Response to: Mawia Drinking what was Prohibited by Holy Prophet

The following is a response to SlaveOfAhlubait’s article entitled: “Mawia Drinking what was Prohibited by Holy Prophet”. The article can be found here.

In this short article, SoA quotes the following narration:

Abdullah bin Buraida said that I went to Mawia alongwith my father; Mawia made us sit on the floor with respect; food was brought for us; and that was followed by drink (wine); Mawia drank it; and gave it to my father; my father replied that he has not drink it from the time Holy Prophet has forbidden it; Mawia said that I was the most beautiful man of Quraish with smart neck; and did not enjoy anything other than milk and nice conversation

While the narration appears to imply that what was brought was indeed an intoxicant, there is an alternative interpretation that we would rather share. Firstly, the narration does not say that the drink that was brought was wine. It simply says that a drink was brought.

When Buraida says that he didn’t drink “it” since the time of the Prophet (salalahu alaihi wa salam), it appears as though he is talking about intoxicants in general. It is not necessary that he is talking about the drink that was brought to them.

It seems as though the drink that was brought was milk, since Mu’awiyah himself is praising milk and saying that it is his favorite drink ever since he was young. It is not likely for Mu’awiyah to be praising milk and saying that he enjoys nothing but milk while he is drinking an intoxicant.

Now, even though this interpretation may seem farfetched, it is supported by the following tradition from Ibn Abi Shaybah:

حدثنا زيد بن الحباب عن حسين بن واقد قال حدثنا عبد الله بن بريدة قال : قال : دخلت أنا وأبي على معاوية فأجلس أبي على السرير وأتى بالطعام فأطعمنا ، وأتى بشراب فشرب ، فقال معاوية ، ما شئ كنت أستلذة وأنا شاب فأخذه اليوم إلا اللبن ، فإني آخذه كما كنت آخذه قبل اليوم ، والحديث الحسن.

“My father and I entered upon Mu’awiyah, and he made us sit on the bed and brought us some food and drink. He then drank. Then he said: There is nothing that I enjoyed as a young man that I still consume today like laban (milk), for I consume today like I consumed it in the past, and a good conversation.”

As the text shows, the first narration includes a conversation about intoxicants that isn’t present in the second narration. The second narration clearly dictates that it is milk that was consumed during this conversation.

Another reason to hold the view that Mu’awiyah did not consume intoxicants is because he is one of the Sahaba that ordered the lashing of those that drank alcohol. See Musnad Ahmad #16244, #16256, #16265, #16283, and #16318.

With this in mind, it is not fathomable that he would narrate such narrations and drink it, while at the same time randomly be praising milk in the same narration.