|
submit
articles |
| Alcohol and Drug Abuse:
Islamic Perspective
Shahid Athar MD* In Pakistan the first known case of heroin
addiction was recorded in 1980. In 1981, there were only 25 cases
recorded. The rate of growth of narcotic addiction in Pakistan is higher then that of the USA. In addition to heroin addicts, there are about I million opium and hashish users, and 300,000 tranquilizer abusers. The actual number of alcoholics is difficult to determine, since they usually do not seek treatment. There are only 26 rehabilitation centers and 10,000 trained social workers. By comparison, in the USA with a population
of 220 million, there are 15 million alcoholics, 2 million heroin addicts,
5.5 million cocaine users, 6 million tranquilizer abusers and 18 million
marijuana smokers. There are 700 treatment centers. (There are 10,000
cocaine kids (children bom to cocaine mothers). The cost of drug treatment to the nation
(USA) is $117 billion per year. In 1986 Congress allotted only $2.5
billion to control drug traffic, a $1 10 billion industry. The value of
cocaine seized at the borders in 1985 was $70 million (5 million in 198 1)
and marijuana $70 million (2 million in 1981). Next to Columbia, the USA
is the second biggest producer of marijuana. In addition to morbidity, the alcohol and
drug scene is closely connected to the crime rate. In 1985 alone 800,000
artests were made for drug violations (compared to 400,000 in 1973). Of
the 523,000 inmates in U.S. prisons, one-third admitted drinking alcohol
before committing the felony. Of the 50,000 auto accident deaths annually, 23,000 are related to acute alcoholism, 5,000 being teenagers. About 1,500,000 arrests made annually for traffic violation are related to alcoholism. In addition great man made disasters have taken place due to one man's alcohol indulgence: the Captain of the Exxon tanker in Alaska. No wonder, the ethics committee in the US Congress was so careful in choosing the Defense Secretary. One-third of all 200,000 AIDS cases occur in IV drug abusers or their partners. 54% of drug related AIDS are in heterosexual men, 16% in women, 20% in homosexual men, 8% in partners of drug users and 3% in children bom to mothers with drug abuse or mothers whose partners were drug abusers. The alcohol and drug abuse in children as young as 5 is increasing at an alarming rate. THE ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE The Shariah or Islamic Law seeks to protect
faith (belief in one God), life (abortion, suicide, homicide), property
(ownership) and the mind (intoxicants). Normally in the brain there is an
inhibitory control which tells us not to engage in shameful or wrongful
acts. Any suppressant drug including alcohol will suppress this nerve
pathway and remove the restraint. Ability to make a judgment, to protect
the body or honor, a quality for humans, is lost under the influence of
drugs. There are two main features of Islamic prohibitions. Islam stops the wrong at the inception and
not at the end. There is nothing like a safe drinking age or safe drugs to
get high on. Most of the teenage alcoholics do not buy alcohol from the
store but get it at home. Islamic law makes no distinction between
children and parents. Total prohibition (or total abstinence), is required
of all unlike the prevalent practice in Western society. This duality of
standards (or double standard of judgment) has crippled Western societies
in their ability to deal with the problems of drugs and alcohol. Islam blocks all the avenues to wrong.
Therefore not only is illicit sex prohibited, but the casual free mixing
of sexes, obscenity and pomography is prohibited. In the same context, not
only is drinking wine prohibited, but making it, serving it, selling it,
keeping it, or even growing grapes for the sole purpose of selling it to a
winery for making wine is prohibited by the Prophet. Some 1400 years ago,
God, our Creator and Sustainer, Who cares for us, sent down following
revelation in the following order, mentioned in the Quran, "They ask
you concerning wine and gambling. Say: 'In them there is a great sin, and
some profit, for men, but sin is greater than the profit... (2:219).
"O you who believe! Approach not prayers, with a mind befogged, until
you can understand all that you say" (4:43). "O you who believe!
Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by)
arrows, are an abomination of Satan's handiwork: Avoid such (abomination)
that you may prosper" (5:93). "Satan's plan is to sow enmity and
hatred among you with intoxicants and gambling, and to hinder you from the
remembrance of God and from prayer Will you not then give up" (5:93). The above verses were received over a
period time. Muslim society was gradually prepared psychologically for the
final prohibition so that when the last verse was received, they accepted
it without any reluctance. When the prohibition was announced it had an
electric effect. Anyone who happened to be drinking, threw away the glass
and the cups raised to the lips were dashed to the ground. The streets of
Madinah that day flowed with wine! THE PROPHET ON WINE AND OTHER
INTOXICANTS * "Every intoxicant is khamr, and every khamr is unlawful" (Reported by Muslim). * "Of that which intoxicates if taken in large amounts, a small amount is (also) haram" (Ahmad, Abu-Dawaud and Al-Timidhi). * "Intoxicants are the mother of all evils" (reported in Bukhari). SOLUTIONS There are no easy solutions. In fact it is a multifaceted problem and each aspect should be addressed individually and seriously, both by the government and by the public. While the total ban on production, import and export is the ideal solution to create a drug free society, by experience (i.e. in the USA with total ban on alcohol in the 1920s), it is difficult to achieve unless strict laws are made and enforced against drug producers, traffickers and offenders, without making any distinction between the helpless victim and a powerful drug lord. Our current system punishes the former and spares the latter. Islam offers such tough laws to safeguard peace, morality and health of individuals and society. While we are trying to do these, in the meantime, we should pay more attention to the needs of the victim by educating the masses, social workers, law enforcement agencies and physicians, while at the same time developing treatment and rehab centers to cope with ever increasing human sufferings, and to help some young men, women, sons, daughters, husbands and fathers from being lost forever. All these require motivation and commitment from all of us. It is beyond the dignity of a human being to become dependent on alcohol and drugs and be unable to look after himself, his family and serve his creator in the best possible manner. Reprint Requests: Excerpt reproduced with permission from: |
