How
much alcohol and drugs does Islam allow?
by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi
“The first
declaration made by the Prophet, peace and blessings be
upon him, concerning this matter was that not only is Khamr
(wine or alcohol) prohibited but that the definition of Khamr
extends to any substance that intoxicates, in whatever
form or under whatever name it may appear. Thus, beer and
similar drinks are haram.
The Prophet,
peace and blessings be upon him, was once asked about
certain drinks made from honey, corn, or barley by the
process of fermenting them until they became alcoholic.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, succinctly
replied, "Every intoxicant is Khamr, and
every Khamr is haram." Reported by
Muslim.)
And `Umar, may
Allah be pleased with him, declared from the pulpit of the
Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that "Khamr
is that which befogs the mind." (Reported by Al-Bukhari
and Muslim.)
Islam takes an
uncompromising stand in prohibiting intoxicants,
regardless of whether the amount is little or much. If an
individual is permitted to take but a single step along
this road, other steps follow; he starts walking and then
running, and does not stop at any stage. That is why the
Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Of
that which intoxicates in a large amount, a small amount
is haram." (Reported by Ahmad Abu Dawood,
and At-Tirmidhi.) And again, "If a bucketful
intoxicates, a sip of it is haram."
(Reported by Ahmad, Abu Dawood, and At-Tirmidhi.)
Prohibition of
Drugs:
"Khamr
is what befogs the mind." These are the words spoken
by `Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,
from the pulpit of the Prophet, peace and blessings be
upon him, providing us with a decisive criterion for
defining what falls under the prohibited category of khamr.
There remains then no room for doubts and questions: any
substance which has the effect of befogging or clouding
the mind, impairing its faculties of thought, perception,
and discernment is prohibited by Allah and His Messenger,
peace and blessings be upon him, and will remain so until
the Day of Judgment.
Drugs such as
marijuana, cocaine, opium, and the like are definitely
included in the prohibited category of khamr. It is
well known that the use of such drugs affects the sensory
perceptions, making what is near seem distant and what is
distant seem near; that their use produces illusions and
hallucinations, so that the real seems to disappear and
what is imaginary appears to be real; and that taking
drugs in general impairs the faculty of reasoning and
decision-making. Such drugs are taken as a means of escape
from the inner reality of one's feelings and the outer
realities of life and religion into the realm of fantasy
and imagination.
Added to this psychological fact are the physical effects:
bodily lassitude, dullness of the nerves, and decline in
overall health. The moral consequences, moral
insensitivity, weakening of the will power, and neglect of
responsibilities are also well known. Eventually, drug
addiction weakens a person and makes him a diseased member
of society. Furthermore, drug addiction may result in the
destruction of the family or even drive one to a life of
crime. Since obtaining drugs involves a great outlay of
money, drug addiction may take its toll on the family
budget and even it may tempt the drug addict to resort to
illegal means to pay for drugs.
When we recall
the principle that all impure and harmful things have been
made haram, there can be no doubt in our minds
concerning the prohibition of such detestable substances
such as drugs, which cause so much physical,
psychological, moral, social and economic harm.
Muslim jurists
are unanimous on the prohibition of those drugs which were
found during their respective times and places. Foremost
among them was Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, who said:
“This solid grass (hashish) is haram, whether or
not it produces intoxication. Sinful people smoke it
because they imagine it producing rapture and delight, an
effect similar to drunkenness. While wine makes the one
who drinks it active and quarrelsome, hashish produces
dullness and lethargy; furthermore, smoking it disturbs
the mind and temperament, excites sexual desire, and leads
to shameless promiscuity, and these are greater evils than
those caused by drinking. This perverted habit has spread
among the people after the coming of the Tartars. The hadd
(prescribed punishment) for smoking hashish, whether a
small or large amount of it, is the same as that for
drinking wine, that is, eighty or forty lashes.
He explained the
imposition of hadd for smoking hashish in the
following manner: It is the rule of the Islamic Shari'ah
that any prohibited thing which is desired by people, such
as wine and illicit sexual relations, is to be punished by
imposing hadd, while the violation of a prohibited
thing which is not desired, such as (eating) the flesh of
a dead animal, calls for Ta'zeer (disciplinary
punishment). Now hashish is something desired and craved
for, and it is hard for the addict to renounce it.
Accordingly, the application of the texts of the Qur'an
and Sunnah to hashish is similar to that of wine. (Fatawa
Ibn Taymiyyah, vol. 4, p. 262 f. Also see his book, As-Siyasah
Ash-Shar'iyyah.)
Taken
from www.islamonline.net
http://islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=72331
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