It is said that one day Bahlool went to Haroun, who was busy drinking wine. He wanted to prove that he was safe from forbidden eating and drinking, so he asked Bahlool, “Is it forbidden to eat grapes?”
“No!”
“What if after eating grapes, water is drunk over them?”
“There is no harm.”
“After eating the grapes and drinking water, one sits for a while in the sun?”
“Even then there is no harm.”
Then the Khalifa said, “Then if grapes and water are placed in the sun for a time, how does it become forbidden?”
Bahlool said, “If some dirt is put on one’s head will it cause any harm?”
“No.”
“Afterwards if water is poured on it, will it cause any pain?”
“No.”
“If that dirt and water are mixed to make a brick, and thrown on a person’s head, will it cause any pain?”
The Khalifa said, “True, the brick will break a person’s head.”
Bahlool said, “The way dirt and water mixed together break the human’s head and cause him pain; likewise, grapes and water mixed together become such a thing that the law of Shariah forbids it and states it as impure. Drinking wine causes man many troubles and it becomes obligatory to punish its drinker.”
The Khalifa was distressed at Bahlool’s answer, and ordered the wine stock to be removed.