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Wine is whatever intoxicates and clouds the mind. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Every intoxicant is wine, and all wine is forbidden. Whatever drink intoxicates is forbidden in both small and large quantities.” This is the position of Mālik—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—and the majority of scholars. The scholars of Iraq disagreed.
Some of them held that wine forbidden in itself is wine made from grape juice once it begins to ferment and produces foam—or once it begins to ferment, even without producing foam, as they differed on this point. As for other intoxicating drinks and infusions, whether boiled or unboiled, they held that intoxication from them is forbidden, while anything short of that is lawful. They relied on the report that ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abbās said: “Wine itself has been forbidden, as has intoxication from any drink.” This provides no proof, however, because some narrators give the wording as “and any intoxicating drink.”
Others held that wine forbidden in itself is specifically wine made from grapes or dates, relying on the report that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Wine comes from the grapevine and the date palm.”
Still others held that wine forbidden in itself is wine made from grape juice, and that infusions of dates and raisins fermented without boiling have the same ruling as wine in being forbidden in themselves, unlike other drinks and infusions. They relied on the statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): “Wine comes from the grapevine and the date palm.” This is the position of Abū Hanīfah, Abū Yūsuf, and Muhammad—may Allah Most High have mercy on them.
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Every intoxicating, exhilarating drink, whatever kind of infusion or beverage it may be, is forbidden in itself and impure in substance. Allah Most High calls wine defilement, just as He calls such impure things as carrion, flowing blood, and pork defilement. Allah Most High says:
“Say: ‘I find nothing in what has been revealed to me forbidden for anyone to eat, unless it be carrion, flowing blood, or pork—for it is defilement.’” [al-An‘ām: 145]
When we say that wine is impure in substance, we do not mean that its substance is inherently impure. Were its substance—that is, its physical body—impure, it could not become pure through a change in its qualities. Rather, what we mean by saying that it is impure