THE
production, sale and consumption of intoxicating
addictive drugs have become a world-wide problem.
Today, hardly any country is safe from its destructive
influence. The number of lives lost and ruined
yearly because of drugs is unimaginable. Furthermore,
the problem has been increasing exponentially
with every decade. Due to the increased awareness
of law-enforcement agencies around the world to
the problem, an international war against drugs
was declared some years ago and international
bodies, like the UN, have made it a significant
part of their agenda. However, for one-fifth of
the world's population, the anti-drugs campaign
began 1,400 years ago, when the rest of the world
was drowning in drug-crazed debauchery. It began
in a small city called Madinah, in the north of
Arabia when the following Qur'anic verses ( 5:
90-91 ) were first revealed to Prophet Muhammad
( sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam - may Allah's
peace be upon him ) and his followers: "O
Believers! Intoxicants, gambling, idolatry and
fortune-telling are abominations devised by Satan.
So, avoid them in order to be successful. Satan
seeks to stir up enmity and hatred among you through
intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from
the remembrance of Allah and from regular prayer.
So, will you not then desist?" ( 5: 90-91
) The term used in the verse, khamr, refers to
all forms of intoxicating drugs as Prophet Muhammad
( sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam ) stated, "Every
intoxicant is khamr and every form of khamr is
haraam ( forbidden )." The Prophet ( sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam ) was also quoted as saying:
"Every intoxicant and every narcotic is unlawful,"
and, "If a substance intoxicates when taken
in large quantities then even small quantities
of it are forbidden." The most common and
popular intoxicating drug in the seventh century
was alcohol and it remains until today, in spite
of the wide variety of synthetic drugs which are
currently on the market.
Consequently, its production, sale and consumption
were all absolutely abolished with the revelation
of this verse in the heart of Arabia 14 centuries
ago. Clauses in the Prohibition It is worth noting
that the prohibition of drugs in these two Qur'anic
verses addresses a number of socio-religious issues
with far-reaching implications. Label: Branding
drugs as an abomination ( rijs ).
By labelling drugs as filth in this verse, Allah
addresses the natural inclination of human psychology
to avoid what is filthy, dirty and nasty. No matter
how clean and pure something might seem at first,
once someone informs that it is, in fact, impure
and filthy, humans are naturally inclined to avoid
it. The divine label of "filth" also
counters the various enticing names which people
may give to drugs, like ecstasy, ice, etc. Prophet
Muhammad ( sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam ) also
referred to drugs as filth saying, "Intoxicants
are the mother of all filthy and evil acts."
Classification: Equating drugs to gambling and
idolatry The Almighty put intoxicating substances
in the same category as gambling, where most people
lose their savings, become addicted and destroy
their lives. The harm of gambling is so well known
that most countries have laws prohibiting most
of its forms. Taking drugs is a big gamble. Many
people die from it and most have their lives ruined.
Only a few who become addicted to it manage to
escape its clutches and return to a normal life.
In these verses drug consumption is also put on
par with sacrifice to false gods; something so
objectionable that most societies today have abandoned
it. When a person takes drugs, he sacrifices his
health, his wealth and his faith to the false
gods which his own desires have become, as the
Almighty said, "Have you seen the one who
makes his desires his god?" ( Qur'an ) Health
and wealth are blessings from God which are to
be used in beneficial ways pleasing to God. They
are responsibilities about which everyone will
be asked on the Day of Judgment. The Prophet (
sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam ) said, "No
one's feet will move from his place of resurrection
until he is asked about five things: his health
and how he used it, his wealth from where he earned
it and how he spent it, ..." Drug consumption
is also made equivalent to fortunetelling, which
is absolutely forbidden in Islam. Fortunetelling,
which claims knowledge of the unseen and the future
belonging exclusively to God, is a major act of
disbelief. Thus, Allah implies that the very faith
of those who consume drugs comes into question.
Prophet Muhammad ( sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam
) reiterated this point by saying, "A person
is not a believer while he drinks alcohol."
By classifying drugs on a par with games of chance,
idolatrous practices and the fortunetelling, all
of which have been pronounced as absolutely forbidden,
the prohibition of drugs is further emphasised.
Satanic Origin: Branding them as devised by Satan.
Allah identified the origin of drugs for humans
to realise that they are weapons of their most
avowed enemy, Satan. In the battle for human souls,
Satan uses a variety of tools which he beautifies
and makes alluring in order to trap human beings.
