al-Ashriba wa Dhikr Ikhtilaf al-Nas fiha li Ibn Qutayba
- Author died
- 276 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat Zahrā' al-Sharq
al-Ashriba wa Dhikr Ikhtilaf al-Nas fiha (The Book of Drinks and the Disagreement of People Concerning Them) is a 9th-century legal and philological treatise by the scholar Ibn Qutaybah (213–276 AH / 828–889 CE) examining the Islamic jurisprudence, linguistic definitions, and early scholarly differences surrounding wine (khamr) and fermented beverages (nabidh).
Subject Matter and Scope
The treatise investigates the classification and legal status of beverages, distinguishing between drinks whose prohibition is unanimously established and those subject to juristic disagreement among the early Muslim generations. Ibn Qutaybah defines grape wine that ferments and foams without being touched by fire as unanimously forbidden (khamr) in any amount, whereas fermented drinks prepared from dates, raisins, grain, or honey (nabidh) were subjects of divergent views among early authorities.
The work records the varieties of regional beverages in early Islamic geography, such as the date and unripe-date drinks of Medina, grape wine in Persia, honey wine (bit') and barley drink (mizr) in Yemen, and sorghum wine (sukkarakah) in Abyssinia.
Legal Argumentation and Method
Ibn Qutaybah adopts a mediating juristic framework, stating his conclusion that the prohibition of grape wine (khamr) is established directly by the Quran, whereas the prohibition of intoxicating fermented drinks (nabidh) is established by the prophetic Sunnah, and abstaining from drinks that merely change or induce slight torpor is a matter of moral discipline (ta'dib).
He critiques rigorous jurists who leveled blanket prohibitions against all forms of nabidh without distinguishing between cooked and uncooked preparations or between grape wine and date infusions. He argues that such strictness led these jurists to erroneously accuse early figures—including participants in the Battle of Badr and prominent Successors—of committing sins or drinking prohibited wine under mistaken legal interpretation.
Ibn Qutaybah also addresses legal logic and analogical reasoning regarding intoxication, analyzing arguments over whether the ultimate cup causing intoxication is the sole prohibited drink or whether the preceding non-intoxicating cups share in the prohibition, comparing cumulative consumption to multiple wounds leading to death.
Philology, Exegesis, and Literary Content
The work integrates Quranic exegesis, Hadith, Arabic lexicography, and classical poetry to elucidate the terminology of drinking:
- Quranic Interpretation: Ibn Qutaybah explains the term rijs in the prohibition verse إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالْأَنْصَابُ وَالْأَزْلَامُ رِجْسٌ مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ as signifying spiritual transgression and disobedience rather than sensory filth, drawing comparisons to descriptions of wine in Paradise, where earthly defects such as headaches, exhaustion, and loss of intellect are absent.
- Linguistic and Poetic Citations: He adduces lines of pre-Islamic and early Islamic poetry from poets such as al-A'sha, al-Musayyab ibn 'Alas, al-Nabigha al-Ja'di, Ibn Muqbil, and al-'Utbi to explain vernacular idioms, drinking customs, and the linguistic derivation of terms like nadim (boon-companion) from nadama (regret).
- Narratives and Maxims: He cites anecdotes regarding early figures, including Malik ibn Dinar, Wahb ibn Munabbih, and Shu'ayb ibn Yazid, illustrating early attitudes toward legal scrupulousness and the social vices associated with inebriation.
Transmission and Modern Publication
The text was transmitted through chains of transmission recorded by bibliographers such as Ibn Khayr al-Ishbili, including the transmission line through Abu Ja'far al-Baghdadi from Ibn Qutaybah, as well as chains descending through the grammarian Ibn Durustawayh.
A primary surviving manuscript was preserved in Cairo within the Mustafa Pasha collection at the Khedivial Library (Dar al-Kutub al-Khidiwiyyah), transcribed by the copyist Abd al-Halim ibn Ahmad al-Luji in Muharram 1105 AH. The text was edited and published in the early 20th century by the French orientalist Arthur Guy.
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