Epigraph:
They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: ‘In both there is great sin and also some advantages for men; but their sin is greater than their advantage.’ (Al Quran 2:220)
Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times
According to World Health Organization, alcohol kills a person every ten seconds some where in the world. Binge drinking is out of control in US universities. According to a 2013 survey 35% of college students reported binge drinking, having consumed five or more drinks in a row at least once in the two-weeks prior to completing the survey. About 90% of the alcohol consumed by youth under the age of 21 in the United States is in the form of binge drinks.
Drinking during pregnancy can create a range of problems for the developing fetus.
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) – umbrella term covering a range of neurological, physical and behavioural impairments caused by exposure to alcohol in the womb. Many can be hard to diagnose.
- Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) – a serious form of FASD that is associated with distinctive facial features that make it easier to recognize.
Some experts estimate that approximately 40,000 babies may be born with an FASD in the United States each year. No wonder there is increasing discussion about this issue in BBC and other news media:
Prohibition in the United States was a nationwide constitutional ban on the sale, production, importation, and transportation of alcoholic beverages that remained in place from 1920 to 1933. Prohibition was mandated under the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Enabling legislation, known as the Volstead Act, set down the rules for enforcing the ban and defined the types of alcoholic beverages that were prohibited. For example, religious uses of wine were allowed. Private ownership and consumption of alcohol was not made illegal under federal law; however, in many areas local laws were more strict, with some states banning possession outright. Nationwide Prohibition ended with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, on December 5, 1933.
There was a different kind of Prohibition 1400 years ago in Medina, in Arabia. When the verses about prohibition of alcohol were revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace be on him, he conveyed these to his companions, no policing was needed to establish prohibition. Every believer guided by his or her faith, threw away every alcoholic beverage he or she possessed and broke the containers. In an age before sewerage systems, it is said that alcohol was seen flowing in the streets of Medina.
Since then alcohol use has been minimal in every Muslim society over the centuries compared to other societies. This low prevalence of alcohol consumption and alcoholism is well documented in demographics in the Muslim countries. This is well demonstrated in the pictures below, which also show the highest prevalence in Russia, who believe in Orthodox Christianity:
At a time when 140 million people are suffering from alcoholism, we need the absolute stance of Islamic teachings against alcohol and addiction to free our world from the clutches of this menace. The Holy Quran states:
O ye who believe! wine and gambling are only an abomination of Satan’s handiwork. So shun each one of them that you may prosper. (Al Quran 5:91)
In this verse Allah prohibited use of alcohol and gambling and called them Satan’s handiwork. In the earlier verse that was quoted in the epigraph, Allah recognized that there are some benefits of alcohol but the harm far outweighs all advantage.
Our global village seems to be in dire need of the Quranic moral and spiritual teachings. We need something to overwhelm us emotionally, intellectually and spiritually, to knock the addiction off the throne of our brain waves? The teachings of Christianity about alcohol are ambivalent at best as wine is used in religious services.
I am a firm believer in secularism and Separation of Mosque-Church and State, for every country in the world, so I am not suggesting any Prohibition style legislation against alcohol. I believe Islam can help one individual at a time to become less vulnerable to addiction and if already suffering from the problem, more likely to recover. The whole of Alcohol Anonymous literature is my witness that alcoholics need to yield to a higher power greater than themselves to recover and what better way to do that than to accept the Gracious and the Merciful God of Islam, Who loves each one of us more than a mother and a father love their own children and listens to our prayers.
Alcohol is not only hurting the general society but also pregnant women. I know almost 60,000 women have accepted Islam in Britain in recent years and I believe more will, among other things, to be the best mothers that they can be.
Additional reading
Binge Drinking: moderation is a myth hard to sustain
Alcohol: moderate use a gateway to alcoholism
An international repository for alcohol related problems
Categories: Addiction, Americas, Europe and Australia
1 reply ›