17/14. Chapter:
Jami at-Tirmidhi 1443 — Wine Drinking Penalty
What Has Been Related About Legal Punishment For The Drunkard
Hadith About Drinking Wine and the Legal Penalty
Jami at-Tirmidhi : 1443
Jami at-TirmidhiHadith Number 1443
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ قَتَادَةَ، يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ أَنَسٍ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّهُ أُتِيَ بِرَجُلٍ قَدْ شَرِبَ الْخَمْرَ فَضَرَبَهُ بِجَرِيدَتَيْنِ نَحْوَ الأَرْبَعِينَ وَفَعَلَهُ أَبُو بَكْرٍ فَلَمَّا كَانَ عُمَرُ اسْتَشَارَ النَّاسَ فَقَالَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَوْفٍ كَأَخَفِّ الْحُدُودِ ثَمَانِينَ . فَأَمَرَ بِهِ عُمَرُ . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى حَدِيثُ أَنَسٍ حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ . وَالْعَمَلُ عَلَى هَذَا عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَغَيْرِهِمْ أَنَّ حَدَّ السَّكْرَانِ ثَمَانُونَ .
Anas Narrated from:
A Man Who Had Drunk Wine Was Brought To The Prophet (ﷺ), So He Beat Him About Forty Times With Two Stalks Of A Palm Tree. So Abu Bakr Did Similarly, And By The Time 'Umar Became Khalifah He Sought Council From The People. And 'Abdur-Rahman Bin 'Awf Said: 'I See That The Lightest Penalty Is Eighty Lashes,' So 'Umar Ordered That.
Reference : Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1443In-book reference : Book 17, Hadith 26English translation : Vol. 3, Book 15, Hadith 1443
Summary of Jami at-Tirmidhi Hadith 1443
This hadith about drinking wine explains how the legal penalty was carried out in more than one stage. A man who had drunk wine was brought to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, and he beat him about forty times with two palm stalks. Abu Bakr did similarly. Later, when Umar became Khalifah, he consulted the people. Abdur-Rahman bin Awf suggested eighty lashes, calling it the lightest penalty, and Umar ordered it. The hadith is often searched as “forty or eighty lashes for wine hadith.” The text shows that the matter was treated seriously and was handled by leadership through legal process. It also shows Umar seeking counsel before making an order in a public legal matter.
What we learn from this hadith
- Drinking wine was treated as a punishable offense in this report.
- The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and Abu Bakr applied about forty blows in the narrated case.
- Umar consulted others before ordering eighty lashes.
- The hadith shows legal decisions being handled by recognized leadership.
