Drug alcohol use in Islam. (Note: Most drugs have medical uses and this article does not cover the benificial aspect of drugs. We are dealing with the abuse of drugs when they are taken just for the effects they have on the mind. Names in asterix are substitute names)
*Shuaib is banging his head against the wall because he did not get his fix of sugars. *Aslam is so far gone that he is talking to a blank wall. A mother, after trying all avenues to get her son off drugs, shoots him dead because she is tired of seeing him ruin his life and hers.
This is the reality of drugs. Islam is not about worship and spirituality only, but it has guidelines for every human activity so that we could derive the best out of life. Therefore anything that brings about good to us is naturally encouraged while anything that harms an individual or society is “haraam” (unlawful). Drugs, without doubt, harm an individual and society and it is therefore haraam.
Once, a person from Yemen asked the Prophet ﷺ whether a certain drink that they consume is permissible. The Prophet ﷺ was not familiar with this drink and asked: “Is it intoxicating,” and when he replied “yes” he said: “Every intoxicant is unlawful.” Al Hadis 2:25:13:150.
“O you who believe! intoxicants and games of chance, and altars set up for false deities and divining arrows are only abominations, some of satan’s handiworks, therefore shun each one (of these abominations) so that you may prosper..” Al Quran 5:90
Note, the verse does not refer to alcohol only but all substancees that cause intoxicantion.
As Muslims we have been fairly successful in curbing the use of alcohol in our community, but we have failed totally when it comes to drugs. We do not consider drugs as being haram or we think that it is a little better than alcohol.
The common drug used in our community previously was dagga. Although this is haraam it did not have such an adverse effect on people and our community did not clamp down on it as we should have.
It was quite normal to sometimes have a family member or a friend smoking dagga and quite often those that associate with them, especially the children, thought that it is acceptable to take on such habits and sometimes these children, when they grow up, experiment with other drugs.
Today, we are also faced with legal off the counter drugs that can be abused. People can get hooked on drugs used to treat pain and flu symptoms.
Because of our tolerance to these “not so bad drugs” in these instances, we sit with a huge drug problem. Once a person is on a “not so bad drug” then he is more prone to explore other drugs. Always chasing new highs.
With time, new drugs have come into the market and these drugs of today are far more addictive and causes far more harm than dagga. By talking to family members of drug addicts one can even conclude that it is far worse than alcohol.
Once a person is hooked on to these drugs he becomes a slave to this habit and lives only for the next hit. Family, religion, society and even the drug addict’s own health and wellbeing means nothing to him.
If we care for our children then we need to get our act together by tackling the problem at its roots. As a community we need to change our perception of drugs, including dagga. The mere fact that drugs are harmful is sufficient to prove beyond doubt that drugs are haram.
The consuming of intoxicants is a capital crime in Islam and there is punishment prescribed for this offence. It is also classified as “Guna e Kabira” (the great sins) and we would be punished in the hereafter for this.
The Prophet ﷺ took steps to rid society of this evil and we too must take steps to eradicate this scrounge in our society. We need to talk out against drugs especially to the children.
Such talks on drugs must be made by parents at home, by the moulanas from the pulpits of our mosques, by our radio stations and this topic should also be covered in the maddressa syllabus as well. Our children need to know that drugs that are intoxicanting are also haraam just like alcohol.
Sometimes drugs and alcohol is presented to us as something that brings about happiness and good times. We need to inform our children not to be deceived by the glamorous adverts or the sweet talk of addicts. When one takes these substances, one may feel good for that moment; we may forget our problems, we may lose our inhibitions, we may become light headed and we may even feel this false sense of utopia.
The reality is that our problems do not go away. On the contrary our problems escalate because we are now becoming addicts. Addicts begin to have problems with their parents, spouses and even children.
The biggest problem is that the addict is no longer in control of his life; he no longer has freedom because he has become a slave to this habit. He begins to beg, borrow, steal and even sell his body or soul to support his addiction. We are going for the bait but we are not seeing the hook.
“They ask you concerning intoxicants and games of chance. Say, ‘In both of them is a great sin and both are harmful too, and they have some uses for people, but the sin inherent in them is even more serious than their usefulness.”” Al Quran 2:219
In Islam’s higher teachings, Tasawaff, the emphasis is on love and the wine of love (‘Sharabe Tabura’). This intoxication is pure, wholesome and its effects are everlasting. If it’s a ‘high’ we seek then this is something that should be pursued.
End
Peace and Salutations be upon Muhammad Salallahu Alayhe Wasallam
Published by Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi 2014. Author: Mahomed Hassan Gaffoor WhatsApp: +27 84 910 1486