The Book of Drinks

Wasil ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿla narrated to us, from Ibn Fudayl, from al-Aʿmash, from Yahya ibn Abi ʿUmar, from Ibn ʿAbbas, who said: Raisin nabidh used to be prepared for the Messenger of Allah overnight in a waterskin. He would drink it that day, the next day, and the day after. On the evening of the third day he would drink it—or give it to someone else to drink—and if any remained the next morning, he would pour it away.

Suwayd reported to us: ʿAbdullah informed us, from ʿUbaydullah, from Nafiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar, that raisin nabidh would be prepared for him in a waterskin in the morning, and he would drink it that evening. It would be prepared for him in the evening, and he would drink it the following morning. He used to wash the waterskins and put no sediment or anything in them. Nafiʿ said: ‘We used to drink it like honey.’

Suwayd reported to us: ʿAbdullah informed us, from Bassam, who said: I asked Abu Jaʿfar about nabidh. He said: ʿAli ibn al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) would have it prepared for him at night and drink it in the morning; and have it prepared for him in the morning and drink it at night.

Suwayd reported to us: ʿAbdullah informed us: I heard Sufyan being asked about nabidh. He said: ‘Prepare it in the evening and drink it in the morning.’

Suwayd reported to us: ʿAbdullah informed us, from Sulayman al-Taymi, from Abu ʿUthman—who was not al-Nahdi—that Umm al-Fadl sent to Anas ibn Malik to ask him about nabidh made in jars. He related to her from his son, al-Nadr, that it used to be prepared in a jar in the morning and drunk in the evening.

Suwayd reported to us: ʿAbdullah informed us, from Maʿmar, from Qatadah, from Saʿid ibn al-Musayyib, that he used to disapprove of putting the second extraction of nabidh into nabidh so that it would become stronger through that extraction.

Suwayd reported to us: ʿAbdullah informed us, from Sufyan, from Dawud ibn Abi Hind, from Saʿid ibn al-Musayyib, that he said regarding nabidh: ‘Its intoxicant is its sediment.’

Suwayd reported to us: ʿAbdullah informed us, from Shuʿbah, from Qatadah, from Saʿid ibn al-Musayyib, who said: ‘Khamr was so named because it is left until its clear part has gone and its turbid part remains.’ He used to disapprove of anything steeped over sediment.

Abu Bakr ibn ʿAli reported to us: al-Qawariri narrated to us: Ibn Abi Zaʾidah narrated to us: Hasan ibn ʿAmr narrated to us, from Fudayl ibn ʿAmr, from Ibrahim, who said: ‘They used to hold that whoever drank a beverage and became intoxicated from it should not drink it again.’

Suwayd reported to us: ʿAbdullah informed us, from Sufyan, from Mughira, from Abu Maʿshar, from Ibrahim, who said: ‘There is no harm in nabidh made from bukhtuj.’

Suwayd reported to us: ʿAbdullah informed us, from Abu ʿAwanah, from Abu Miskin, who said: I asked Ibrahim: ‘We take the sediment of wine or tila, clean it, then steep raisins in it three times; then we strain it, leave it until it matures, and drink it.’ He said: ‘It is disapproved.’

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us: Jarir informed us, from Ibn Shubrumah, who said: ‘May Allah have mercy on Ibrahim. People were strict regarding nabidh, while he allowed it.’

ʿUbaydullah ibn Saʿid narrated to us, from Abu Usamah, who said: I heard Ibn al-Mubarak say: ‘I have found no soundly transmitted concession regarding an intoxicant from anyone except Ibrahim.’

ʿUbaydullah ibn Saʿid reported to us: I heard Abu Usamah say: ‘I have never seen anyone more avid in seeking knowledge than ʿAbdullah ibn al-Mubarak, across Syria, Egypt, Yemen, and the Hijaz.’

Al-Rabiʿ ibn Sulayman reported to us: Asad ibn Musa narrated to us: Hammad ibn Salamah narrated to us, from Thabit, from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: ‘Umm Sulaym had a wooden cup made of palm branches. She said: I served the Messenger of Allah ﷺ every kind of drink in it: water, honey, milk, and nabidh.’

Suwayd reported to us: ʿAbdullah informed us, from Sufyan, from Salamah ibn Kuhayl, from Dharr ibn ʿAbdullah, from Saʿid ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Abza, from his father, who said: I asked Ubayy ibn Kaʿb about nabidh. He said: ‘Drink water, drink honey, drink sawiq, and drink the milk that nourished you.’ I asked him again, and he said: ‘Are you seeking wine? Are you seeking wine?’

Ahmad ibn ʿAli ibn Saʿid ibn Ibrahim informed me: al-Qawariri narrated to us: Muʿtamir ibn Sulayman narrated to us, from his father, from Muhammad, from ʿAbidah, from Ibn Masʿud, who said: ‘People have introduced drinks; I do not know what they are. For twenty years—or he said, forty years—I have had no drink except water and sawiq.’ The source adds: ‘He did not mention nabidh.’

Suwayd reported to us: ʿAbdullah informed us, from Ibn ʿAwn, from Muhammad ibn Sirin, from ʿAbidah, who said: ‘People have introduced drinks that I do not know what they are. For twenty years I have had no drink except water, milk, and honey.’

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us: Jarir informed us, from Ibn Shubrumah, who said: Talhah said to the people of Kufa: ‘In nabidh there is a tribulation in which the young grow up and the old grow feeble.’ He said: Whenever they held a wedding among them, Talhah and al-Zubayr would serve milk and honey. Talhah was asked: ‘Why do you not serve them nabidh?’ He said: ‘I dislike a Muslim becoming intoxicated because of me.’

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us: Jarir informed us that Ibn Shubrumah used to drink nothing but water and milk.