"O you who believe! Approach not AsSalat (the prayer) when you are in a drunken state." (Nisa 4:43)

Ibn Abi Hatim has recorded some reports about the incident of its revelation: Sa`d said, "Four Ayat were revealed concerning me. A man from the Ansar once made some food and invited some Muhajirin [Emigrants] and Ansar [Helpers] men to it, and we ate and drank until we became intoxicated. We then boasted about our status.'' Then a man held a camel's bone and injured Sa`d's nose, which was scarred ever since. This occurred before Al-Khamr (intoxicants) was prohibited, and Allah later revealed,

[يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تَقْرَبُواْ الصَّلَوةَ وَأَنتُمْ سُكَـرَى]

(O you who believe! Approach not AsSalat (the prayer) when you are in a drunken state) [Nisa 4:43]. Muslim recorded this Hadith, and the collectors of the Sunan recorded it, with the exception of Ibn Majah. Another Reason Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that `Ali bin Abi Talib said, "Abdur-Rahman bin `Awf made some food to which he invited us and served some alcohol to drink. When we became intoxicated, and the time for prayer came, they asked someone to lead us in prayer. He recited `Say, `O disbelievers! I do not worship that which you worship, but we worship that which you worship [refer to the correct wording of the Surah: 109 verse 3 [the bolded part should have really been; ("Nor will ye worship that which I worship. "].'''

Allah then revealed,

[يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تَقْرَبُواْ الصَّلَوةَ وَأَنتُمْ سُكَـرَى حَتَّى تَعْلَمُواْ مَا تَقُولُونَ]

(O you who believe! Do not approach Salah when you are in a drunken state until you know what you are saying). '' This is the narration collected by Ibn Abi Hatim and At-Tirmidhi, who said "Hasan [Gharib] Sahih.'' Allah's statement,

[حَتَّى تَعْلَمُواْ مَا تَقُولُونَ]

(until you know what you are saying) is the best description for when one is intoxicated, that is, when he does not know the meaning of what he is saying. When a person is drunk, he makes obvious mistakes in the recitation and will not be able to be humble during the prayer. Imam Ahmad recorded that Anas said that the Messenger of Allah said,

«إِذَا نَعَسَ أَحَدُكُمْ وَهُوَ يُصَلِّي، فَلْيَنْصَرِفْ فَلْيَنَمْ، حَتَّى يَعْلَمَ مَا يَقُول»

(If one feels sleepy while he is praying, let him sleep for a while so that he knows the meaning of what he is saying.) This was also recorded by Al-Bukhari and An-Nasa'i. In some of the narrations of this Hadith, the Messenger said,

«فَلَعَلَّهُ يَذْهَبُ يَسْتَغْفِرُ فَيَسُبَّ نَفْسَه»

(...For he might want to ask for forgiveness, but instead curses himself!)




Surah Nisa 4:43 - tafsir ibn Kathir;

http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=4&tid=11257