Avoidance: Emphasising the prohibition by using
avoidance. Allah's use of the imperative 'avoid'
makes the injunction much stronger and more comprehensive
than it would have been had the word 'prohibited'
been used instead. The implication here is that
one should not only refrain from the consumption
of drugs but also anything to do with their production
and distribution should be avoided. Consequently,
the Prophet ( sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam )
said, "Ten people are cursed due to intoxicants,
the one who prepares it, the one for whom it was
prepared, the one who consumes it, the one who
carries it, the one to whom it is carried, the
one who pours it, the one who sells it, the one
who benefits from its sale, the one who buys it
and the one for whom it was bought." He further
emphasised the importance of avoidance by stating,
"One should not sit at a table at which alcohol
is consumed." Furthermore, the Prophet (
sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam ) prohibited Muslims
from even keeping the containers in which alcohol
was traditionally kept. Success: Linking the avoidance
of drugs to prosperity
In the above verse, the Almighty also made the
avoidance of intoxicants a precondition for prosperity.
People naturally desire success and wealth and
they despise failure and poverty. Thus, Allah
addresses the human psyche by promising success
to those who avoid intoxicants. When the wealth
normally consumed by addicts is recycled, the
financial benefits to society are quite tangible.
However, the social benefits to both the individual
and family are even more priceless. Furthermore,
real wealth, is as the Prophet ( sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam ) said "richness of the heart and
soul, and not an abundance of property."
It is contentment which those who take drugs seek
but never find, and that only comes from a sober
search for God. Ultimate success is paradise,
so the Prophet ( sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam
) informed that, "One who consumes drugs
and does not repent will not drink it in the Hereafter
even if he enters Paradise." Sows Discord
and Hatred In these verses, the Almighty points
out that Satan uses drugs to create enmity among
people.
It has been proven statistically that the majority
of hate-crimes are committed by those under the
influence of drugs. Hinders Remembrance of God
and Prayer The Almighty warned of the most evil
consequence of drug consumption; that it prevents
people from remembering God and making regular
prayer, which is their regular means of remaining
in contact with God. Once the consciousness of
God is lost, corruption quickly fills the vacuum
and those under the influence easily commit the
most heinous of crimes without any sense of shame
or morality. Intoxicated people are very susceptible
to the most perverse suggestions. They lose their
shyness and moral values leading to some of the
most incredibly evil acts. Reports of drug-crazed
fathers raping their own baby daughters, husbands
killing their wives and eating them, and so on,
abound in newspapers around the world.
In one narration from the Prophet ( sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam ) he was reported to have said,
"Intoxicants are the mother of despicable
acts and the greatest of major sins. Whoever consumes
them abandons regular prayer, and rapes his mother
or his aunt." Prayer is a deterrent against
indecency and sinfulness, as the Almighty said
( Qur'an ) and it is the foundation of remembrance
of God. Allah points out that the consumption
of drugs breaks the believers' main link with
God and thereby destroys spiritual well-being.
In order to further emphasise its danger to prayer,
the Prophet ( sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam )
said, "The prayer of one who drinks alcohol
will not be accepted for forty days and nights."
A Rhetorical Question This verse is concluded
with a rhetorical question, "Will you not,
then, desist?" This grammatical construction
creates the strongest possible threat. On hearing
it, the Prophet's companion's response was, "We
do, Our Lord: We do!" After hearing all the
expressions of prohibition and grasping their
implications, can an intelligent person ignore
warning? This question addresses common sense
and reason. It invites the thinking person to
make the necessary steps to help remove this destructive
channel from society. History Repeats Itself
Descriptions of Madinah at the time when these
verses were revealed to Prophet Muhammad ( sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam ) illustrate the impact that
they had on the fledgling community there. Historians
reported that the streets of Madinah flowed with
wine, as containers were broken and poured in
the streets, and even those who had cups of wine
in their hands and others who had wine glasses
at their lips, stopped immediately and emptied
them in the streets. The prohibition of drugs
has remained a way of life for Muslims from that
day until today. Though some elements of Muslim
society have indulged at different points in history,
and many modern Muslim governments have become
lax and permissive, for the vast majority of Muslims,
the production and consumption of drugs remains
prohibited. In the West and East, governments
of countries like, USA, Canada, Russia, etc.,
have at varying times in the 20th century and
for varying lengths of time prohibited the production,
sale and consumptions of alcohol, however, these
periods of prohibition all came to an end. Drugs
cannot be eliminated by legislation alone. Legislation
is a beginning, it is a tool, but the will to
implement the legislation has to come from the
power of faith within the population as a whole.
The various successful anti-addiction programmes,
like Alcoholics Anonymous, which were developed
in the secular West all require individuals trying
to overcome their addictions to call on God, the
Higher Power, to help them succeed.
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