be allowed to retain both the payment and what he received in exchange. Rather, this money is to be taken and spent for the benefit of the Muslims, as has been held concerning a prostitute’s earnings, a soothsayer’s fee, and similar payments for a prohibited item or service, where the sinner has already received the consideration in full.

This differs from the case of a protected non-Muslim selling wine privately to another protected non-Muslim: he is not prevented from doing so. Once both parties have taken possession of what is due to them, a Muslim may transact with the seller using the money he received for the wine. As ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “Leave its sale to them, and take its proceeds from them.”

Indeed, beyond this, the ruler may demolish the premises where wine is sold, whether a shop or a house. ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb did this when he demolished the shop of Ruwayshid al-Thaqafī and said: “You are only Fuwaysiq (a petty sinner), not Ruwayshid (a little rightly guided man).” Likewise, ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib burned down a village where wine was sold. Ahmad and other scholars have explicitly affirmed this.