implies prohibition. If there had been a permissible way to utilize it, its pouring out would not have been allowed; rather, he would have guided them to it, especially since it belonged to orphans whose neglect regarding their wealth is forbidden. Furthermore, this is the consensus of the Companions. It is narrated that Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, ascended the pulpit and said (5): "It is not lawful for khamr that has been corrupted to be turned into vinegar until Allah the Exalted is the One who undertakes its corruption." There is no harm for a Muslim to buy vinegar from the People of the Scripture, provided he does not intentionally cause it to corrupt; for at that point, the prohibition applies. This was reported by Abu 'Ubayd in "Al-Amwal" (6) with a similar meaning. This is a widely known statement because he addressed the people with it from the pulpit, and it was not objected to. As for when it turns into vinegar on its own, it becomes pure and lawful according to the opinion of all of them. It has been narrated from a group of the early generations that they used vinegar derived from khamr; among them were Ali, Abu al-Darda, Ibn Umar, and Aisha. Al-Hasan and Sa'id ibn Jubayr granted a concession regarding it. There is nothing in any of their reports suggesting that they intentionally turned it into vinegar, nor that it turned into vinegar on its own. However, Umar clarified this with his statement: "It is not lawful for khamr that has been corrupted to be turned into vinegar until Allah is the One who undertakes its corruption." This is because when it turns into vinegar on its own, the cause of its prohibition is removed without a successor cause, so it becomes pure, like water when its change (7) is removed by remaining stagnant. If something is thrown into it and it becomes impure thereby, then (8) it turns into vinegar, what was thrown into it remains impure, thus rendering it impure and prohibited. As for if one moves it from one place to another, and it turns into vinegar without anything having been thrown into it, then if he did not intend to turn it into vinegar, it becomes lawful by that, because it turned into vinegar through the act of Allah the Exalted upon it. If he did intend to turn it into vinegar by doing so, it is possible that it becomes pure, because there is no difference between the two cases except for the intention, which does not necessitate its prohibition. It is also possible that it does not become pure, because it was turned into vinegar intentionally, and thus does not become pure, just as if something had been thrown into it.

1607 - Issue: He said: (And drinking from vessels of gold and silver is forbidden)