ACCORDING TO THE QURAN , ALCOHOL IS NOT HARAM, IT IS "CONDITIONAL HALAL"

As the followers of the Quran know, only God can determine what is halal (lawful) or haram (forbidden).

16/116*And do not say, as to what your tongues falsely describe: "This is lawful, and that is forbidden;" that you seek to invent lies about God. Those who invent lies about God will not succeed.

16/35*And those who were polytheists said: "If God had wished, we would not have served a thing other than Him; neither us nor our fathers; nor would we have made unlawful anything other than from Him." Those before them did exactly the same thing; so are the messengers required to do anything except deliver with clarity?

And the forbidden/haram food and drink (the blood) are announced explicitly by our Lord in His book:

5/3*Forbidden to you is that which is already dead, and the blood, and the meat of pig, and what was dedicated to other than God, and that which has been strangled, and that which has been beaten to death, and that which has fallen from a height, and that which has been gored, and that which the wild animals have eaten from except what you managed to rescue, and what has been slaughtered on altars, and what you divide through arrows of chance. This is vile. Today the rejecters have given up from your system, so do not be concerned by them, but be concerned by Me. Today I have perfected your system for you, and completed My blessings upon you, and I have approved submission as the system for you. So, whoever is forced by severe hunger and not seeking sin, then God is Forgiving, Merciful.

However, interpreters of the Quran hide our Lord's message by distorting the meaning of a verse (5/93), thus they can add other harams to the God's list. There is a passage in surah Al-Ma'idah about "hamr" which is translated as either alcohol, intoxicants or wine. This passage is between the verses 90-93 and the next verse 94 starts a new topic.
5/90*O you who believe, alcohol, and gambling, and altars, and arrows of chance are tainted - by the work of the devil. You shall avoid him so that you may be successful.

5/91*The devil only wants to cause strife between you through alcohol and gambling, and to repel you away from remembering God and from the contact prayer. Will you be deterred?

5/92*And obey God and obey the messenger, and be aware. If you turn away then know that it is the duty of Our messenger to deliver clearly.

5/93*There is no sin upon those who believe and do good works for what they eat* if they are aware and believe and do good works, then they are aware and believe, then they are aware and do good; God loves the good doers.

*The verb "ta'ima" (translated as what they eat above) applies to eating and drinking (taste) in Arabic and the 93rd verse of surah 5 shows that the drinking hamr (alcohol or wine) or eating beef marinated in wine is NOT haram for "believers" as long as they avoid the work of Satan.

To be more specific, (illicit) sex is forbidden, but the exception is lawful sex. Having lawful sex with spouses is halal for believers. Just like sex is "conditional halal" for believers, drinking alcohol is conditional halal for believers as long as they meet the criteria stated in 5/93 and are able to avoid the work of Satan.

Some interpretors distort the true meaning of this verse (5/93) and dare to make some additions to the God's words in brackets. They translate the sentence in past tense (what they have tasted/ they tasted) and claim that the word "taste" refers to a time period before the prohibition of alcohol. However, this is obviously mistranslation because what is haram (shirk) for believers is describing something as haram before the God prohibits it. In other words, mistranslating this verse referring to the past leads to logical fallacy in the Quran.

To summarize, as is stated in 16/67 the alcohol, the substance itself, is good and lawful provision:

16/67*And from the fruits of the palm trees and the grapes you make strong drink and a good provision. In that is a sign for a people who comprehend.

16/114*So eat from what God has provided you, that which is good and lawful, and be thankful for the blessing of God, if it is indeed He whom you serve.

16/115*He has only forbidden for you what is already dead, and the blood, and the meat of pig, and what was dedicated to other than God. But whoever is forced to, without seeking disobedience or transgression, then God is Forgiver, Merciful.

What is illicit in "hamr" (alcohol or wine) for believers (2/219) is explained in 5/91 and it is not forbidden as long as one can meet the criteria in 5/93.

7/32*Say: "Who has made unlawful the nice things that God has brought forth for His servants and the good provisions?" Say: "They are meant for those who believe during this worldly life, and they will be exclusive for them on the Day of Resurrection." It is such that We explain the revelations for those who know.

Because "hamr" is a nice provision in here, the public of paradise will be served hamr in the hereafter. (47/15)

Peace