Muhammad Drank and Performed Ablution with Wine
As reported in these hadith narrations, Muhammad drank wine and performed ablution with it.
Contents
Prophet Muhammad Drank Wine
في شرب النبيذ وتخمير الإناء الأشربة صحيح مسلم
حدثنا أبو بكر بن أبي شيبة وأبو كريب واللفظ لأبي كريب قالا حدثنا أبو معاوية عن الأعمش عن أبي صالح عن جابر بن عبد الله قال كنا مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فاستسقى فقال رجل يا رسول الله ألا نسقيك نبيذا فقال بلى قال فخرج الرجل يسعى فجاء بقدح فيه نبيذ فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ألا خمرته ولو تعرض عليه عودا قال فشرب
Sahih Muslim: "Drinks, Drinking wine and fermentation"
Narrated by Gaber bin Abdullah:
We were with the messenger of Allah, PBUH and he asked for a drink. One of his men said: "Oh Messenger of Allah, Can we offer you wine to drink?" He said Yes. He (Gaber) went out looking for the drink and came back with a cup of wine. The messenger (Peace Be Upon him) asked, “Have you covered it with a twig in a transverse manner” He (Gaber) said, “Yes” and he (Muhammad) drank.Prophet Muhammad Performed Ablution With Wine
حدثنا يحيى بن إسحاق حدثنا ابن لهيعة عن قيس بن الحجاج عن حنش الصنعاني عن ابن عباس عن عبد الله بن مسعود رضي الله عنهما أنه كان مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ليلة الجن فقال له النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يا عبد الله أمعك ماء قال معي نبيذ في إداوة فقال اصبب علي فتوضأ قال فقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يا عبد الله بن مسعود شراب وطهور
Narrated by Abdullah bin Masoud (May God be pleased with him):
He was with the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him on the night of the jinn when he asked him if he had water. He answered that he had wine in a pot. Mohammed said: Pour me some to do ablution and he did. [The] Prophet peace be upon him [said]: "O Abdullah bin Masood it is a drink and a purifier."Other Hadiths
Meaning of Nabidh
All of the following dictionaries confirm that نبيذ (nabidh) means Wine:
Opinion of Islamic scholars about Nabidh
Arabic Analysis
Muslims claim that Muhammad did not drink a strong drink but what he drank was Nabeez and was not intoxicating. As we will see, Muhammad drank both al-khamr (strong drinks) and nabeez whether the nabeez was intoxicant or not. We rely on the definitions of the dictionaries and the books of the scholars for this conclusion.
نبذ) لسان العرب)
وإِنما سمي نبيذاً لأَن الذي يتخذه يأْخذ تمراً أَو زبيباً فينبذه في وعاء أَو سقاء عليه الماء ويتركه حتى يفور فيصير مسكراً.Translation: "It is called nabeezen because whoever takes it, he takes dates or raisin and yanbuzu (the act ) in a pot or something like that (sekaa) and adds water to them and leaves them till they ferment يفور and they become intoxicant."
From the above definition we can understand that nabeez can be intoxicant and causes intoxication. In the same dictionary (Lesan Al-Arab) لسان العرب we read that:
Translation: “Entabaztuhu (the past tense from entabaza) …… taken as nabeezen whether it is intoxicant or not, it is called nabeezen and alkhamr (strong drink) squeezed from vine is called nabeez and the nabeez is called khamr (strong drink)”
From the above definition we understand that nabeez can be intoxicant and both words khamr and nabeez can replace one another and are thus synonyms.
Now let us see what the dictionary say about the word khamr (strong drink).
خمر) لسان العرب)
والخَمْرُ ما أَسْكَرَ من عصير العنب لأَنها خامرت العقل.
وقال أَبو حنيفة: قد تكون الخَمْرُ من الحبوب فجعل الخمر من الحبوب؛ قال ابن سيده: وأَظنه تَسَمُّحاً منه لأَن حقيقة الخمر إِنما هي العنب دون سائر الأَشياء،Translation: Alkhamr (the strong drink) what has become intoxicant from the juice of vine because it has affected the mind.
On the same page, Abu Haneefa أبو حنيفة said Al-Khamr could be from grains …. Ibn Sayadahu ابن سيده said that he allowed that as in fact al khamr is made only from wine and not from any other thing.
خمر) لسان العرب)
والعرب تسمي العنب خمراً؛ قال: وأَظن ذلك لكونها منه؛ حكاها أَبو حنيفة قال: وهي لغة يمانية.
