❖ Means of Establishing Drinking Alcohol: Confession, Testimony, and Vomit
Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
◈ Ways to Prove Alcohol Consumption
For establishing the offense of drinking alcohol, one confession of the drunkard or the testimony of two just witnesses is sufficient—even if they testify only about vomit.
This has been mentioned earlier in several places.
The reasoning is that the smell of alcohol from a person’s stomach only occurs when he has actually consumed it, and vomit of alcohol can only come from one who has drunk it.
Reference: السيل الجرار: 350/4
◈ Example from the Companions
This is why the Companions applied the ḥadd to Walīd ibn ʿUqbah. Ḥumrān and another man testified against him:
- One of them said: “I saw him drinking alcohol.”
- The other said: “I saw him vomiting alcohol.”
Upon this, ʿUthmān (RA) said:
"How could he vomit unless he had drunk it?"
Reference: مسلم: 1707 ، كتاب الحدود: باب حد الخمر
