Prescribed punishment for drinking wine
Fatwa No: 121755

Question

Salam 3alaykom, Some sins that are mentioned in the Qur2an doesnt have any prescribed punishment such as wine drinking, and in some hadeeth, Rasoul ALLAH (pbuh) used to lash the 1 who drinks and other times kill him: Dawud :: Book 38 : Hadith 4470 Narrated Qabisah ibn Dhuwayb: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If anyone drinks wine, flog him; if he repeats it, flog him, and if he repeats it, flog him. If he does it again a third or a fourth time, kill him. A man who had drunk wine was brought (to him) and he gave him lashes. He was again brought to him, and he flogged him. He was again brought to him and he flogged him. He was again brought to him and he flogged him. The punishment of killing (for drinking) was repealed, and a concession was allowed. Dawud :: Book 38 : Hadith 4473 Narrated AbdurRahman ibn al-Azhar: A man who had drunk wine was brought before the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) when he was in Hunayn. He threw some dust on his face. He then ordered his Companions and they beat him with their sandals and whatever they had in their hands. He then said to them: Leave him, and they left him. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) then died, and AbuBakr gave forty lashes for drinking wine, and then Umar in the beginning of his Caliphate inflicted forty stripes and at the end of his Caliphate he inflicted eighty stripes. Uthman (after him) inflicted both punishments, eighty and forty stripes, and finally Mu'awiyah established eighty stripes. Killing some1 needs an order from RUBB al 3alameen, does it mean that this hadeeth is Qudsi? I am confused a bit. Please explain may ALLAH have mercy on you and ur family. Fee aman ALLAH. Salam 3alaykom wa ra7mat ALLAH ta3ala wa barakatuh

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

 

A Muslim should know that it is not necessary that the Shree‘ah ruling, whether a prescribed corporal punishment or whatsoever, is established by the Quran or a Hadeeth Qudsi only. The Sharee‘ah ruling is also established by the Prophetic Hadeeth, which is a Revelation from Allaah The Almighty and conclusive evidence like the Quran. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed.}[Quran 53:3-4]

However, we previously mentioned a collection of proofs of the authoritativeness of the Sunnah and that it is an adducible source of Sharee‘ah. For further details, refer to Fatwa 81124.

Moreover, it is correct that the ruling of killing the consumer of alcohol was abrogated. Ash-Shaafi‘i said, "There is no difference concerning this among any of the scholars that I know of.”

Allaah Knows best.

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