'an often for refreshment/updating of our Islamic knowledge and for learning more about what is forbidden by Allah and knowing more of what is prescribed for us that we may practice Islam the way it pleases our Creator.

May Allah make understanding of The Noble Qur'an easy for me and you, may it be easier for us to move away from what is forbidden and easiest to put what we've known to best practices and may Allah (swt) accept all our acts of Ibadah and reward us with Paradise, Allahumma aamin.