The Arabic word khamr signifies any alcoholic drink which causes
intoxication. We would be stating the obvious if we were to discuss the harmful
effects of drinking on the individual’s mind, his health, his religion, and his
work; or if we discussed the disasters which he brings upon his family by neglecting
their needs and by not fulfilling his obligations, as the head of the family,
toward his wife and children; or if we elaborated on the spiritual, material,
and moral evils which proliferate in societies and nations due to the widespread
consumption of alcohol.
A researcher in this area has rightly stated that: “Mankind has not suffered any
greater calamity than that brought about by the use of alcohol”. If statistics
were collected worldwide of all the patients in hospitals who, due to alcohol,
are suffering from mental disorders, delirium tremens, nervous breakdowns, and
ailments of the digestive tract, to which are added the statistics of suicides,
homicides, bankruptcies, sales of properties, and broken homes related to the
consumption of alcohol, the number of such cases would be so staggering that,
in comparison to it, all exhortation and preaching against drinking would seem
too little.
The Arabs during the period of jahiliyyah were very fond of wine and drinking
parties. This love of wine is reflected in their language, which has nearly one
hundred names for it, and in their poetry, which celebrates the praises of wine,
goblets, drinking parties, and so on.
To eradicate this pervasive evil from society, Allah (swt) adopted
a wise course of education and training, prohibiting it in measured stages. First,
He made it clear to them that the harm of drinking wine is greater than its benefit;
next, He told them not to come to salah while intoxicated; and finally, He revealed
the verse in Sura al-Maidah which prohibited it totally and decisively:?
“O you
who believe! Truly, intoxicants and gambling and divination by arrows are an abomination
of Satan’s doing: avoid it in order that you may be successful. Assuredly Satan
desires to sow enmity and hatred among you with intoxicants and gambling, and
to hinder you from the remembrance of Allah and from salah. Will you not then
desist?” [5:93-94]
In these two verses, Allah strictly prohibited wine and gambling, linking them
to idols and seeking omens by means of divining arrows, and declared them to be
rijs (abominable or filthy), a term which the Qur’an reserves for extremely indecent
and evil things. He ascribes them to the work of Satan, which indeed consists
only of obscenity and evil, and commands the Believers to abstain from them as
the only way to attain success. Allah (swt) then mentions the harmful effects
of wine and gambling on society, namely, the breaking of relationships and ensuing
enmity and hatred, in addition to the harm they do to man’s soul by causing him
to neglect the religious obligations of remembering Allah and of performing
salah.
The verses end with a very stern admonition to abstain: “Will you not then
desist?” And when the Prophet (peace be on him) had finished reciting these
verses for the first time, the listeners answered with the fervent cry, “We
have desisted, O Lord! We have desisted!”.
The response of the Muslims to these verses was remarkable indeed. At the time
some people were drinking, with partly-filled cups in their hands. As soon as
they heard someone announcing, “Wine has indeed been prohibited,” they
poured the remaining drinks upon the ground and broke the big clay pots in which
other drinks were being fermented.
Many present-day governments throughout the world are convinced of the harmful
effects of alcohol on individuals, families, and society. Some governments, such
as that of the United States, have even tried to abolish alcohol by passing, and
attempting to enforce, laws prohibiting the drinking of alcohol. It is only Islam
which has succeeded in combating and eradicating it.
The churchmen hold differing opinions concerning the position of alcohol in Christianity.
Some argue that the Biblical text permits drinking in small quantities, since
it is good for the digestion (see, for example, 1st Tim. 5:23) But if this should
be true, even though a little wine may be beneficial to the digestion, this little
must be prohibited, as a small amount leads to large amounts and one glass to
other glasses, until one becomes addicted to it. For this reason Islam’s stand
in prohibiting alcohol and in blocking all avenues which lead to drinking is very
clear and unequivocal.
(courtesy of http://www.qaradawi.net)
