Chapter: The ḥadd for the drinker and a clarification of the intoxicant

Introduction

The term muskir (intoxicant) is the active participle derived from askara, “to intoxicate.” A beverage is called muskir when it renders its consumer drunk or possesses the power to do so. The plural of sakrān (“one who is drunk”) is sukrā or sukārā, and sukr denotes the impairment and confusion of the mind.

Every beverage that intoxicates is termed khamr (wine), whatever its origin.

Linguistically, khamr has three meanings:

1. Covering—hence khimār, a woman’s head-covering;
2. Intermingling—it is said khālaṭahu, “he mixed with it”;
3. Ripening—as in their expression khammartu al-ʿajīn, “I left the dough until it rose.”

The drink takes its name from these three senses: it veils the intellect, permeates it, and is left until it matures and reaches completion.

Legally, khamr is defined as anything that befogs and conceals the mind, regardless of the beverage from which it is produced, in keeping with the hadith: “Every intoxicant is wine, and every wine is forbidden.”

Its prohibition is established by the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Muslim community.

1. The Qur’an: “O you who believe! Intoxicants, games of chance, idolatrous altars, and divining arrows are but an abomination of Satan’s handiwork; so shun them, that you may prosper” ⦗5:90⦘. Here wine is mentioned alongside idol-worship, the greatest form of associating partners with Allah the Exalted.