Nutmeg in tea Question: Is it allowed to drink tea with nutmeg? Sheikh Adnan Al-Maṣqari hafidahullāh: Nutmeg that is mixed with tea is ḥarām because it causes intoxication. Many early scholars, like Ibn Ḥajar Al-Haytami(1), said it is intoxicating. Some people drink it and say it makes them feel relaxed, but after drinking it, they don’t know what they’re saying or doing. Others talk to them, but they’re confused and speak nonsense, feel very sleepy, and so on. Hence, nutmeg is intoxicating and therefore ḥarām. It looks like a small egg, about half the size of an egg, and is a bit dark in colour. It is not allowed to use it. Don’t believe those who tell you that it refreshes the heart or makes the mind sharper. No—anything that intoxicates is ḥarām, and the rule is: if a lot of something makes you drunk, even a little of it is haram. As for nutmeg, even a small amount of it can cause intoxication. It has effects stronger than qāt (a plant some chew for stimulation). -------------------- (1) In his book "Az-Zawājir ’an Iqtirāf Al-Kabā'ir", under major sin number 170. He quotes Ibn Daqīq Al-’īd as saying that it causes intoxication, and also mentions the opinions of other scholars like Ibn Al-’Imād, and later scholars from the Shāfi’ē, Māliki, and Ḥanbali schools, including Ibn Taymiyyah. There are no opinions from earlier scholars because nutmeg only became known in later times.