44/90. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 4664 — The Ban on Selling Wine
Selling Wine
Hadith About Selling Wine: What Is Forbidden to Drink Is Forbidden to Sell
Sunan an-Nasai : 4664
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 4664
أَخْبَرَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ، عَنِ ابْنِ وَعْلَةَ الْمِصْرِيِّ، أَنَّهُ سَأَلَ ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ عَمَّا يُعْصَرُ مِنَ الْعِنَبِ قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ أَهْدَى رَجُلٌ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم رَاوِيَةَ خَمْرٍ فَقَالَ لَهُ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " هَلْ عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ حَرَّمَهَا " . فَسَارَّ وَلَمْ أَفْهَمْ مَا سَارَّ كَمَا أَرَدْتُ فَسَأَلْتُ إِنْسَانًا إِلَى جَنْبِهِ فَقَالَ لَهُ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " بِمَ سَارَرْتَهُ " . قَالَ أَمَرْتُهُ أَنْ يَبِيعَهَا . فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّ الَّذِي حَرَّمَ شُرْبَهَا حَرَّمَ بَيْعَهَا " . فَفَتَحَ الْمَزَادَتَيْنِ حَتَّى ذَهَبَ مَا فِيهِمَا .
Ibn Wa'lah Misri Narrated from:
It was narrated from Ibn Wa'lah Misri that he asked Ibn 'Abbas about what is produced from grapes. Ibn'Abbas said: "A man gave the Messenger of Allah a skin full of wine, and the Prophet said to him;' did you know that Allah has forbidden it?' He whispered something and I did not understand what he whispered as I wanted to. I asked a person who was beside him and the Prophet said to him; 'What are you whispering about?' He said: 'I told him to sell it.' The Prophet said: 'The One Who forbade drinking it also forbade selling it.' Then he opened the vessels and poured out their contents.
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 4664In-book reference : Book 44, Hadith 216English translation : Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 4668
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 4664
This Hadith explains the issue of wine trade in a very clear way. Ibn Abbas was asked about what is produced from grapes. He then mentioned a man who gave the Messenger of Allah a skin full of wine. The Prophet asked whether he knew that Allah had forbidden it. When someone advised the man to sell it, the Prophet said that the One Who forbade drinking it also forbade selling it. Then the vessels were opened and the contents were poured out. For people searching for hadith about selling wine, this narration gives the main principle found in the text: drinking it was forbidden, and selling it was also forbidden. The report teaches that income from a forbidden item is not treated as a clean escape from the prohibition.
What we learn from this hadith
- Wine was not to be kept as a sale item after its prohibition was known.
- The Prophet linked the ban on drinking wine to the ban on selling it.
- The contents were poured out instead of being sold.
- A Muslim should not seek profit through something clearly forbidden in the text.
