a third, it does not normally cause intoxication unless something is added to strengthen it, or for some other reason. Whenever it causes intoxication, it is forbidden by the consensus of the Muslims. This is the drink known as “tilā’” (boiled grape juice), which ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb permitted the Muslims to drink. If, however, it causes intoxication after being boiled until two-thirds has evaporated, it is also forbidden according to Mālik, al-Shāfi‘ī, and Ahmad.

He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked about habitual wine-drinking and abandonment of prayer, and the ruling concerning someone who persists in this.

He replied:

Praise be to Allah.

As for the “wine drinker,” the imams agree that he must receive the prescribed flogging if his drinking is proven. His prescribed punishment is forty or eighty lashes. Administering eighty lashes is permissible by agreement of the imams. If only forty are administered, however, there is a well-known disagreement over whether this suffices.

The position of Abū Hanīfah, Mālik, and Ahmad—according to one of the two reports from him—is that eighty lashes are obligatory. The position of al-Shāfi‘ī and Ahmad—according to the other report from him—is that the additional forty lashes constitute discretionary punishment, left to the ruler’s judgment. If this is needed because drinking has become widespread, because the drinker persists, or for similar reasons, he imposes them.

‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb used to impose discretionary punishments beyond this. It is reported that he would banish the drinker from his town and disfigure him by shaving his head.