Sayyiduna Sufyan bin Wahb al-Khawlani (may Allah be pleased with him) states: I was with the Commander of the Believers, Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), in Syria, when the non-Muslim subjects there (the dhimmis) said: The duty you have placed on us of providing honey for the Muslims is something we cannot obtain. At this Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When the Muslims enter a new land and have not yet settled there permanently, drinking plain water is hard on them, so they must have something that can keep their health and diet in good order.
Then the dhimmis said: We have a drink prepared from grapes that resembles honey. He said: "Bring it." When it was brought, he (may Allah be pleased with him) lifted it with his finger to look at it, and it was drawing out in threads like honey. Seeing this he said: This is as thick as the paste smeared on the bodies of camels. Then he called for water, mixed it in, thinned it, and drank of it himself, and his companions drank too. Then he said: "How excellent this is! Provide the Muslims with this."
So that drink began to be provided, and the situation remained so for some time. Then a man became intoxicated from it, so the Muslims rose and beat him with their sandals, saying: He is drunk. The man cried out: Do not beat me! By Allah, I only drank what Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) provided for us. When this matter came to light, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up among the people to address them and said: "O people! I am merely a human being; I can neither make anything lawful unlawful nor anything unlawful lawful. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has indeed passed away, and the chain of revelation has been cut off." Then he took hold of the edge of his garment and said: "I declare before Allah Almighty my innocence" of making anything unlawful lawful for you. So leave this drink, for I fear that people will become habituated to it. And I myself heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "Every intoxicant is unlawful." So give it up. After this, Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) used to have it prepared (with special care), and Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to drink only the sweet drink.
Hadith Referenceالمطالب العالية بزوائد المسانيد الثمانية / كتاب الحدود / 1815
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسناده ضعيف
Hadith Takhrij«حکم الحدیث المطالب العالیہ محققاً تنسیق د. سعد بن ناصر بن عبد العزيز الشَّثري- مکتبہ شاملہ :حديث الباب ضعيف ، لأن فيه عبد الرحمن الإفريقي، وهو ضعيف. » «أخرجه مسند أبي يعلى برقم: 248، وأخرجه المطالب العالية لابن حجر برقم: 1824، وأخرجه شرح معاني الآثار للطحاوي برقم: 6434»