Pubdate: Thu, 23 Jun 2005
Source: Gulf Times (Qatar)
Copyright: Gulf Times Newspaper, 2005
Contact:  http://www.gulf-times.com/
Author: Dr Bilal Philips, of Qatar's Guests Centre

WAR ON DRUGS BEGAN 14 CENTURIES AGO

The State of Qatar is to mark Anti-Drugs Day on June 26 as part of a
global campaign against illicit drugs. 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 =AD 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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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin