Islam Museum Islam Museum islam.museum
Search ⌕ ARENUR
Accessibility
Text size 100%

Saved on this device only — nothing is sent anywhere.

Intoxicants (muskirat)

المسكرات

Intoxicants in the forty-sixth hadith of Ibn Rajab's additions are a genus not confined to wine: 'every intoxicant is forbidden' — asked about Yemen's al-Bit', a honey-wine, and al-Mizr, a barley-wine, the Prophet ﷺ generalised the ruling to every intoxicant, Muslim's wording adding 'everything that intoxicates away from the prayer is forbidden'; Ibn Rajab calls this hadith the foundation of the prohibition of all substances that veil the intellect, tracing its staging: wine was first forbidden at the approach of prayer through the verse 'do not approach the prayer while intoxicated' — after an Emigrant fumbled his recitation — and only later forbidden absolutely (Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam p. 881).

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

Law and courts

Overview

Intoxicants, in the forty-sixth hadith of Ibn Rajab's additions, are a general category and not specific to wine: "Every intoxicant is forbidden." The Prophet was asked about bit' (honey wine) and mizr (barley beer), and he made the ruling general. 1

In Muslim's wording, "whatever intoxicates to the point of neglecting prayer is forbidden." Ibn Rajab holds that the hadith is the foundation for the prohibition of all intoxicants that cover the mind. 1

He notes that the prohibition came gradually: wine was first forbidden at the time of prayer, and then forbidden absolutely. The subject is part of the chapter on the lawful and the unlawful. 1

Connections

Explore the connections

Based on
Arba'un 46 — every intoxicant is forbidden
Part of
The lawful, the unlawful and the doubtful

People and things also explored

The lawful, the unlawful and the doubtful· Arba'un 46 — every intoxicant is forbidden· Sale of the prohibited· What the Law was silent about· Tayyib (purity and lawfulness)· Wara' (scrupulosity)· Arba'un 6 — the lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear· Arba'un 22 — if I pray the prescribed prayers

Sources

  1. Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam — Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali , p.881
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Intoxicants (muskirat)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/muskir/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

Improve this page on GitHub · Report an error · JSON

Wing

Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

The lawful, the unlawful and the doubtful

The division of rulings and things into plainly lawful, plainly unlawful, and doubtful matters between them that many people cannot assign to either side though the firmly grounded in knowledge are not in doubt; Ibn Rajab gives as plainly lawful the good foods — crops, fruits, cattle — and marriage and concubinage when acquired by a valid contract; as plainly unlawful carrion, blood, pork, wine, marriage within the prohibited degrees, silk for men and unlawful gains such as usury, gambling, theft and usurpation; and as doubtful what is disputed as to its lawfulness — animals such as horses, mules, donkeys and the dabb lizard, intoxicating-when-abundant drinks, and disputed transactions such as 'ina and tawarruq — this being Ahmad's and Ishaq's and other imams' explanation of the doubtful; whoever avoids the doubtful clears his religion and honour, and whoever falls into it is like a shepherd at the edge of God's sanctuary.