and Ibn ʿAwf said, ‘The least severe of the prescribed punishments is eighty lashes.’ So ʿUmar gave him eighty lashes.”(1)

Another reason is that this punishment may be administered with something other than a whip, such as palm branches, sandals, hands, or the ends of garments. Since the manner of striking is not fixed(2) but is left to juristic judgment, the number of blows is likewise left to such judgment. This is because the circumstances of those who drink vary. Accordingly, the initial command was to put the drinker to death on the fourth occasion. It has been said that this ruling was abrogated; it has also been said that it remains in force; and it has further been said that it is a permissible discretionary punishment that may be applied when needed. This is because striking with a garment is not a fixed measure; rather, it varies according to how few or many the blows are and how light or severe they are. Some people may not be deterred by any particular number of blows. The maximum punishment(3) in this matter was therefore left to juristic judgment, even though its minimum is fixed, just as(4) some discretionary punishments have a fixed maximum but no fixed minimum.

As for the account of Qudāmah, Abū Ishāq al-Jawzajānī [and others related its report](5) from Ibn ʿAbbās(6): Qudāmah ibn Mazʿūn drank wine, so ʿUmar asked him, “What led you(7) to do that?”

He replied, “Allah says, ‘There is no blame upon those who believe