وقال في قوله تعالى: إِني أَراني أَعْصِرُ خَمْراً؛ إِن الخمر هنا العنبTranslation: The Arabs call vine khamren ; he said : I think so because it is made from it. Abu Haneefa said so and it is a language from Yemen. It is said in the Koran 12:36 “I see myself (in a dream ) pressing wine [Abdullah Yusuf Ali Translation]. Alkhamr here is the wine. (Vine-grapes)
الخَمْرُ) القاموس المحيط)
الخَمْرُ: ما أسْكَرَ من عَصيرِ العِنَبِ، أو عامٌّ،Translation: Al-khmru: what has become intoxicant from pressing wine or general
خمر) الصّحّاح في اللغة) قال ابن الأعرابيّ: سمِّيت الخَمْرُ خَمْراً لأنَّها تُرِكَتْ فاختمرت،
ويقال: سُمِّيَتْ بذلك لمُخامرتِها العَقْل.Translation: Ibn Al-Arabi ابن الاعرابى said: Al-Khamru was called Khamren as it was left and it became fermented (intoxicant) and it is said so as it affects the mind.
As we can see from the above two definitions, Al-khamr and Al-nabeez are both left to be prepared in a liquid form but al-nabeez can be intoxicant or not depending on the number of days while al-khamr is always intoxicant.
Another point is that Abu Haneefa considers that Al khamr is made only from pressing wine (vine) and any other thing is not considered khamren. In other words, any other thing is considered nabeez as it is not made from vine (wine or grapes) even if it is intoxicant.
Let us now see what is sakaran, because the translation of Abdullah Yusuf Ali for Qur'an 16:67 says:
This translation is not correct at all and is even misleading.
والسَّكَرُ: الخمر نفسها.
والسَّكَرُ: شراب يتخذ من التمر والكَشُوثِ والآسِ، وهو محرّم كتحريم الخمر
وقال أَبو حنيفة: السَّكَرُ يتخذ من التمر والكُشُوث يطرحان سافاً سافاً ويصب عليه الماء. قال: وزعم زاعم أَنه ربما خلط به الآس فزاده شدّة……… الفراء في قوله: تتخذون منه سَكَراً ورزقاً حسناً، قال: هو الخمر قبل أَن يحرم والرزق الحسن الزبيب والتمر وما أَشبهها. وقال أَبو عبيد: السَّكَرُ نقيع التمر الذي لم تمسه النار، وكان إِبراهيم والشعبي وأَبو رزين يقولون: السَّكَرُ خَمْرٌ.
وروي عن ابن عمر أَنه قال: السَّكَرُ من التمر، وروى الأَزهري عن ابن عباس في هذه الآية قال: السَّكَرُ ما حُرِّمَ من ثَمَرَتها، والرزق ما أُحِلَّ من ثمرتها. ابن الأَعرابي: السَّكَرُ الغَضَبُ؛ والسَّكَرُ الامتلاء، والسَّكَرُ الخمر، والسَّكَرُ النبيذ؛
وفي الحديث: حرمت الخمرُ بعينها والسَّكَرُ من كل شراب؛ السَّكَر، بفتح السين والكاف: الخمر المُعْتَصَرُ من العنب؛ قال ابن الأَثير: هكذا رواه الأَثبات، ومنهم من يرويه بضم السين وسكون الكاف، يريد حالة السَّكْرَانِ فيجعلون التحريم للسُّكْرِ لا لنفس المُسْكِرِ فيبيحون قليله الذي لا يسكر، والمشهور الأَول، وقيل: السكر، بالتحريك، الطعام؛ وأَنكر أَهل اللغة هذا والعرب لا تعرفه.
والسَّكَّار: النَّبَّاذُTranslation of the above:
Alsakaru : a drink taken from dates and Alkashouth and alas{kinds of trees} and it is prohibited as Al-Khamr is. Abu Haneefa said: Alsakaru is taken from dates and Alkashouth laid in lines and water is poured on them. He said: Somebody claimed that perhaps Alas was added to it to make it stronger.
Al Faraa explains “whence ye derive strong drink and (also) good nourishment.”Translation of this Qur'anic verse by Mamaduke Pickthall or Arthur J. Arbeny says “you take there from an intoxicant and a provision fair.”.
Continuing:
Abu Abeed said: Alsakaru is the infusion of dates that fire did not touch and Ibrahim , ElShoabee and Abu Razeen say : Alsakaru Khamr (strong drink)
Narrated by Ibn Omar saying that Alsakaru from dates.
AlAzhari narrated from Ibn Abas in this verse that Alsakaru what was prohibited from its fruits …… Alsakaru (he continues) is satisfaction , khamr (strong drink) and Alsakru AlNabeez.
And in Alhadith: Alkhamru itself and Alsakaru from any drink …….: Alkhamru (the strong drink) pressed from wine . Ibn alatheer said ……. It is meant the act of getting drunk so they make (he continues) what is prohibited is the act itself of getting into a state of drunkenness and not the drink itself, so they allow what is little of it which does not cause drunkenness, and what is famous is the first one …..
Alsakar: the person who makes Nabeez.What we understand from this verse in the Qur'an and according to the interpretation of the Islamic scholars and what is written in the dictionary is that the word sakaran may mean Nabeez or khamr (strong drink) and on either case it was allowed in Islam for some time and then later on it became prohibited. We understand also that even scholars considered only what is taken from wine to be prohibited and others allowed drinking a little amount of it on condition that one should not get drunk as the strong drink (Alkhamr) in itself is not prohibited.
We notice also that the prohibition of al-khamr came later, 13 years from Muhammad’s message. That is to say it was lawful for Muhammad to drink al-khamr especially because the definition of al-khamr at that time was not decisive as we saw some considered the word "sakar" nabeez while others considered it khamr.
From the following hadith we see that Muhammad kept drinking from the same drink for three successive days while at the time there were no refrigerators to keep things in good condition. If it became rotten he poured it down:
حدثنا مخلد بن خالد حدثنا أبو معاوية عن الأعمش عن أبي عمر يحيى البهراني عن ابن عباس قال
كان ينبذ للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم الزبيب فيشربه اليوم والغد وبعد الغد إلى مساء الثالثة ثم يأمر به فيسقى الخدم أو يهراقTranslation: Raisin was younbaz (prepared to be nabeez) and he drank it, the same day, the following day and the day after till the evening of the third day. Then he commanded that the servants would drink from it or to be poured down.
In a hot country like Saudi Arabia, within three days the nabeez will be strong to some extent.
In another hadith we find that Muhammad himself drank the strong nabeez but after he broke it with water which means that it is not the material itself that matters but the states of getting drunk:
Translation: Narrated by Abi Masoud, he said: The prophet PBUH got thirsty while he was doing tawaf (walking around the Black Stone), so he was given some nabeez from the al-Sekaa (pot made from skin) but he frowned and was asked: was it prohibited (haram)? He said No, fetch some zamzam water and he poured on it and drank.
There are many other hadiths that prove that Muhammad commanded people to break the strong drink with water.
Frequently Asked Questions
- "Are these hadiths real?"
- Yes, these are sahih hadiths in Arabic that have been translated and verified by multiple native speakers of the Arabic language.
- "These narrations are fabricated! They are not in the English collections"
- These narrations are authentic and can be viewed on one of the official websites of Saudi Arabia, by clicking on the links provided in the bottom right of the quote boxes. Many of the more embarrassing narrations have been omitted from the translated ahadith collections, thus can only be found in the original Arabic. In this case the entire section of hadith "Drinking wine and fermenting the container" has been omitted from English hadith collections.
- "This is not an official website of Saudi Arabia. It is a fake."
- On the contrary, if you click on the English language option (found on the top-left hand corner of the main page) you will be taken to the English section which clearly states "Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da‘wah and Guidance." You will also find that the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Hajj website links directly to this, and all other, official Saudi Arabian websites.
- "How could Prophet Muhammad drink wine and perform ablution with them? These hadiths must be false."
- It is commonly known fact that alcohol was allowed in Islam in the beginning before it was outlawed, and that Muhammad might have drunk it. The narration does not specify whether this event occurred before or after the ban on consuming alcohol. In any case, performing ablution with wine is rather strange.
- "Hadiths are lies and fabrications"
- Hadiths are valid sources for Islam and cannot be rejected. Please see: Qur'an Only Islam - Why it is Not Possible
See Also
- Alcohol - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Alcohol
External Links
- An Arab Mead - Forester Nigel FitzMaurice
- Wine hadith in Sahih Muslim - Muslim forum acknowledging hadith that say Muhammad drunk wine
