Among the proofs cited by the scholars of the Ḥijāz is the report transmitted by Mālik from Ibn Shihāb, from Abū Salamah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from ʿĀʾishah, who said:
“The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—was asked about biṭʿ and about honey-based nabīdh. He replied, ‘Every drink that intoxicates is unlawful.’” This ḥadīth is recorded by al-Bukhārī.
Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn remarked, “This is the soundest ḥadīth narrated from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—regarding the prohibition of intoxicants.”
Another evidence is what Muslim related from Ibn ʿUmar: the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said,
“Every intoxicant is wine, and every wine is unlawful.”
Both of these ḥadīths are authentic: the first is unanimously accepted, while the second is declared sound exclusively by Muslim.
Al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Nasāʾī likewise narrated from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said,
“If a large quantity of something intoxicates, then even a small amount of it is unlawful.”
This statement addresses the very point under dispute.
Their second line of argument—that all varieties of nabīdh fall under the name “wine”—is developed by two approaches:
- Etymological derivation.
- Transmitted usage.
Concerning etymology, they argue that it is well known among linguists that the beverage is called khamr because it khamara al-ʿaql, “veils the intellect.” Consequently, the word khamr in Arabic must apply to everything that veils the intellect. This method of naming is contested among the scholars of legal theory and is deemed unsatisfactory by the Khurāsānīs.
As for the approach based on transmitted usage, they maintain that even if ordinary Arabic does not call these beverages khamr, the Sacred Law does. Their evidence is the aforementioned ḥadīth of Ibn ʿUmar, together with the report from Abū Hurayrah in which the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said,
“Wine comes from these two trees: the date-palm and the grapevine.”
They also cite the narration from Ibn ʿUmar that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said,
“Wine can be made from grapes, from honey, from raisins, and from wheat; and I forbid you every intoxicant.”
These, then, are the principal