Is the prescribed legal punishment (hadd) obligatory for drinking a small or large amount of intoxicant?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Beverages (Intoxicants)
Primary text
The prescribed legal punishment is obligatory upon anyone who drinks an intoxicant, whether the amount is small or large. This position is held by my Imam (Imam Ahmad), Al-Hasan, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, Qatadah, Al-Awza'i, Malik, and Al-Shafi'i. The evidence is the Prophet's saying: Whoever drinks wine, flog him, narrated by Abu Dawud and others. Since every intoxicant is legally considered *khamr* (wine), the Hadith encompasses both the small and large quantities. Furthermore, because it is a drink containing intoxicating power, the *hadd* must be applied even to the small amount, similar to wine itself. The disagreement regarding specific intoxicants does not prevent the obligation of the *hadd*, as demonstrated by the case of someone who believes it to be permissible but is still punished. Umar ibn Al-Khattab flogged Qudamah ibn Math'un and his companions, despite their belief that what they drank was permissible.
Supporting text
A group holds that the punishment is not obligatory unless intoxication actually occurs. This view is held by Abu Wa'il, Al-Nakha'i, many people of Kufa, and the People of Opinion (Ashab al-Ra'y). Abu Thawr stated that if one drinks it while believing it to be forbidden, the *hadd* is applied. If one drinks it based on an interpretative legal opinion (*ta'awwul*), there is no *hadd* because the matter is disputed, resembling marriage without a guardian (wali).