Concerning the Hadeeth ''Allaah Curses the Person Who Drinks Before Someone Else Who Needs that Drink''
Question:
Is the following popular saying an authentic Hadeeth "Allaah curses the person who drinks before someone else who needs that drink."
Answer:
This Hadeeth is not authentically attributable to the Prophet (sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam), even though, as you said, it is on the tongues of many people. It is compulsory for a Muslim to be careful about what he ascribes to the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam) regardless of whether he ascribes to him a saying or whether he ascribes to him a deed, because to lie upon the Prophet (sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam) is not the same as lying upon one of us: to lie upon the Prophet (sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam) is to make a lie upon Allaah's Shari'ah.
From the Hadeeths that are famous among people but nonetheless have no basis are the following:
- "The love of one's home country is a part of faith."
- "The best of names are those that are praised and worshipped."
- "The stomach is a house of disease, and a good diet is the head of the cure."
What is important here is to note that we must be very careful about what we ascribe to the Prophet (sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam), so that we do not fall under the category of those about whom the Prophet (sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam) said,
ãä ßÐÈ Úáí ãÊÚãÏÇ ÝáíÊÈæà ãÞÚÏå ãä ÇáäÇÑ
"Whoever lies upon me on purpose, then let him take his seat in the Fire." (Al-Bukhari no. 107,110 and Muslim no. 3)
And he (sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam) also said,
ãä ÍÏË Úäí ÈÍÏíË íÑì Ãäå ßÐÈ Ýåæ ÃÍÏ ÇáßÇÐÈíä
"Whoever relates about me a saying, knowing that it is a lie, then he is one of the liars." (Muslim Al-Muqaddamah)
Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih al-`Uthaymeen
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 7, Pages 180-181, DARUSSALAM