This excerpt is taken from Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Zubair's book "Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza: Thoughts and Ideas".
Did Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) drink alcohol after embracing Islam? (God forbid)
Muhammad Ali Mirza Sahib, in his booklet "The True Background of the Incident of Karbala: In the Light of 72 Authentic Hadiths," under Hadith number 31, while translating a narration from Musnad Ahmad, falsely accuses that, God forbid, Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) used to drink alcohol after embracing Islam. Mirza Sahib has incorrectly translated the narration from Musnad Ahmad as follows:
"Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Buraydah, a Tabi'i (may Allah have mercy on him), narrates that my father Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) and I went to meet Hazrat Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him). Hazrat Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) seated us on a floor seating (i.e., carpet), then food was brought which we consumed, then a drink was brought before us which Hazrat Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) drank, and after drinking, he handed the vessel to my father, who said: 'Since the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) declared this drink forbidden, I have never consumed it.' Then Hazrat Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was the most handsome among the Quraishi youth and had the most beautiful teeth, and in those youthful days, nothing was more delightful to me than milk and a good storyteller."
Reference: (Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza, The True Background of the Incident of Karbala: In the Light of 72 Authentic Hadiths, Nojawan-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat Islamabad, Islamabad, 2017, p. 15)
The Arabic text of this hadith is:
حدثنا زيد بن الحباب، حدثني حسين، حدثنا عبد الله بن بريدة قال: دخلت أنا وأبي على معاوية فأجلسنا على الفرش، ثم أتينا بالطعام فأكلنا، ثم أتينا بالشراب فشرب معاوية، ثم ناول أبي، ثم قال: ما شربته منذ حرمه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ثم قال معاوية: كنت أجمل شباب قريش وأجوده ثغرا، وما شيء كنت أجد له لذة كما كنت أجده وأنا شاب غير اللبن.
The additions made by Mirza Sahib in brackets are not present in the Arabic text. The Arabic text does not contain the statement that Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Since the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) declared this drink forbidden, I have never consumed it." The Arabic text only states that he said this, and the pronoun "this" refers to Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him). Therefore, the correct translation of the hadith is that Hazrat Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him), after drinking the beverage, handed the vessel to Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "Since the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) declared this drink forbidden, I have never consumed it."
Reference: (Ahmad bin Hanbal al-Shaybani, Musnad Ahmad, Al-Risalah Foundation, Beirut, 2001, 25/38-26)
Now understand the true meaning of the hadith with the correct translation:
Firstly, if the vessel from which Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) drank contained alcohol, he would never have said, "Since the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade it," because alcohol was forbidden by the Holy Quran, meaning its prohibition was declared in the Quran. It is unlikely for a jurist companion like Hazrat Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) to say that something forbidden in the Quran was forbidden by the Sunnah.
Secondly, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade certain types of date syrup called "intoxicating Nabidh," as narrated in Sahih Muslim, where it is mentioned that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used Nabidh for three days, and after that, whatever remained was discarded and not kept.
Reference: (Muslim bin al-Hajjaj al-Naysaburi, Sahih Muslim, Book of Drinks, Chapter on Permissibility of Nabidh that is not Strong or Intoxicating, Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, 1589/3)
So, in the above hadith, the pronoun refers to "Nabidh," i.e., that date drink which had become somewhat intoxicating, and Hazrat Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) is saying that since the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade it, I have not consumed it. Therefore, the opponents of Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) accused him not of drinking alcohol but of drinking Nabidh. And Nabidh itself was permissible, as explained, since Arabs used to put dates or grapes in water to make a sweet drink, which was allowed to be consumed as per the hadiths
Reference: (Sahih Muslim, Book of Drinks, Chapter on Dislike of Mixing Dates and Raisins, 1575/3)
, but sometimes after a certain time or by mixing two types of Nabidh (dates and grapes), the drink would become intoxicating, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade drinking that.
Reference: (Also)
Thirdly, the drink that Hazrat Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) drank in this gathering was milk, as mentioned at the end of the same narration. And while handing the vessel of milk to Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him), Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Since the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade that drink, I have never consumed it." Meaning, "O Buraydah! See that in my house, on my dining table, nothing is consumed that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade," i.e., intoxicating Nabidh. And the allegations spread by some people that I drink intoxicating Nabidh are not true. So, Hazrat Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) said this sentence in his defense. This sentence is not from Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him). This style of speech is called "Istitrad" in the science of rhetoric.
Reference: (Baha' al-Din al-Subki, Ahmad bin Ali bin Abdul Kafi, 'Uroos al-Afraah fi Sharh Talkhees al-Miftah, Al-Maktabah al-Asriyyah, Beirut, 2003, 239/2)
Fourthly, the last part of the narration indicates that Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) said that even in the days of ignorance, I was fond of milk, so how could Nabidh be my favorite drink after embracing Islam! This is more clearly narrated by the author Ibn Abi Shaybah in these words:
فقال معاوية: ما شيء كنت أستلذه وأنا شاب فآخذه اليوم إلا اللبن، فإني أخذه كما كنت أخذه قبل اليوم
Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Even in my youth, nothing pleased me more than milk, and even today, I am drinking milk as I used to before."
Reference: (Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah, Al-Kitab al-Musannaf fi al-Ahadith wal Athar, Maktabat al-Rushd, Riyadh, First Edition 1409 AH, 188/6)
So, in the narration of Ibn Abi Shaybah, the words "milk" are clearly present for this drink. After such clear words that I am drinking milk today, to accuse a companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him) of drinking alcohol, God forbid, is utterly baseless.
Fifthly, what is Mirza Sahib's evidence that Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) drank alcohol? His evidence is that the word "wine" appears in this narration. In Arabic, the word for wine is "Khamr," not "Sharab." In Urdu, the word for wine is "Sharab." What does "Sharab" mean in Arabic? In Sahih Muslim, it is narrated that Hazrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
لقد سقيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بقدحي هذا الشراب كله: العسل والنبيذ، والماء واللبن
"I served the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) every kind of drink from my vessel: honey, Nabidh, water, and milk."
Reference: (Sahih Muslim, Book of Drinks, Chapter on Permissibility of Nabidh that is not Strong or Intoxicating, 1591/3)
According to the blessed hadith, in Arabic, "Sharab" means water, Nabidh, or milk, and all three are permissible in Islam.
In summary, Mirza Sahib's accusation against Amir Muawiya (may Allah be pleased with him) is a grave slander for which he should publicly repent because our religion forbids even ordinary Muslims from making such accusations, let alone those who were companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), scribes of revelation, brothers-in-law of the Prophet (peace be upon him), leaders of the believers, and those who fought alongside the Prophet (peace be upon him).
