Khamr (Arabic: خمر, plural, khumūr Arabic: خمور), is an Arabic word for wine or other alcoholic beverages or intoxicants. In an Islamic context, khamr is variously defined as alcoholic beverages, wine or liquor.[1] The position of alcohol in Islam is a complex subject in terms of its historical implementation and nuanced scholarly interpretation. While the dominant belief among Muslims is that the consumption, sale, transport, or service of alcohol in any form is forbidden, there are some disagreements. For example, the Hanafi school interprets khamr to only refer to certain specific beverages, rather than all intoxicants.[2] According to Murtaza Haider of Dawn, "A consensus (ijma) on how to deal with alcohol has eluded Muslim jurists for more than a millennium".[3]
The Islamic definition of khamr varies by the school of jurisprudence (madhhab). While most Islamic jurists have traditionally viewed it as general term for any fermented intoxicating beverage,[4] one school (Hanafi) has limited it to alcohol derived from dates and grapes. Over time, other intoxicants, such as opium and khat, have been classed by jurists as khamr.[4][5] A minority of Muslims consume alcohol and believe consuming alcohol is not Qur'anically forbidden.[6][7][8] Among Alawites, an esoteric sect of Islam,[9] Sufi Bektashis, and Alevis, the consumption of alcohol is permissible.[10][11][12][13][14]
Historically, many Muslim elites consumed alcohol, encompassing the reign of the Umayyads, the Abbasids, Islamic Spain (al-Andalus), and dynasties that ruled Egypt and the eastern, Persianate part of the Muslim world.[15] These included notable rulers such as al-Hakam I (r. 796–822), al-Mu'tamid (r. 870–892), and Abd al-Rahman III (r. 912–961). Drinking wine was also reflected by Islamic poets, such as Abu Nuwas (d. 814), Ibrahim al-Nazzam (d. 845), Omar Khayyam (d. 1131), Rumi (d. 1273), and Hafez Shirazi (d. 1390).[16][17] Wine consumption in the Islamic Golden Age was a mainstream literal practice, sometimes even intertwined with religious rituals.[18] A notable figure during this period was the Islamic philosopher Ibn Sina (d. 1037), who would refresh himself in his studies with a cup of wine.[19]
Modern Islamic countries have low rates of alcohol consumption, and it is completely banned in several of them while strictly controlled in others (such as consumption being allowed only in private places or by non-Muslims). In countries such as Pakistan and Iran, the punishment for consumption of alcohol is disagreed upon; some believe that any punishment for consuming alcohol is un-Islamic, while others believe the proper punishment is flogging, though legal scholars disagree over whether the number of lashes should be 40 or 80.[3][20] Muslim-majority countries produce a variety of regional distilled beverages such as arak and rakı. There is a long tradition of viniculture in the Middle East, particularly in Egypt (where it is legal) and in Iran (where it is banned). Beer has been historically produced in Mesopotamia (mostly present-day Iraq) and Egypt.
Definition
In fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), it refers to certain forbidden substances, and its technical definition depends on the madhhab (school of jurisprudence). Most jurists, including those from the Maliki, Shafiʽi, Hanbali and Ahl-i Hadith legal schools, have traditionally viewed it as general term for any intoxicating beverage made from grapes, dates, and similar substances.[4] Hanafi jurists restricted the term to a narrower range of beverages.[4] Over time, some jurists classified other intoxicants, such as opium and khat, as khamr, based on a hadith attributed to Muhammad stating,
Other traditions state: (Narrated Abu Kathir As-Suhaimi that he heard Abu Hurairah saying that Muhammad the Messenger of Allah said)
A minority of faqīh (experts in Islamic jurisprudence), particularly of the Hanafi school, take the concept of khamr literally and forbid only grape-based (or date-based) alcoholic beverages, allowing those made with other fruits, grains, or honey.[23][24] Other sources (Shaykh Nabil Khan) speaking for the Hanafi Madhhab, state that while not all alcohol is khamr (alcohol not derived from dates and grapes is ‘non-khamr’), all alcohol consumption is forbidden if consumed 1) in sufficient quantity to intoxicate or if 2) consumed for recreational purposes,[25] (i.e. medicinal use may be permitted).[26]
Scriptural basis
Quran
Quranic verses that at least discourage alcohol include:
"O you who acknowledge, Do not go near prayer, (Salat) while you are stupified (under influence), until you know what you are saying"
— Qur'an 4:43, [30] [29]
O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants (khamr), gambling, [sacrificing on] stone altars [to other than God], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.
