Nasai

(1) It has already been explained at the beginning of Kitab al-Ashribah that, according to the Imams Malik, Shafi’i, Ahmad, and the majority of the scholars, wine (khamr) can be made from any fruit or grain when it produces intoxication. However, the people of opinion, i.e., the Hanafis, hold that wine is only that which is made from grapes, and that too by a specific method, the details of which have already been mentioned at the beginning. But this view is incorrect. It is contrary to language, sound reason, and the Shari’ah. The meaning of khamr is “that which covers the intellect,” i.e., an intoxicating beverage, regardless of what it is made from. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: (al-khamru ma khamara al-‘aql) — meaning, khamr is every substance that veils the intellect, such that upon drinking it, the intellect departs. Furthermore, this position is also contrary to the verse and the ahadith mentioned in this chapter. In the aforementioned verse, the making of intoxicating drinks from both dates and grapes is mentioned, and both are mentioned together. It is thus understood that the ruling is the same for both. The ahadith are even more explicit, stating that wine can also be made from dates.

(2) The mention of two things (dates and grapes) in the hadith does not mean that wine cannot be made from any other fruit; rather, the purpose is that, generally, the Arabs or the people of Madinah used to make wine from these two things. Otherwise, any intoxicating beverage made from any fruit or grain will be considered wine (khamr), and even a single sip of it will be unlawful (haram).