Narration and Context:Abu Sasan (Ḥuṣayn ibn al-Mundhir) reports:
I was present when ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (رضي الله عنه) was brought a man (al-Walīd) who had prayed two units of the Fajr prayer and then said: “Shall I add more for you?” Two men testified against him—one of them was Ḥumrān—that he had drunk wine. The second testified that he saw him vomiting. ʿUthmān said: “He could not have vomited it unless he had drunk it.” Then he said, “O ʿAlī, get up and flog him.” ʿAlī said, “O Ḥasan, get up and flog him.” Ḥasan replied, “Let him bear the heat who takes its cold.” Then ʿAlī said to ʿAbdullāh ibn Jaʿfar, “Get up and flog him,” and he did so while ʿAlī was counting until he reached forty lashes. Then he said: “Stop.” Then he added: “The Prophet (ﷺ) flogged forty lashes, and Abū Bakr also gave forty. As for ʿUmar, he made it eighty, and all of this is Sunnah. But this [i.e., forty] is what I prefer.”
[Narrated by Muslim: 1707]
Related narration in Bukhārī:The narration also appears in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī where it is stated:
"As for what you have mentioned about al-Walīd, we shall judge him according to the truth, if Allāh wills." Then he called ʿAlī and ordered him to flog him. ʿAlī flogged him with eighty lashes.
[Bukhārī: 3872, 3696]
There is a difference of opinion among scholars regarding the number of lashes for the ḥadd punishment of drinking alcohol. Some say it is forty, while others say eighty.
➋ The stronger opinion:
The more correct view is that the ḥadd is forty lashes, based on the action of the Prophet (ﷺ) and Abū Bakr (رضي الله عنه).
➌ ʿUmar’s judgment of eighty lashes:
Caliph ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) raised the number to eighty after consultation with the companions due to people taking the forty lashes lightly.
➍ Requirement for implementation:
➎ Vomiting confirms consumption:
Even vomiting immediately after drinking is proof sufficient for punishment.
➏ Delegation of ḥadd enforcement:
The Caliph can appoint someone to enforce the punishment, who may in turn assign someone else (like a designated executioner).
➐ Counting of lashes:
Lashes must be counted accurately—someone other than the flogger may keep count.
➑ Public implementation:
The punishment must be carried out in front of witnesses.
Source:
This content is adapted from Ḍiyāʾ al-Islām fī Sharḥ al-Imām bi-Aḥādīth al-Aḥkām by Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Abī al-Fatḥ, translated by Maulānā Maḥmūd Aḥmad Ghaḍanfar.
I was present when ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (رضي الله عنه) was brought a man (al-Walīd) who had prayed two units of the Fajr prayer and then said: “Shall I add more for you?” Two men testified against him—one of them was Ḥumrān—that he had drunk wine. The second testified that he saw him vomiting. ʿUthmān said: “He could not have vomited it unless he had drunk it.” Then he said, “O ʿAlī, get up and flog him.” ʿAlī said, “O Ḥasan, get up and flog him.” Ḥasan replied, “Let him bear the heat who takes its cold.” Then ʿAlī said to ʿAbdullāh ibn Jaʿfar, “Get up and flog him,” and he did so while ʿAlī was counting until he reached forty lashes. Then he said: “Stop.” Then he added: “The Prophet (ﷺ) flogged forty lashes, and Abū Bakr also gave forty. As for ʿUmar, he made it eighty, and all of this is Sunnah. But this [i.e., forty] is what I prefer.”
[Narrated by Muslim: 1707]
Related narration in Bukhārī:The narration also appears in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī where it is stated:
"As for what you have mentioned about al-Walīd, we shall judge him according to the truth, if Allāh wills." Then he called ʿAlī and ordered him to flog him. ʿAlī flogged him with eighty lashes.
[Bukhārī: 3872, 3696]
❀ Important Points & Rulings ❀
➊ Disagreement among jurists (fuqahāʾ):There is a difference of opinion among scholars regarding the number of lashes for the ḥadd punishment of drinking alcohol. Some say it is forty, while others say eighty.
➋ The stronger opinion:
The more correct view is that the ḥadd is forty lashes, based on the action of the Prophet (ﷺ) and Abū Bakr (رضي الله عنه).
➌ ʿUmar’s judgment of eighty lashes:
Caliph ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) raised the number to eighty after consultation with the companions due to people taking the forty lashes lightly.
➍ Requirement for implementation:
- If the offender confesses, the ḥadd may be implemented.
- If there is no confession, then two witnesses are required.
- The witnesses may provide different forms of testimony (e.g., one sees him drink, another sees him vomit).
- Judgment may be announced in the mosque, but execution of ḥadd should not be done there.
➎ Vomiting confirms consumption:
Even vomiting immediately after drinking is proof sufficient for punishment.
➏ Delegation of ḥadd enforcement:
The Caliph can appoint someone to enforce the punishment, who may in turn assign someone else (like a designated executioner).
➐ Counting of lashes:
Lashes must be counted accurately—someone other than the flogger may keep count.
➑ Public implementation:
The punishment must be carried out in front of witnesses.
Source:
This content is adapted from Ḍiyāʾ al-Islām fī Sharḥ al-Imām bi-Aḥādīth al-Aḥkām by Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Abī al-Fatḥ, translated by Maulānā Maḥmūd Aḥmad Ghaḍanfar.
