Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jan 2008
Source: Gulf Times (Qatar)
Copyright: Gulf Times Newspaper, 2008
Contact:  http://www.gulf-times.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3835
Author: Dr. Bilal Philips

ISLAM'S WAR ON 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 - 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: Richard Lake