By: u/Brown_Leviathan
Ibn Battuta, the famous medieval Muslim traveller, narrated how he accidentally drank alcoholic beer with fellow Muslims during his travels, when he was in Turkey. This happened because the local people followed the Hanafi school of thought, which allowed grain-based alcohol, while Ibn Battuta's Maliki school forbade all alcoholic beverages.
In his own words, "When I went out I made enquiry about it and they said 'It is nabidh [a fermented drink] which they make from dugi grain.' These people are Hanafis and nabidh is permissible according to their doctrine."
The Qur'an uses the word "Khamr" for prohibited alcoholic beverages. According to some early scholars like Abu Hanifa, "Khamr" literally means wine made of grapes or dates, and does not include not all other drinks. According to Abu Hanifa, alcoholic beverages made from honey, figs, wheat, maize or barley are permissible if consumed below the point of intoxication.
Later Hanafi scholars eventually abrogated Abu Hanifa's ruling and adopted a general prohibition of all alcoholic beverages, most likely due to pressure from other schools of jurisprudence.
The early Kufan Hanafi jurist Ibrâhîm al-Nakha'î (d. 96/715-6) asserts that the public has misinterpreted the Prophet's statement that drinks "that intoxicate in large quantities are forbidden in small quantities" (i.e., the 'large/small' tradition)." Ibrahim explains that the Prophet meant to forbid intoxication rather than intoxicants.
The prominent Maliki jurist Ibn Rushd al-Jadd (d. 520/1126) states that "Khamr is that which intoxicates and overwhelms the intellect".
There is a controversial and disputed narration, wherein the Prophet instructs Abu Musa to "drink but do not become Intoxicated". (Ibn Rushd al-Hafid, Bidaya, 2:914)
It is also well known that the famous Muslim philosopher and physician Ibn Sina (Avicenna) would often drink wine. He acknowledged the health benefits of drinking wine in moderation.
It is often claimed that Ottoman sultan-caliph Abdülhamid II would occasionally and privately savor a glass of cognac at his doctors’ orders.
A few years ago, a prominent Qatar-based Muslim scholar, Yousuf Al Qaradawi declared:
“An alcohol volume of up to 5/1000 or 0.5% in a drink has no significance in making it haram [prohibited]. It is a very small quantity, especially if it results from natural fermentation and is not manufactured."
Considering the totality of facts and arguments, I would say that the strict level of taboo and prohibition that today Islamic scholars have imposed upon the Muslims was not always the case historically.
Let me know what you guys think.
Please refer to:
- 'Angels Tapping at the Wine-shop's Door: A History of Alcohol in the Islamic World' by Rudi Matthee.
- Haider, N. (2013). Contesting intoxication: Early juristic debates over the lawfulness of alcoholic beverages. Islamic L. & Soc'y, 20, 48.
- 'The Odyssey of Ibn Battuta: Uncommon Tales of a Medieval Adventurer', by David Waines
