❖ Punishment for Drinking Alcohol: Juristic Opinions and Prophetic Traditions
Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
◈ General Ruling
Whoever, being mature and responsible, drinks an intoxicant willingly, shall be punished by the Imām with lashes—forty or more or less—according to his discretion, even if with shoes.
◈ Ḥanafī View
They consider two types of ḥadd for prohibited drinks:
① Ḥadd al-Shurb – applicable only to drinking khamr (wine). According to them, khamr is specifically wine made from grapes. The cause for the ḥadd is simply its consumption—whether little or much, and whether it intoxicates or not.
② Ḥadd al-Sukr – applicable to drinking intoxicants other than khamr (such as those made from wheat, barley, maize, honey, figs, millet, etc.). Here, the cause of the ḥadd is actual intoxication. If the first or second glass does not intoxicate but the third does, then the ḥadd is only for the third, as intoxication occurred through it.
References: بدائع الصنائع: 39/7 ، تبين الحقائق: 195/3 ، فتح القدير: 178/4
◈ Majority (Jumhūr) View
There is no difference between khamr and other intoxicants—all intoxicants are prohibited, whether little or much. This is based on the saying of the Prophet ﷺ:
كل مسكر خمر و كل خمر حرام
"Every intoxicant is khamr, and every khamr is forbidden."
References: بداية المجتهد: 434/2 ، مغني المحتاج: 187/4 ، المغنى: 304/8 ، المهذب: 286/2
Preferred Opinion (الراجح): The view of the majority is closer to the ḥadīth.
◈ Prophetic Practice and Companions’ Actions
① Anas (RA): A man who drank alcohol was brought to the Prophet ﷺ, who lashed him about forty times with two palm branches. Abū Bakr (RA) applied the same. Later, ʿUmar (RA) consulted the companions, and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf (RA) said:
أخف الحدود ثمانون
"The lightest punishment is eighty lashes."
So ʿUmar (RA) ruled eighty lashes.
References: أحمد: 115/3 ، مسلم: 1706 ، أبو داود: 4479 ، ترمذي: 1443 ، ابن ماجة: 2570
② Anas (RA): The Prophet ﷺ punished with sticks and shoes, and Abū Bakr (RA) with forty lashes.
References: بخاري: 6773 ، مسلم: 1706
③ ʿAbdullāh ibn Jaʿfar (RA): While Walīd ibn ʿUqbah was being lashed, ʿAlī (RA) counted until forty, then said:
جلد النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم أربعين و أبو بكر أربعين و عمر ثمانين وكل سنة وهذا أحب إلى
"The Prophet ﷺ lashed forty, Abū Bakr forty, and ʿUmar eighty. All are Sunnah, and I prefer this."
Reference: مسلم: 1707
④ ʿUqbah ibn Ḥārith (RA): A drunk man was brought; the Prophet ﷺ ordered the household to beat him with shoes and sticks.
References: أحمد: 7/4 ، بخاري: 6774–6775
⑤ Sāʾib ibn Yazīd (RA): In the time of the Prophet ﷺ, Abū Bakr, and early ʿUmar, drunkards were beaten with hands, shoes, and clothes. Later, ʿUmar applied forty lashes, then eighty when people persisted.
References: أحمد: 449/3 ، بخاري: 6779 ، نسائي الكبرى: 250/3
⑥ Ibn ʿAbbās (RA): The Prophet ﷺ did not fix a specific punishment for alcohol.
References: أحمد: 322/1 ، أبو داود: 4476
◈ Conclusion
The ḥadīth evidence proves that punishment is obligatory for drinking alcohol, but its exact number is not fixed. The ruler may determine the lashes according to the severity of the crime.
Further references: السيل الجرار: 347/4 ، الروضة الندية: 612/2 ، نيل الأوطار: 597/4 ، سبل السلام: 1724/4
◈ Jurists’ Disagreement
- Mālik (RA), Abū Ḥanīfah (RA): Ḥadd is eighty lashes.
- Aḥmad (RA), al-Shāfiʿī (RA): Ḥadd is forty lashes.
References: المبسوط: 3/24 ، بداية المجتهد: 444/2 ، الأم للشافعي: 144/6 ، فتح القدير: 185/4 ، بدائع الصنائع: 113/5 ، المغنى: 304/8 ، القوانين الفقهية: ص / 361
Preferred Opinion (الراجح): No fixed number; punishment varies by ruler’s discretion.
❀ The drunkard may be punished with hand, stick, shoes, or cloth as determined by the ruler.
Reference: الروضة الندية: 612/2
(al-Nawawī): There is consensus that punishment may be carried out with sticks, shoes, or cloth. He adds: the stronger opinion is that lashes are also permissible.
Reference: شرح مسلم: 234/6
❀ A slave will also receive the full punishment, as no distinction is established from Qur’ān or Sunnah.
