IS NON-KHAMR ALCOHOL PERMITTED IN ĤANAFĪ FIQH?

It is indeed correct that the opinion of Imām Abū Ĥanīfah and Imām Abū Yūsuf was that non-khamr alcohol is permitted to drink and is pure, on condition it is not drunk for merry-making nor does it cause intoxication. https://twitter.com/TLPHasnainDar/status/1352346780638261252

However, for centuries the verdict has been issued according to the opinion of Imām Muĥammad al-Shaybānī, which is that all alcohol is impermissible ad impure, even in small amounts.

This is the muftā bihī qawl, i.e. the one upon which fatwā is issued and one cannot oppose this.

Állāmah Muĥammad Álāuddīn al-Ĥaşkafī al-Ĥanafī [1025-1028 AH / 1616-1677 CE] writes in Durr al-Mukhtār:

❝{And Muĥammad [al-Shaybānī] declared them Ĥarām} That is, [alcoholic] drinks made from honey, figs and similar to them [i.e. wheat, barley etc].

The author states {Completely} a small amount of it and a large amount of it {and upon it the fatwā is given}.❞

Sayyid Muĥammad Ibn Áābidīn al-Ĥanafī al-Shāmī [1198-1252 AH / 1784-1836 CE] writes in Radd al-Muĥtār, commenting on the above:

❝{And upon it the fatwā is given}

that is, upon the opinion of Muĥammad, and that is the opinion of the three Imāms, due to his statement ﷺ, ❛Every intoxicant is khamr, and every intoxicant is Ĥarām❜, narrated by Muslim. And his statement ﷺ, ❛Whatever intoxicates in large amounts,

then a small amount of it is Ĥarām.❜ Narrated by Aĥmad, Ibn Mājah and Dār Quţnī, and he graded it şaĥīĥ.❞

He further quotes the Ĥanafī fuqahā’a who stated:

❝The fatwā in our times is upon the opinion of Muĥammad due to the spread of fasād.❞

He then states:

❝I say: The apparent is that their intent is it being completely Ĥarām, and closing the door altogether.❞

It is also in Durr al-Mukhtār, quoting Bazzāziyyah:

❝Muĥammad stated: Whatever intoxicates in large amounts, then a small amount of it is Ĥarām,

and it is also an impurity, and if he becomes intoxicated by it, the mukhtār [chosen] in our times is that he is given the Ĥadd.❞

Şadru’sh Sharīáh Mawlānā Amjad Álī al-Aáżamī al-Ĥanafī [1300-1367 AH / 1882-1948 CE] writes in Bahār e Sharīát, listing impure substances:

❝Every kind of alcohol, and every kind of intoxicating alcoholic drink❞

Therefore it is clear that the verdict in our times, as it has been for centuries, is that even the alcoholic liquid which is not linguistically khamr is impermissible and impure.

If someone gives the verdict according to the opinion of Imām Abū Ĥanīfah and Imām Abū Yūsuf,

then he must also permit the consumption of non-khamr alcoholic drinks such as beer and whiskey, with the aforementioned conditions.

Mufti Zahid Hussain explains this point and elaborates on the importance of following the mufti bihī qawl.