Tirmidhi

English Commentary:
1:
Nabidh is a beverage that is made from dates, raisins, honey, wheat, barley, etc.

2:
This is also the view of the majority of scholars, and their evidence is that nabidh is not water, and Allah the Exalted has said:
﴿فَلَمْ تَجِدُواْ مَاء فَتَيَمَّمُواْ صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا﴾ (, Surah an-Nisa: 43) “So when you do not find water, then perform tayammum with clean earth.” Therefore, when water is not available, one should perform tayammum instead of ablution (wudu) with nabidh. As for the hadith of this chapter, the response is that this hadith is extremely weak and not suitable to be used as evidence.
Note:
(In the chain of narration is Abu Zayd, who is an unknown narrator.)

Benefits and Issues:
This hadith is weak.
Its narrator, Abu Zayd, is unknown (majhool). Therefore, it is not actionable.
Furthermore, the following authentic hadith clarifies its meaning.

Fiqh al-Hadith
➊ "Nabeedh" is a special drink of the Arabs which they used to prepare by soaking dried dates or raisins in water, similar to how, in our region, drinks are prepared from tamarind or dried plums.
➋ Some scholars, due to this hadith, have considered it permissible to perform ablution (wudu) with this drink (nabeedh), but since this narration is weak, it is not correct to deduce from it. According to Imam Tirmidhi rahimahullah as well, the preferred opinion is that if a person does not have water and only has the drink (nabeedh), he should not perform ablution with the drink but rather perform dry ablution (tayammum). Imam Tahawi al-Hanafi rahimahullah has also declared all the chains of this hadith to be weak and has ruled that under no circumstances is it permissible to perform ablution with nabeedh. For further details, see: [شرح معاني الاثار : 58، 57/1 وجامع الترمذي تحقيق احمد محمد شاكر، حديث : 88]
➌ "The night of the jinn" refers to the incident in which, one night, some Muslim jinn came to the service of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and requested that he deliver admonition and guidance to the gathering of the jinn and inform them of religious matters. Accordingly, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam went with them and delivered admonition and guidance to the jinn. This incident occurred before the Hijrah.

The Ruling on Performing Ablution with Nabidh

(Imam Abu Hanifah rahimahullah) Performing ablution (wudu) with nabidh is permissible and valid. [بداية المجتهد 66/1]

Their evidences are as follows:
➊ It is narrated from Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud radi Allahu anhu that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, on the “Night of the Jinn” (the night when he met with the jinn), asked me, “Do you have any water?” I replied, “I do not have water, but I have a vessel in which there is nabidh.” Upon hearing this, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:
«فَصَبَبْتُ عَلَيْهِ فَتَوَضَّأَ بِهِ»
“Pour it out and perform ablution with it,” and he also said, “It is a drink and a purifier.” [ضعيف : سنن ابن ماجه/ ح: 385] 1
↰ In its chain of narration is Ibn Lahi‘ah, who is a weak narrator. [الضعفاء والمتروكين 192/1] 2

➋ In another hadith of similar meaning, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud radi Allahu anhu:
«تَمْرَةٌ طَيِّبَةٌ، وَمَاءٌ طَهُورٌ»
“This is excellent dates and purifying water.” [ضعيف : سنن ابن ماجه/ ح: 384] 3
◈ Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah writes that the scholars of the Salaf have agreed upon the weakness of this hadith. [فتح الباري 471/1]
◈ Imam Tahawi rahimahullah states that this hadith of Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud radi Allahu anhu is narrated through various chains, but none of them are reliable as proof. [شرح معاني الآثار 94/1]
◈ Mulla Ali Qari rahimahullah has quoted Sayyid Jamal as saying that the hadith’s weakness is agreed upon by the hadith scholars. [مرقاة المفاتيح 182/2]
◈ Imam Abu Zur‘ah rahimahullah says that the hadith of Abu Fazar regarding nabidh is not authentic. [العلل لابن أبى حاتم 17/1]
◈ Also, in its chain is Abu Zayd, who is unknown, as declared by Imam Zayla‘i, Imam Ibn Hibban, Imam Bukhari, and Imam Tirmidhi rahimahumullah. [نصب الراية 147/1، المجروحين لابن حبان 198/3، تحفة الأحوذي 307/1، سنن ترمذي 88]

➌ It is narrated from Ali radi Allahu anhu that:
«كان لا يرى باسا بالوضوء من النبيذ»
“He did not see any harm in performing ablution with nabidh.” [ضعيف : دارقطني 78/1]
◈ Imam Daraqutni rahimahullah narrated it through two chains; in one, Hajjaj ibn Arta’ah is a weak narrator. [تقريب التهذيب 1119]
◈ In the other chain, Abu Layla al-Khurasani is an unknown narrator. [التقريب 8333]

➍ It is narrated from Ibn Abbas radi Allahu anhuma that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:
«إذا لم يجد أحدكم ماء ووجد النبيذ فليتوضا به»
“When any of you does not find water but finds nabidh, he should perform ablution with it.” [ضعيف : دارقطني 76/1]
◈ Imam Daraqutni rahimahullah states that in its chain, Aban ibn Abi ‘Ayyash is abandoned in hadith, and Muja‘ah is weak.

