‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that ‘Umar, while standing on the Prophet's pulpit, said: "O people, the prohibition of wine was revealed, which is made of five things: grapes, dates, honey, wheat, and barley. Wine is anything that clouds the mind (i.e. intoxicates). There are three things that I wish the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had left us something decisive to which we would refer: the grandfather (his share of inheritance), the Kalālah (one who leaves neither ascendants nor descendants), and some questions related to usury."
GradingAuthentic hadith
AttributionNarrated by Bukhari & Muslim
Explanation
‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him), standing on the Prophet's pulpit in his mosque, delivered a sermon in which he stated that wine is everything that intoxicates, not just wine that is made of grapes, rather, all intoxicating beverages made of dates, honey or wheat; are all considered wine. ‘Umar also mentioned in his sermon three problematic issues which he wished the Prophet had left a decisive ruling regarding them before his death. They are: the grandfather's share of inheritance, division of the estate of one who leaves neither ascendants nor descendants, and some questions related to usury. Praise be to Allah, the rulings on these three issues are known. This Hadīth does not mean that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) did not mention these issues at all, for he had indeed delivered the message and fulfilled the trust and conveyed from Allah matters that are less known and less significant than these three. However, ‘Umar only wished that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had left an explicit statement regarding them that would not be subject to Ijtihād (independent reasoning).