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.