less than the prescribed punishment, because he believed that it altered the mind without producing euphoria, like banj, and found (1) no discussion of it among the earlier scholars. But that is not so. Rather, those who consume it become intoxicated (2) by it and crave it as much as—or even more than—they crave wine. It turns its user (3) away from the remembrance of Allah Most High and from prayer when he consumes (4) too much of it, in addition to the other evils it entails, including the loss of protective jealousy, effeminacy, and the corruption of one’s temperament and reason.

Because it is a solid substance that is eaten rather than a drink, however, jurists of the school of Ahmad and others have differed over its ritual impurity, expressing three views. Some held that it is impure like wine that is drunk—and this (5) is the sound analogy. Others held that it is not, because it is solid. Still others distinguished between its solid and liquid forms. In any event, it falls within the wine and intoxicants forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, whether by the wording itself or by its meaning.

Abū Mūsā al-Asharī—may Allah be pleased with him—said: “O Messenger of Allah, give us a ruling concerning two drinks that we used to prepare in Yemen: bit, which is made from honey and left to ferment until it becomes strong, and mizr, which is made from millet and barley and left to ferment until it becomes strong.” He said that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—had been endowed with concise, all-encompassing speech in its entirety, and he replied: “Every intoxicant is forbidden.” It is recorded in both Sahīh collections (6).

Al-Numān ibn Bashīr reported that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: “Wine may be made from wheat,