Answering-Ansar Unveiled

AA in its full of ignorance allegations on Caliph Umar says

Hadhrath Umar’s love of ‘Nabidh’ alcohol

Nabidh is a drink that is prepared by fermenting crushed dates / grapes. It was Hadhrath Umar’s favourite alcoholic drink.

We read in Muwatta of Imam Malik, Book 45, Number 45.6.21, Chapter Madina:

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim that Aslam, the mawla of Umar ibn al-Khattab informed him that he had visited Abdullah ibn Ayyash al-Makhzumi. He saw that he had some nabidh with him and he was at that moment on the way to Makka. Aslam said to him, ”Umar ibn al-Khattab loves this drink.” Abdullah ibn Ayyash therefore carried a great drinking bowl and brought it to Umar ibn al-Khattab and placed it before him. Umar brought it near to him and then raised his head. Umar said, “This drink is good,” so he drank some of it and then passed it to a man on his right”.

Umar drank Nabidh alcohol on his deathbed

We are quoting from Ahl’ul Sunnah’s classical work Riyadh al Nadira Volume 2 page 351:

“Whilst on his deathbed, Umar became deeply affected by the wound and his physician asked Umar ‘Which alcohol would you like to drink?’ Umar said ‘alcohol called nabidh is my preferred choice. This drink was then administered to Umar”.
 Riyadh al Nadira Volume 2 page 351

There is no way that Ahl’ul Sunnah can claim that ‘Nabidh’ does not constitute alcohol, since Rasulullah (s) had specifically referred to this as haraam. We read in Sunan Abu Daud Book 26, Number 3707:

“Narrated Abu Hurayrah:
I knew that the Apostle of Allah (saww) used to keep fast. I waited for the day when he did not fast to present him the drink (nabidh), which I made in a pumpkin. I then brought it to him while it fermented. He said: Throw it to this wall, for this is a drink of the one who does not believe in Allah and the Last Day”.

Our opponents should examine the text that says clearly that Umar had requested “Nabidh”. It is unfortunate that even on his deathbed the second Khalifa’s thoughts were on drinking alcohol. Umar’s alcoholic way, even until his deathbed means that under the Shari’a it would have not have been permissible for Imam ‘Ali (as) to marry his daughter to Umar.

Actually ibn Hashmi had refuted this argument. Let me quote from ahlelbayt website

In regards to “Nabidh”, this accusation by Answering-Ansar is probably the most deceptive, dishonest, and weasel-like twisting of the truth that I have seen in their article. Answering-Ansar claims that Nabidh is an alcoholic drink and then they quote a narration in which Umar is asking for it on his deathbed. Once you find out the truth on this matter, you might even chuckle at the trickiness of the Answering-Ansar team.

What is Nabidh? It is a drink made of grapes; it is an Arab grape-juice. Since when is grape-juice Haram? After Umar left alcohol, he took up grape-juice as his favorite drink. As even a half-wit knows, wine is made by fermented grapes. Fermentation means that the drink is left out for so long that it grows yeast and thereby becomes toxic. Therefore, the conclusion we reach is that grape-juice is Halal but if it becomes fermented, then it becomes Haram. Thus, Nabidh is Halal if it hasn’t fermented. We can find the following fatwa on Al-Islam.com which says quite clearly: “Permissibility of Nabidh which is not ripe nor becomes intoxicant” (http://hadith.al-islam.com/Bayan/tree.asp?Lang=eng&ID=712)

Nabidh refers to grape-juice or alternatively also to date-juice. Either way, it is considered a juice, and only when it ferments does it become Haram. Nobody would ever be so bold as to declare the juice from grapes to be Haram, but if it is allowed to sit for a long time, it will rot and then grow yeast (thereby becoming fermented). It is this yeast which gives the drink its toxic effects, and this is the same process used by alcohol manufacturers even today.