Hadith
Various sahih versions of the following hadith are found in Abu Dawood (3674), Ibn Maajah (3380), Al-Tirmidhi (1295) and other collections:[32][2]
Allah has cursed wine, its drinker, its server, its seller, its buyer, its presser, the one for whom it is pressed, the one who conveys it, and the one to whom it is conveyed.[33][32]
According to a hadith where Imam Ahmad recorded what Abu Maysarah said, the verses came after requests by Umar to Allah, to "Give us a clear ruling regarding Al-Khamr!"[34] Many Muslims believe the verses were revealed over time in this order to gradually nudge Muslim converts away from drunkenness and towards total sobriety, as to ban alcohol abruptly would have been too harsh and impractical,[35] since Islam brought "a society steeped in immorality" to one observing "the highest standards of morality."[36]
Interpretation
All alcohol or only wine debate
Early caliphs distributed cooked wine (tilā’) to Muslim troops, as the cooking process caused the wine to be nonalcoholic. However, fermentation could resume in the amphorae, and Caliph Umar II had to prohibit drinking this beverage.[37]
Like the rationalist school of Islamic theology, the Muʿtazila,[38] early Hanafi scholars upheld the unlawfulness of intoxication, but restricted its definition to fermented juice of grapes[39] or grapes and dates.[40] As a result, alcohol derived by means of honey, barley, wheat and millet such as beer, whisky or vodka was permitted according to some minor faction of followers of Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf, although all forms of grape alcohol were banned absolutely.[41] (Hanafis traced their view on intoxicants back to Umar (d.644) and Abdullah ibn Masud (c.653).)[42][need quotation to verify] This was in stark contrast to other schools of fiqh, which prohibit consumption of alcohol in all its forms.
Averroes, the Muslim Andalusi[43] polymath and jurist, explained in his encyclopedia of comparative Islamic jurisprudence the idea of alcohol derived from honey, wheat, barley or corn being haram when used as an intoxicant, in an amount that intoxicates, but permissible if used in a manner intended for medical purpose, hygiene, perfume, etc.:
In their argument by way of reasoning they said that the Koran has explicitly laid down that the Illa (underlying cause) of prohibition of khamr is that it prevents the remembrance of God and breeds enmity and hatred…[this is] found only in a certain quantity of the intoxicating liquor not in what is less than that; it follows therefore that only this quantity be prohibited.[44]
The distinction between the legal status of wine and non-grape alcoholic beverages was reflected in early Hanafi jurists delineated drinking-related offences into two categories:
- Drinking grape-derived wine (punishment applicable on drinking "even a drop").[45]
- Intoxication from non-grape intoxicants (certainly prohibited from a religious-moral perspective, but may or may not qualify for criminal punishment).[46][need quotation to verify]
Since the second category of punishment was specific to the Hanafis (other schools punish drinking regardless of intoxication), they had to come with a legal definition of drunkenness. These definitions ranged from Ibn Qutaybah's, "[a drunk is he] whose intellect has left him so he does not understand a little or much (anything at all)" to Ibn Nujaym's, "[a drunk is he who] does not know (the difference) between a man and a woman or the earth from the sky". Hanafi understanding of Shariah not only permitted adherents to indulge in alcoholic beverages but they could do so up to a near point of total "annihilation".[47]
However, from the 12th century, the Hanafi school embraced the general prohibition of all alcoholic beverages, in line with the other schools.[48]
Alcohol consumption as traditionally allowed
Contemporary Islamic scholar Shahab Ahmed (1966–2015) argued that fiqh prohibition and punishment of consumption of alcoholic beverages notwithstanding,
an equally distinctive mark of the history of Muslims has been a widely held and constantly reiterated alternative evaluation of wine in non-legal discourses where wine and the consumption thereof are invested with a positive meaning expressive of higher, indeed rarified value – and this positive meaning has been enacted in society both in literary reiteration and in the physical consumption of wine in social settings.[18]
