the compilers of the Sunan collections narrated that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Some people of my nation will surely drink khamr, calling it by another name.”
This has been narrated from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, through four routes. It applies to those who drink these beverages which they call al-sarmā’ and other names. The matter is clear: Muslims unanimously agree that grape wine is forbidden in both small and large quantities. Neither sensory experience nor reason distinguishes between khamr made from grapes and that made from dates, raisins or honey. One keeps people from remembering Allah and from prayer, and so does the other; one causes enmity and hatred, and so does the other.
Allah, glorified is He, has commanded justice and reasoning by comparison. This is “legal analogy”: treating like cases alike. Allah and His Messenger do not distinguish between one intoxicating drink and another by permitting a small quantity of one but not of the other. Rather, He treats them alike: if He has forbidden a small quantity of one, He has forbidden a small quantity of both, for a little leads to much.
Furthermore, He, glorified is He, has commanded that khamr be shunned. This is why it is to be poured away and its possession is forbidden. He has ruled it impure and commanded that its drinker be flogged—all to cut off corruption at its source. How, then, could He permit small quantities of intoxicating drinks? Allah knows best.