Greeting a Drunkard With Salam – What is the Ruling?
📖 Source: Fatawa Amanpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amanpuri
❀ Question:
What is the ruling on saying salam to a drunkard?
❀ Answer:
A drunkard is a fāsiq (sinner), and greeting a sinful Muslim with salam is permissible.
- If he falls ill, he should be visited.
- If he dies, his funeral prayer should be offered.
This is the position of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamāʿah.
In contrast, there are some narrations forbidding salam to drunkards, visiting them, or offering their funeral prayer, but all such narrations are unauthentic:
❀ Narration from ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar (RA):
لا تسلموا على من يشرب الخمر ولا تعودوهم إذا مرضوا ولا تصلوا عليهم إذا ماتوا
“Do not greet with salam those who drink wine, do not visit them if they fall ill, and do not pray their funeral if they die.”
Reference: [تغليق التعليق لابن حجر: 125/5] – Chain is very weak.
- ʿUbaydullah ibn Zahr is weak.
- Layth ibn Abi Sulaym is weak due to poor memory and tadlis.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (رح) graded this isnad as weak. [فتح الباري: 41/11]
Other narrations reported in [الكامل لابن عدي: 502/2] and [الأدب المفرد للبخاري: 529, 1017] are also severely weak.
✅ Conclusion:
It is permissible to greet a drunkard with salam, visit him when ill, and pray his funeral prayer if he dies, as he is still a Muslim — though sinful. The contrary reports are not authentic.
