Explanation of the Book of Ablution, Ghusl, Menstruation, and Tayammum-08b

The reciter: Alī ibn ‘Abd Allāh narrated to us, saying: Sufyān narrated to us, saying: Al-Zuhrī narrated to us from Abū Salmah from ‘Ā’ishah from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: .

The Shaykh : It is not permissible to perform wudu’ with nabīdh, because it has ceased to be water and become nabīdh. Nabīdh is that in which dates, raisins, barley, wheat, or something similar is steeped. It is steeped, meaning placed in water, and left for a day or two, then drunk. Therefore, it is not permissible for a person to perform wudu’ with nabīdh, because it is a drink that has ceased to be water. Likewise, intoxicating khamr; that is, if this nabīdh ferments until it intoxicates, it is not permissible to perform wudu’ with it, because it has ceased to be water. But is the intoxicant impure or not?
There is scholarly disagreement on this. And what is an intoxicant? Is everything that covers the mind an intoxicant?
No. For this reason, we say that anesthesia is not an intoxicant, because it covers the mind but is not an intoxicant. An intoxicant is that which covers the mind in a state of pleasure and delight, meaning the person feels a buzz and pleasure. Does the one who is anesthetized feel this?
No. So anesthesia is not an intoxicant. As for the intoxicant, it is that which covers the mind in a state of pleasure and delight. This is forbidden by the Book, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus. But is it impure?
The majority of scholars and the consensus of the Muslim community hold that it is impure. The correct view is that it is not impure in a tangible sense. We have mentioned the evidence for this previously.
‘Ata’ said: “Tayammum is more beloved to me than wudu’ with nabīdh and milk”. This is clear. In fact, it is not permissible to perform wudu’ with nabīdh and milk because it is not water. Accordingly, his saying: “more beloved” is a comparative form used where the second item has nothing of the quality, because a comparative form indicates that both the preferred and the less preferred share the original quality.
Sometimes, the less preferred item has absolutely nothing of the quality. Among such examples is the saying of Allah the Exalted: and His saying: There is no excellence in the abode of the Fire or the resting place of the Fire.
Then he said: So the criterion is intoxication. Whenever a drink intoxicates, it is forbidden. Likewise, if food intoxicates; if there is a dough containing khamr and a person eats from it and becomes intoxicated, the ruling on it is like that of the drink.