Rudi Matthee also writes that many Muslim elites during the reign of the Umayyads, the Abbasids, Islamic Spain (al-Andalus), and dynasties that ruled Egypt and the eastern, Persianate half of the Muslim world consumed alcohol.[15]
Rather than being relegated to "‘bad’ or ‘non-observant’ Muslims, or talked about only as a metaphor for the mystic's ‘spiritual intoxication’ in the midst of the divine, wine consumption in the Islamic Golden Age was a mainstream literal practice, sometimes even intertwined with religious rituals.[18] "The Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi, for example, describes a party at a palace of Sultan Murad IV where wine was consumed, followed by mid-afternoon prayer and Quranic recitation."[18] 10th century polymath Abu Zayd al-Balkhi, in a "foundational work" of medicine, The Welfare of Bodies and Souls, waxed rhapsodic on the virtues of wine, "unique among all foods and drinks, for none of these have in them anything of which the pleasure is transported from the body to the soul, producing therein".[18] Physician and philosopher Ibn Sina (c.980-1037), sometimes known as Avicenna in the west, 'routinely drank wine in good company’ when ‘not engaged in the problem of defining God'.[18] According to Gina Hames some scholars argue that the Quran only prohibited wine drinking when used in pagan rituals or when misused to create social divisions or further Godlessness.[49]
Punishment
The Quran does not prescribe a penalty for consuming alcohol. Among hadith, the only reference for punishment comes from one by Anas ibn Malik (according to Murtaza Haider of the newspaper/website Dawn in Pakistan), who is reported to have stated that Muhammad prescribed 40 lashes "administered with two palm branches ... for someone accused of consuming alcohol".[3] Saudi Arabian scholar Muhammad Al-Munajjid also states that a hadith report narrated by Sahih Muslim (3281) from Anas reports that Muhammad flogged someone who had drunk wine with palm branches stripped of their leaves and with shoes.[50]
According to Muhammad Al-Munajjid, the consensus of classical fuqaha’ for the punishment for consumption of alcohol is flogging, but scholars do not agree on the number of lashes to be administered; "the majority of scholars are of the view that it is eighty lashes for a free man" and forty for slaves and women.[20] Similarly Murtaza Haider writes, "a consensus (ijmāʿ) on how to deal with alcohol has eluded Muslim jurists for more than a millennium". The "Maliki, Hanbali, and Hanafi schools" of Islamic jurisprudence consider 80 lashes to be lawful punishment, the Shafi’i school calls for 40 lashes. "The Hadith does not cover the matter in sufficient detail. ... Is it 40 or 80 lashes? Can one substitute palm branches with a cane or leather whips? What constitutes as proof for consumption?"[3]
Contemporary punishments in Muslim majority countries
- A man convicted of consuming alcohol was given 80 lashes in a public square in the Iranian city of Kashmar on 10 July 2018.[51]
- In Pakistan the penal code, under "the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order of 1979, awards 80 lashes to those convicted of consuming alcohol".[3] Non-Muslims may consume alcohol in licensed areas in Pakistan, but violating alcohol regulations there may result in "severe penalties, including fines, imprisonment, and public flogging in some regions".[52]
- In Saudi Arabia lashes "can also be part of the sentence" for consuming alcohol, according to the British Embassy.[53]
Contemporary state laws
Laws on alcohol consumption as of 2025 in some Muslim majority countries include:
- in the UAE, Muslims and non-Muslims are forbidden to drink except at home or in licensed venues like bars, clubs, and restaurants.[54]
- in Dubai, non-Muslims may consume alcohol, within licensed hotels, restaurants, and bars.[55]
- in Saudi Arabia, public consumption, sale, and importation of alcohol are generally prohibited. However, diplomats in compounds like Riyadh's Diplomatic Quarter (DQ) can import limited alcohol for personal use, and must obtain permits from their embassies. No-alcoholic beer and mocktails are permissible.[56]
See also
References
Notes
Citations
- ↑ Hans Wehr, J. Milton Cowan (1996). A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (4th ed.). Spoken Language Services.
