What is the prescribed legal punishment (Hadd) for consuming alcohol?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Beverages (Intoxicants)
Primary text
The established legal punishment for consuming alcohol is eighty lashes. This position is held by Malik, ath-Thawri, Abu Hanifa, and their followers. The evidence cited is the consensus (Ijma) of the Companions. It is reported that Umar consulted the people regarding the punishment for wine consumption, and Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf suggested setting it at the lightest of the prescribed punishments, which was eighty. Umar then implemented eighty lashes and wrote to Khalid and Abu Ubaidah in the Levant regarding this ruling. Furthermore, Ali stated during the consultation that when a person is intoxicated, they engage in delirious speech, and delirious speech constitutes slander (Iftira), thus they were punished according to the Hadd for slander.
Supporting text
The second established ruling is that the punishment is forty lashes. This view is favored by Abu Bakr and constitutes the school of thought of ash-Shafi'i. This is supported by Ali flogging Al-Walid ibn Uqba forty times and stating, 'The Prophet (peace be upon him) administered forty lashes,' and that Abu Bakr administered forty, while Umar administered eighty, and the established practice (Sunnah) here is forty, which is preferred. Evidence is found in the narration where the Prophet (peace be upon him) had a man who drank wine flogged about forty times with sandals, and Abu Bakr followed this practice. The addition made by Umar to eighty lashes is interpreted as a discretionary punitive measure (Ta'zir) permissible for the Imam to implement when deemed necessary, as the action of the Prophet, Abu Bakr, and Ali establishes a proof that cannot be abandoned by the actions of others, nor can consensus be formed upon what contradicts the actions of the Prophet and the two Caliphs.