grapevines; grape wine was only (1) imported from Syria. Their usual drink was therefore an infusion of dates. The Sunnah has been transmitted through so many independent channels from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and from his caliphs and Companions as to establish that he prohibited every intoxicant and declared it to be wine (2).

They used to drink a sweet infusion made by steeping dates or raisins in water—that is, by placing them in it [the word literally means “casting in”] (3)—to sweeten the water, especially since much of the water in the Hijaz is saline. This infusion is lawful by consensus of the Muslims because it does not intoxicate, just as it is lawful to drink grape juice before it becomes intoxicating.

The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—had forbidden them to prepare (4) this infusion in wooden vessels, earthenware jars—which are made from clay—gourds, or pitch-coated containers. He instructed them instead to prepare it in containers whose mouths could be tied shut with cords (5). This was because intoxicating potency can develop imperceptibly in the infusion without a person noticing. Thus, a person (6) might drink something in which intoxicating potency had developed without realizing it. If the infusion was in a waterskin tied shut, the container would burst when it began to effervesce, preventing a person from falling into what was prohibited; those other vessels, however, would not burst.

It is narrated that he subsequently permitted infusions to be prepared in vessels and said: “I had