- 1 2 Michalak, Laurence; Trocki, Karen; Katz, Kimberly (March 2009). ""I am a Muslim and My Dad is an Alcoholic -- What Should I Do?": Internet-Based Advice for Muslims about Alcohol". Journal of Muslim Mental Health. 4 (1): 47–66. doi:10.1080/15564900902771325. PMC 2877271. PMID 20514354.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Haider, Murtaza (29 October 2014). "Alcohol consumption in Pakistan: Don't mix sin with crime". Dawn. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Juan Eduardo Campo (2009). "Dietary Rules". In John L. Esposito (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-530513-5.
- 1 2 Fahd Salem Bahammam. Food and Dress in Islam: An explanation of matters relating to food and drink and dress in Islam. Modern Guide. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-909322-99-8.
- ↑ Michalak, Laurence; Trocki, Karen (1999-06-01). "Alcohol and Islam: An Overview". Contemporary Drug Problems. 33 (4): 523–562. doi:10.1177/009145090603300401. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
- ↑ "Nothing in the Quran Says Alcohol 'is Haram': Saudi Author". Morocco World News. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
- ↑ https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2015/03/120278/tunisian-philosopher-alcohol-not-forbidden-quran/
- ↑ https://www.britannica.com/topic/Alawite
- ↑ Michael Knight (10 December 2009). Journey to the End of Islam. Soft Skull Press. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-59376-552-1.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ "The Bektashis have stopped hiding".
- ↑ Soileau M (August 2012). "Spreading the Sofra: Sharing and Partaking in the Bektashi Ritual Meal". History of Religions. 52 (1): 1–30. doi:10.1086/665961. JSTOR 10.1086/665961. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ↑ https://www.turkish-cuisine.org/food-and-social-life-2/food-culture-of-alevis-and-bektashis-25.html?PagingIndex=1
- ↑ Introvigne, Massimo (2024-04-08). "The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light. 4. The Divine Just State". Bitter Winter. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
- 1 2 Matthee, Rudi (2023). "Alcohol in the Premodern Islamic World ( c . 600 to c . 1400)". Angels Tapping at the Wine-shop's Door. Oxford University Press. pp. 35–62. doi:10.1093/oso/9780197694718.003.0003. ISBN 978-0-19-769471-8.
- ↑ https://www.vinetowinecircle.com/en/history/islamic-legacy-and-viticulture/
- ↑ https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/mutazilah
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ruthven, Malise (8 September 2016). "More than a Religion. [Review of] What Is Islam? The Importance of Being Islamic by Shahab Ahmed". London Review of Books. 38 (17). Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ↑ https://www.decanter.com/features/wine-and-philosophy-246476/
- 1 2 "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor 2001 March 4, 2002". state.gov. United States Department of State. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ↑ "Jami' at-Tirmidhi 1875. Book 26, Hadith 15". Sunnah.com. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
- ↑ John Alden Williams (22 July 2010). The Word of Islam. University of Texas Press. pp. PT 116. ISBN 978-0-292-78667-7.
- ↑ John Alden Williams (28 September 2020). Islam. Library of Alexandria. pp. PT 117. ISBN 978-1-4655-8103-7.
- ↑ Malise Ruthven (23 October 1997). Islam: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, UK. pp. PT 68. ISBN 978-0-19-154011-0.
- ↑ Khan, Shaykh Nabil (9 November 2021). "Ruling of Vanilla Extract That Contains Trace Amounts of Alcohol". IslamQA.org. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
- ↑ Desai, Shaykh Ebrahim (28 July 2012). "My understanding is that alcohol by itself is not a forbidden substance – but the vast majority Muslims think it is (in fact, to be precise – the actual intoxicating chemical in wines…". IslamQA.org. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
- ↑ Quran 2:219
- ↑ Desai, Shaykh Siraj (27 September 2012). "Alcohol in Islam". IslamQA.org. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
- 1 2 3 Rajender, Kumar (2022). "Lesson 39 About Alcohol Consumption". Nugget of Wisdom from the Quran. United States. pp. 237–40. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ↑ "Surah An-Nisa - 43".