And then he further adds

The Prophet rejected the drink because he noticed fermentation. Otherwise, the Prophet commonly drank Nabidh which was not fermented yet. There are many narrations to this effect:

In Sahih Muslim (3748), it is narrated by Anas: “I served honey, juice (Nabidh), water, and milk in my cup for Allah’s Messenger to drink from.”

In another narration also in Sahih Muslim (3747), it is narrated by Sahl bin Sa’d: “…Allah’s Messenger then set forth on that day along with his Companions to the Saqifah of Banu Sa’idah and sat there. He (the Messenger) then said to Sahl: ‘Serve us to drink.’ He (Sahl) said: ‘I brought out for them this bowl with juice (Nabidh) and served them.’”

Sahl bin Sa’d narrated in Sahih Muslim (3746): “Abu Usaid Al-Sa’idi invited Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) to his wedding feast, and his wife had been serving them on that day while yet a bride. Sahl said: ‘Do you know what she served as drink to Allah’s Messenger?’ She had soaked the dates in water during the night in a big bowl, and when he (the Holy Prophet) had eaten food she served him this drink (Nabidh).”

Based on this, we can only conclude that Nabidh is a harmless juice made out of either grape-juice or date-juice. It is commonly known that Nabidh is not forbidden unless it ferments and thereby becomes toxic. The Shia of Answering-Ansar are simply preying on the ignorance of its English-speaking audiences. This was a very deceptive argument, and it really brings to question the credibility of Answering-Ansar who use such dishonest arguments. Perhaps it is that they enjoy doing Taqiyyah (deceit) since it is part of their faith to do so.

I would like to add something.

There are Shia narrations to this effect also.

Imam Jafar was asked about Nabidh , he said : it is halal.

عن عبد الرحمن بن الحجاج قال: استأذنت لبعض أصحابنا على أبي عبد الله عليه السلام فسأله عن النبيذ فقال: حلال

Wasail al Shia, Vol. 25, p. 339

A similar narration is present in Madinatul Muajiz by Hashim Buhrani

Kalbi says that I said to Imam Jafar: What do you say about Nabidh? He said : It is halal

Madinatul Muajiz, Vol. 5, p. 463

What to speak about drinking, we have the statements of Shia scholars who have said that wudhu (ablution) can be done with nabidh, because the Prophet (peace be upon him) did so.

Shaikh Saduq says in Man la yahduruhul faqih,

ولا بأس بالتوضوء بالنبيذ لان النبي صلى الله عليه وآله قد توضأ به

There is no problem in performing ablution with nabidh , for the Prophet (s) performed ablution with it.

Man la yahdhuruhul faqih, Vol. 1, p. 15

Some Shias on forums try to claim that it was alcohol and not an ordinary drink. There confusion is basically from the term ‘sharaab’ while what ‘sharaab’ actually means in Arabic is a drink, it can be alcohol also, but it is not necessary. In this case,there was no need for AA to translate it as alcohol.

Let me quote a narration from Shaikh Saduq’s book Khisal

عن أبي عبدالله عليه السلام قال: كلوا البطيخ فإن فيه عشر خصال هو شحمة الارض لاداء فيه ولا غائلة، وهو طعام وهو شراب وهو فاكهة وهو ريحان وهو إشنان وهو ادم ويزيد في الباه ويغسل المثانة، ويدر البول

It has been narrated from Imam Jafar that he said: Eat melons since they have ten characteristics. First of all they are the fat from the Earth and cause no pains or harms. They are food and beverage at the same time. They are fruit, flowers, cleansing the teeth, and like bread for the stew. They improve sexual ability. They wash out the bladder and act as an aquaretic.

Khisal, Vol. 2, p. 114

Besides this, I don’t know why AA tried to reject the marriage of Umar with the daughter of Ali when it has been narrated in authentic reports, and it is mentioned in more than three dozen Sunni Shia books, and major Shia Scholars like Majlisi and others have clearly testified and AA tried to reject this marriage with these extremely ignorant arguements twisted excerpts from books and reports the authenticity of which is not known. Anyhow, AA will be reaping the burden of the lies and distortions it spread in its website.