(The Majority, Ahl al-Hadith, Imam Shafi‘i rahimahullah, Imam Ahmad rahimahullah) Performing ablution with nabidh is not permissible. [بداية المجتهد 66/1]

Their evidences are as follows:
➊ Nabidh is not water, and Allah the Exalted has only commanded purification with absolute water, and in the absence of water, He has commanded tayammum with earth, not nabidh, as is stated in the Qur’an:
«فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا مَاءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا» [4-النساء:43], [5-المائدة:6]
And in the hadith:
“Earth is the ablution of a believer, even if he does not find water for ten years; but when he finds water, he should fear Allah and let it touch his body.” [صحيح : ابوداود 332] 4

➋ The aforementioned narration from Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud radi Allahu anhu, in which the permissibility of ablution with nabidh is mentioned (“the Night of the Jinn”), is weak. [ضعيف : سنن ابن ماجه/ ح: 385] 1

➌ In fact, a narration is reported from Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud radi Allahu anhu to the contrary:
«لَمْ أَكُنْ لَيْلَةَ الْجِنِّ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَوَدِدْتُ أَنِّي كُنْتُ مَعَهُ»
“I was not present with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam on the Night of the Jinn, though I wished I had been with him.” [صحيح مسلم/ فواد: 450، دارالسلام: 1010] 5

(Imam Nawawi rahimahullah) This hadith, which is narrated in Sunan Abi Dawud—wherein performing ablution with nabidh and the presence of Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud radi Allahu anhu with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam on the Night of the Jinn is mentioned—clearly proves its invalidity, because this hadith is authentic, and the narration regarding nabidh is, by consensus of the hadith scholars, weak. [شرح مسلم 307/2]

➍ Abu ‘Ubaydah rahimahullah was asked, “Was your father present with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam on the Night of the Jinn?” He replied, “No.” [دارقطني 77/1] 6

➎ Imam Tirmidhi rahimahullah has also given preference to this position. [ترمذي بعد الحديث 77]

(Preferred Opinion) The position of the majority of Ahl al-Hadith is preferred, as the preceding discussion necessitates, and also because if a pure substance is mixed with water to the extent that it can no longer be called absolute water (ma’ mutlaq), then that water is pure (tahir) but not purifying (mutahhir). [بداية المجتهد 54/1] 7

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1 [ضعيف : ضعيف ابن ماجة 85، كتاب الطهارة وسننها : باب الوضوء بالنبيذ ابن ماجة 385، أحمد 398/1، دارقطني 76/11، المعجم الكبير 65/10]
2 In its chain of narration is Ibn Lahi‘ah, who is a weak narrator.
[الضعفاء والمتروكين 192/1، ميزان الاعتدال 65/2، المغني 266/1]
3 [ضعيف : ضعيف ابن ماجه 84، أيضا، ابن ماجة 384، ابوداود 84، ترمذي 88، أحمد 402/1، المعه الكبير 95/10، دارقطني 77/1]
4 [صحيح : إرواء الغليل 153، ابوداود 332، كتاب الطهارة : باب الحنب يتيمم، ترمذي 164، نسائي 171/1، ابن حبان 1311/4، دارقطني 186/1، بيهقي 212/1]
5 [صحيح : بداية المجتهد 66/1، مسلم 450 كتاب الصلاة : باب الجهر بالقراءة من الصبح . . . . فواد: 688، دارالسلام: 1010، ترمذي 3258، ابوداود 85، أحمد 436/1، ابن خزيمة 82]
6 [دارقطني 77/1، كتاب الطهارة : باب الوضوء بالنبيذ، بيهقي 10/1]
7 [المجموع 90/1، بداية المجتهد 54/1، المغني 25/1، السيل الجرار 56/1، المحلى بالآثار 193/1، فقه السنة 141]
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Commentary:
(1)
Nabeedh is a special drink of the Arabs which they would prepare by soaking dried dates or raisins in water, similar to how, in our region, drinks are prepared from tamarind or dried plums.

(2)
Some scholars, due to this hadith, have deemed it permissible to perform ablution (wudu) with this drink (nabeedh). However, since this narration is weak, it is not correct to deduce from it. According to Imam Tirmidhi rahimahullah as well, the preferred view is that if a person does not have water and only has the drink (nabeedh), he should not perform ablution with the drink, but rather perform dry ablution (tayammum). Imam Tahawi Hanafi rahimahullah has also declared all the chains of this hadith to be weak and has ruled that it is not permissible to perform ablution with nabeedh under any circumstances. For further details, see: (Sharh Ma’ani al-Athar: 1/58, 57 and Jami’ al-Tirmidhi, edited by Ahmad Muhammad Shakir, Hadith: 88)

(3)
By “the night of the jinn” is meant the incident in which, one night, some Muslim jinn came to the service of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and requested that he deliver admonition and guidance to the gathering of the jinn and inform them of religious matters. Accordingly, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam went with them and delivered admonition and guidance to the jinn. This incident occurred before the Hijrah.