He replied:

Praise be to Allah. As for wine made from grape juice that has fermented, become potent, and thrown up froth, both small and large quantities are forbidden by the agreement of the Muslims. Whoever attributes to Abū Hanīfah the permissibility of a small amount of this has lied. Indeed, whoever considers it lawful must be called upon to repent; if he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is put to death. Even if someone considers drinking wine lawful because of a misconception like that which affected some of the early Muslims—believing that it is forbidden only to ordinary people, not to those who believe and do righteous deeds—the Companions, including ‘Umar, ‘Alī, and others, agreed that anyone who considers it lawful must be called upon to repent. If he acknowledges its prohibition, he is flogged; if he persists in considering it lawful, he is put to death.

Moreover, Abū Hanīfah forbids both small and large quantities of other drinks, even though he does not call them wine, such as unboiled infusions of dates and raisins. In his view, both small and large quantities of these are forbidden if they are intoxicating. Likewise, grape juice that has been boiled without two-thirds of it evaporating is forbidden in small quantities, according to him, if a large quantity intoxicates. Thus, he forbids both small and large quantities of these four types, even if the person drinking them does not become intoxicated.

The “misconception” arose only concerning other intoxicants, such as mazr made from wheat and similar grains. The position held by the great majority of Muslim imams is reflected in the report in the two Sahīh collections from Abū Mūsā al-Ash‘arī that the people of Yemen said, “O Messenger of Allah, we have a drink made from honey called bit‘, and a drink made from sorghum called mazr.” The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had been endowed with concise, comprehensive speech, and he said:

“Every intoxicant is forbidden.”

And in the two Sahīh collections