Wine

The sources differ on wine (khamr) in language and in jurisprudence. Here are two accounts: a literary description in al-Masudi, and a jurisprudential disagreement in Duha al-Islam. ^{1 2}

In a gathering held for al-Mustakfi, al-Masudi reports that wine took the excellence of the four mothers: the colour of fire, the lightness of air, the sweetness of water, and the coolness of earth. He mentions the similes of the poets, among them Abu Nuwas. ¹ This is a report of what was said at a literary gathering, not a ruling on it.

Duha al-Islam notes that the three imams, Malik, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad, defined wine to include every intoxicating drink, and held that all of them are wine and forbidden. Abu Hanifa defined it as the juice of grapes on the basis of the language, and permitted some drinks if they were boiled and a quantity was drunk that does not intoxicate. He notes that he followed in this Ibn Mas'ud and the majority of the Successors from the people of Kufa, and that Abd Allah ibn Idris was the only one among the jurists of Kufa who forbade it. ²

This presentation is only Ahmad Amin's view. It needs a further source from the books of jurisprudence themselves.

The Sheikh recounts the revelation on wine, saying that it has some benefit for people but that its sin outweighs its benefit, and that Umar asked the Prophet ﷺ for a clear ruling ³. He reports that Abu Bakr said he had never drunk wine, neither in the Jahiliyya nor after Islam ⁴. He says that the Qur'anic term for avoidance in prohibitions appears only in connection with idolatry and wine (needs_source) ⁵.

He recounts Anas going through Medina announcing the ban on wine, and the Muslims pouring out the wine jars into the streets of the city; he says the smell lingered there for many days (needs_source: the duration) ^{6 7}.

The Sheikh recounts Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him) rebuking men who drank behind a closed door, asking them whether they thought God did not see them ⁸. He tells, in his own account, of the son of Umar who was accused of drinking in private and brought to Amr ibn al-As (may God be pleased with him), who applied the prescribed penalty ⁹.

The Sheikh holds, as his own opinion, that the Western permissiveness towards wine does harm, and cites the case of a pilot who was drunk ¹⁰.