Short answer
Nabidh is water in which dates or raisins have been soaked to sweeten it. The Prophet ﷺ drank it, and it is halal as long as it has not fermented into something intoxicating. He would drink it for up to about three days and then have what remained poured away.
Nabidh is halal and a drink of the Sunnah while it is sweet and not intoxicating. The Hanafi fatwa follows Imam Muhammad that once any drink becomes intoxicating, every amount of it is haram.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Nabidh (also spelled nabeez) comes from a word meaning to throw in or soak. People in Madinah put a handful of dates or raisins in water, often in a leather skin, overnight. The water became sweet and nourishing, which was welcome where well water was often brackish.
Ibn Abbas described how nabidh was made for the Prophet ﷺ at the start of the night. He drank it the next day, the following night and the day after until the afternoon; then whatever was left was given to a servant or poured out. The reason for stopping is that in the heat, soaked fruit soon begins to ferment.
To make it today:
- Soak a few dates or a handful of raisins in a jug of water, covered, overnight.
- Drink it the next day; keeping it in the fridge slows fermentation.
- Do not keep it for days at room temperature. If it fizzes, smells sour or alcoholic, or tastes sharp, pour it away.
Imam Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf allowed some fermented drinks other than wine, such as lightly cooked date or raisin nabidh and drinks of honey, wheat or barley, in an amount that does not intoxicate and not for amusement. The later Hanafi fatwa follows Imam Muhammad, in line with the other schools: any amount of an intoxicating drink is haram (see how much alcohol is haram). For modern fermented drinks see kombucha, and for dates in the Sunnah see eating dates.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nahl 16:67
وَمِن ثَمَرَٰتِ ٱلنَّخِيلِ وَٱلْأَعْنَٰبِ تَتَّخِذُونَ مِنْهُ سَكَرًۭا وَرِزْقًا حَسَنًا ۗ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَءَايَةًۭ لِّقَوْمٍۢ يَعْقِلُونَ ﴿٦٧﴾
And from the fruits of the palm trees and grapevines you take intoxicant and good provision. Indeed in that is a sign for a people who reason.
Dates and grapes can give a good drink or an intoxicant.
Sahih Muslim 2004
Sahih... ينتبذ له أول الليل فيشربه إذا أصبح يومه ...
"Nabidh was prepared for him at the start of the night and he drank it that morning, then the next night and day."
The Prophet drank nabidh for a limited time, before it could ferment.
Sahih Muslim 2003
Sahih... كل مسكر خمر وكل مسكر حرام ...
"Every intoxicant is khamr, and every intoxicant is haram."
Once it intoxicates, it is forbidden.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Ashriba. Nabidh of dates and raisins is lawful before it intoxicates.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Ashriba. The fatwa follows Imam Muhammad that every intoxicating drink is forbidden in any amount.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.