it is narrated from ‘Ā’ishah that he said:

“Every drink that intoxicates is forbidden.”

Also in the Sahīh, Ibn ‘Umar narrated that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Every intoxicant is wine, and every intoxicant is forbidden.”

In the Sunan collections, it is narrated from him through several chains that he said:

“Whatever intoxicates in large quantities is forbidden even in small quantities.”

Numerous hadiths convey this meaning. When Allah prohibited wine, the people of the Prophet’s city, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had no alcoholic drink other than that made from dates; that was their wine.

It is reported of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that “he used to drink nabīdh.” What is meant here is sweet nabīdh: dates or raisins are placed in water until it becomes sweet, and then it is drunk.

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had forbidden them to prepare nabīdh in gourds, wooden or stone vessels, or pitch-coated containers,” because, when prepared in these vessels, it could gradually become intoxicating without their knowing, so that a man might drink an intoxicant.

“He also forbade them to combine dates and raisins,” because each strengthens the effect of the other. “He forbade them to drink nabīdh after three days,” because it might have become intoxicating without a person realizing it. All of this reflected the utmost caution on his part, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Thus, any scholar who believed that the nabīdh he permitted could be intoxicating—meaning drinks made from honey, wheat, and the like—and consequently said that one may drink an amount that does not cause intoxication, was mistaken. The vast majority of scholars, however, understood that what he permitted was that which does not intoxicate. This view is correct according to both the revealed texts and analogical reasoning.

As for “the revealed texts,” there are numerous hadiths on the matter. As for “analogical reasoning,” all intoxicating drinks are alike in that they cause intoxication