Drugs in Islam BY noor559 Islam and Drugs O You who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones and (divination by) arrows are an abomination of Satan’s handiwork. Avoid (such abominations) that you may prosper. (5:90) Todays youth has been taken on the toll of increased drug- usage, and this includes the young Muslims too. More Muslim youth is caught up in drugs than we wish to know. Drug use among Muslims is a creeping enemy that involves the abuse of substances ranging from the inhaling of household products (paint, sprays, glue etc. to shooting heroin. Regardless of their gender, age, economic or social status, or ethnicity, Muslim youth are not immune to the dangerous world of drugs. And the more we deny this problem, the worse it will get. [1] What is a Drug? A drug is a substance which may have medicinal, intoxicating, performance enhancing or other effects when taken or put into a human body or the body of another animal and is not considered a food or exclusively a food. 2] In pharmacology, a drug is “a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental ell-being. “[3] Some of the commonly used drugs are: Caffeine Alcohol Nicotine Cannabis Cocaine Amphetamine Nitrites, poppers Ecstasy LSD Magic mushrooms Solvents (aerosols, gases and glues) Minor tranquillizers (not prescribed) Heroin Crack cocaine Methamphetamine People use drugs for recreation, as a source of fun. It leads to many harmful symptoms like: hyperactivity, agitation, mood swings, irritability, bloodshot eyes, impaired coordination etc.
Drugs in Islam Islam prohibits all drugs that are not medically prescribed. [4] Islam’s prohibition of rugs [5] stems from two concerns: their intoxication effects their harm to the human body Allah SWT has described intoxicants as being appalling, despicable and hateful acts of Satan and he has commanded us to abstain from them, Allah thereafter states: Satan’s plan Is to sow natrea ana enmlty amongst you wltn Intoxlcants ana gamDllng, and to hamper you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. Will you not give up? 5:91) This verse tells us how using a drug is a detestable act of Satan, because intoxicants apart from sowing the seeds of enmity also stop you from the sole urpose of having been sent to the world, namely the remembrance of Allah. Ibn Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah said, “Every intoxicant is khamr (wine) and every intoxicant is haraam (unlawful). : (Muslim) Jabir narrated that the Messenger of Allah said; “Whatever intoxicates in a greater quantity is also unlawful in its smaller quantity. (Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood and Ibn MaJah) Umme Salmah narrates that the Messenger of Allah prohibited every intoxicant and Mufattir (anything which excites and irritates the mind, body and heart). (Abu Dawood) The Islamic Solution [6] The Islamic and sensible solution to the problem is to ban all drugs for recreational and social use. Critics of this ‘magic bullet’ approach will be in uproar, and their opposition will be immediate.
Yet, if we look at the problem objectively, everyone can see the advantages and disadvantages of such a stance. Government bodies are well aware of the social and financial costs of drugs and the staggering toll on the lives of ordinary people. In response to the crisis, tobacco advertisements have been replaced by “Quit” campaigns, drivers are subject to random breath tests by police, nd graphic portrayals of road carnage litter our television screens. Every magic bullet needs a magic gun, and that gun is Islam.
Not the heavy-handed, government- enforced solution that typified the attempts of the American authorities with their ‘Prohibition’ legislation in the 1930s – we all know that was a total failure. What is needed is a similar approach to the one adopted by the Prophet (s) and those early Muslims. Firstly, instill belief in One God firmly into peoples’ hearts and minds, to make them personally aware of, and responsible for, the success or failure of their wn souls.
Then introduce solid and reasonable arguments and programs against consumption of drugs, coupled with step-by-step restriction of use, before completely banning them. Only then can legislation be enforced, because only then will people have the correct, natural attitude of reliance upon their Creator and abhorrence to drugs of all sorts. Drugs are Haraam. It is necessary to abstain from them for the sake of Islam. They ruin people’s lives physically, mentally, morally and spiritually. If anyone is involved with drugs they should stop immediately and seek help.
References: 1 . “Muslim Youth and Drugs: The Reality’. http://www. islam-today. org, n. p. Issue 3 Jan 2013. Web. Retrieved on 23 Nov. 2013. 2. “Drug”. http://en. wikipedia. org, Wikipedia@. n. d. Web. Retrieved on 23 Nov. 2013. 3. “Drug. ” Dictionary. com Unabridged (v 1 . 1), Random House, Inc. , via dictionary. com. Retrieved on 23 Nov. 2013. 4. “Islam: Drugs”. http://www. bbc. co. uk, BBC 2013. n. d. Web. Retrieved on 23 Nov. 2013. 5. Yusuf A1-Qaradawi. “Islam Prohibits Alcohol and Drugs” 6. Zachariah M ttnews, SALAM Magazlne, nttp://www. ramsy. com/salam/ 2013.