- ↑ Quran 5:90
- 1 2 Abu Dawood (3674), Ibn Maajah (3380), Al-Tirmidhi (1295) (accessed 7 September 2025)
- ↑ Abi Dawud. "27 Drinks (Kitab Al-Ashribah). Sunan Abi Dawud 3669. Book 27, Hadith 1. (Grade: Sahih (Al-Albani))". Sunna.com. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
- ↑ Ibn Kathir. "The Gradual Prohibition of Khamr (Alcoholic Drink)". Quran Tafsir Ibn Kathir. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ↑ Cahyaningrum, Lutfi Fitriani (2020). Pentahapan Pengharaman Khamr Sebagai Landasan Dakwah Islamiyah Telaah Terhadap Al-Quran (skripsi thesis) (in Indonesian). IAIN Kudus.
- ↑ Azeem, Hafiz Muhammad (17 January 2018). "Theory of Naskh (Abrogation) in Islamic Law". Hafiz Muhammad Azeem, Advocate. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- ↑ Tillier, Mathieu; Vanthieghem, Naïm (2022-09-02). "Des amphores rouges et des jarres vertes: Considérations sur la production et la consommation de boissons fermentées aux deux premiers siècles de l'hégire" (PDF). Islamic Law and Society. 30 (1–2): 1–64. doi:10.1163/15685195-bja10025. ISSN 0928-9380. S2CID 252084558.
- ↑ "Mutazilah", Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- ↑ Sa'eedi al-Hanafi, Ghulam Rasool. Sharh Sahih Muslim.
- ↑ "Alcohol: Its kinds, usage and Rulings | General Fiqh | Fiqh". www.central-mosque.com.
- ↑ Ruthven, Malisse (1997). slam: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 55.
The following is part of a discussion on prohibited liquors from the Hidayah of Burhanuddin al-Marghinani (d. 1197), a Hanafi faqih of Farghana in Central Asia (modern Uzbekistan). Beer, Whisky, and Vodka, according to this liberal Hanafi view, were permitted, although all forms of grape alcohol were banned absolutely: "..Liquor produced by means of honey, wheat, barley or millet is lawful, according to Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf (his most distinguished disciple)..
- ↑ Saeedi, Ghulam Rasool. Sharh Sahih Muslim. p. 200.
- ↑ Tamer, Georges (2011-02-01). "Averroism". Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE.
Averroism is a philosophical movement named after the sixth/twelfth-century Andalusian philosopher Ibn Rushd (Averroes, d. 595/1198), which began in the thirteenth century among masters of arts at the University of Paris and continued through the seventeenth century.
- ↑ Qurtubi, Ibn Rushd. The Distinguished Jurists Primer. p. 573.
- ↑ Nyazee, Imran Ahsan Khan. Islamic Jurisprudence: Uṣūl Al-Fiqh. p. 311.
- ↑ Fatawa-i Hindiyya. Maktaba Rahmaniyya. p. 344.
- ↑ Morrow, John Andrew. Islamic Images and Ideas: Essays on Sacred Symbolism. p. 83.
- ↑ Haider, Najam (2013). "Contesting Intoxication: Early Juristic Debates on the Lawfulness of Alcoholic Beverages". Islamic Law and Society. 20 (1): 48–89. doi:10.1163/15685195-0002A0002.
- ↑ Hames, Gina (2012). "3. Alcohol, cultural development and the rise of trade in the Post-Classical and early modern world". Alcohol in World History. Routledge. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-317-54870-6. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
Some scholars have argued that the prohibition of wine in the Quran was ambiguous, and that it was not the use of wine, per se, but the use of wine in pagan rituals that was outlawed. Other scholars have argued that rather than being explicitly forbidden like blood or pork or carrion, the Quran maintained that it was the misuse of alcohol that caused severe social problems. It could create divisions among men, and could separate them from God.
- ↑ "Search Results - Search Results - alcohol lashing Anas Bin Malik (page 1) - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)". sunnah.com.
- ↑ "Iranian man flogged 80 times for drinking alcohol as a child". BBC. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ↑ https://pakistani.org/pakistan/legislation/zia_po_1979/po4_1979.html
- ↑ "Q: Alcohol consumption in Saudi Arabia". answers.google.com. 25 June 2002. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ↑ "[Alcohol]". Hassan al-Riyama. 18 February 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
- ↑ "Alcohol in Dubai". Exploring Emirates. 29 March 2025. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
- ↑ "Is Alcohol Legal in Saudi Arabia in 2025?". Living in Arabia. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
