WHY IS THE CONSUMPTION
OF ALCOHOL PROHIBITED IN ISLAM?
PROHIBITION OF ALCOHOL IN ISLAM,CHRISTINITY AND HINDUSIM:
WHY IS THE CONSUMPTION
OF ALCOHOL PROHIBITED IN ISLAM?
Ans:
Alcohol has been the scourge of human society since time
immemorial. It continues to cost countless human lives, and causes terrible
misery to millions throughout the world. Alcohol is the root cause of several
problems facing society. The statistics of soaring crime rates, increasing
instances of mental illnesses and millions of broken homes throughout the world
bear mute testimony to the destructive power of alcohol.
1. Prohibition of alcohol in the Qur’an
The Glorious Qur’an prohibits the consumption of alcohol in
the following verse:
"O
ye who believe! Intoxicants and Gambling, (Dedication of) stones, And
(divination by) arrows, Are an Abomination – Of Satan’s handiwork; Eschew such
(abomination), That ye may prosper."
[Al-Qur’an
5:90]
2. Alcohol inhibits the inhibitory centre
The human beings possess an inhibitory centre in their
brains. This inhibitory centre prevents the person from doing things that he
considers wrong. For instance a person does not normally use abusive language
while addressing his parents or elders. If he has to answer the call of nature,
his inhibitory centre will prevent him from doing so in public. Therefore he
uses the toilet.
When a person
consumes alcohol, the inhibitory centre itself is inhibited. That is precisely
the reason that an inebriated person is often found to be indulging in
behaviour that is completely uncharacteristic of him. For instance the
intoxicated person is found to use abusive and foul language and does not
realize his mistake even if he is addressing his parents. Many even urinate in
their clothes. Neither do they talk nor walk properly. They even
misbehave.
3. Cases of adultery, rape, incest and AIDS are found
more among alcoholics
According to National Crime Victimization Survey Bureau of
Justice (U.S. Department of Justice) in the year 1996 alone everyday on an
average 2,713 rapes took place. The statistics tell us that the majority of the
rapists, were intoxicated while committing the crime. The same is true in cases
of molestation.
According to
statistics, 8% of Americans commit incest i.e. one in every twelve to thirteen
persons in America is involved in incest. Almost all the cases of incest are
due to intoxication of one or both the persons involved. One of the major factors associated with the spread of
AIDS, the most dreaded disease, is alcoholism.
4. Every alcoholic was initially a social drinker
Many may argue in favour of liquor by calling themselves
‘social drinkers’. They claim that they only have one or two pegs and they have
self-control and so never get intoxicated. Investigations reveal that every
alcoholic started as a social drinker. Not a single alcoholic or drunkard
initially starts drinking with the intention of becoming an alcoholic or a
drunkard. No social drinker can say that I have been having alcohol for several
years and that I have so much self-control that I have never been intoxicated
even a single time.
5. If a person is intoxicated just once and commits
something shameful, it will remain with him for a lifetime.
Suppose a ‘social drinker’ loses his self-control just
once. In a state of intoxication he commits rape or incest. Even if the act is
later regretted, a normal human being is likely to carry the guilt throughout
his life. Both the perpetrator and the victim are irreparably and irreversibly
damaged.
6. The Prophet of Islam Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
a. “Alcohol is the mother of all evils and it is the most shameful of
evils.”
[In Sunan Ibn-I-Majah Volume 3, Book of Intoxicants, Chapter 30 Hadith
No.3371.]
b. “Anything which intoxicates in a large quantity, is prohibited even in
a small
Quantity.”
[In Sunan Ibn-I-Majah Volume 3, Book of Intoxicants, Chapter 30 Hadith No.
3392]
Thus there is no excuse for a nip or a tot.
c. Not only those who drink alcohol are cursed but also those who deal
with
Them directly or indirectly are cursed by Allah.
It was reported by Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), that Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) said:
“God’s curse falls on ten groups of people who deal with alcohol. The one
who
distills it, the one for whom it has been distilled, the one who drinks
it, the one
who transports it, the one to who it has been brought, the one whom serves
it,
the one who sells it, the one who utilizes money from it, the one who buys
it and
the one who buys it
for someone else.”
[According to Sunan Ibn-I-Majah Volume 3, Book of Intoxicants, Chapter 30
Hadith No. 3380.]
7. Diseases associated with alcoholism
There are several scientific reasons for the prohibition of
consumption of intoxicants i.e. alcohol. The maximum number of deaths in the
world related to any one particular cause is due to the consumption of alcohol.
Millions of people die every year only because of intake of alcohol. I need not
go into the details of all the ill-effects of alcohol since most of them are
commonly known. Below is a simple list of few of the alcohol related
illnesses:
- Cirrhosis
of Liver is the most well known alcohol associated disease.
- Others
are Cancer of Oesophagus, Cancer of Head and Neck, Cancer of Liver
(Hepatoma), Cancer of Bowel, etc.
- Oesophagitis,
Gastritis, Pancreatitis and Hepatitis are linked with alcohol
consumption.
- Cardiomyopathy,
Hypertension, Coronary Artherosclerosis, Angina and Heart Attacks are
linked with heavy alcohol intakes.
- Strokes,
Apoplexy, Fits and different types of Paralysis are linked with alcohol
intake.
- Peripheral
Neuropathy, Cortical Atrophy, Cerebellar Atrophy are well-known syndromes
caused by alcohol consumption.
- Wernicke
– Korsakoff syndrome with amnesia of recent events, confabulations and
retainment of memory to old events with different types of paralysis are
mainly due to thiamine deficiency due to excessive alcohol
intake.
- Beriberi
and other deficiencies are not uncommon among alcoholics. Even Pellagra
occurs in alcoholics.
- Delerium
Tremens is a serious complication that may occur during recurrent
infection of alcoholics or post operatively. It also occurs during
abstention as a sign of withdrawal effect. It is quite serious and may
cause death even if treated in well equipped centres.
- Numerous
Endocrine Disorders have been associated with alcoholism ranging from
Myxodema to Hyperthyroidism and Florid Cushing Syndrome.
- Hematological
ill effects are long and variable. Folic acid deficiency, however, is the
most common manifestation of alcoholic abuse resulting in Macrocytic
Anemia. Zeive’s syndrome is a triad of Hemolytic Anemia, Jaundice and
Hyperlipaedemia that follows alcoholic binges.
- Thrombocytopenia
and other platelet abnormalities are not rare in alcoholics.
- The
commonly used tablet metronidazole (flagyl) interacts badly with
alcohol.
- Recurrent
infection is very common among chronic alcoholics. The resistance to
disease and the immunological defense system are compromised by alcohol
intake.
- Chest
infections are notorious in alcoholics. Pneumonia, Lung Abcess, Emphysema
and Pulmonary Tuberculosis are all common in alcoholics.
- During
acute alcoholic intoxication, the drunk person usually vomits, the cough
reflexes which are protective are paralysed. The vomitus thus easily pass
to the lung causing Pneumonia or Lung Abscess. Occasionally it may even
cause suffocation and death.
- The
ill effects of alcohol consumption on women deserves special mention.
Females are more vulnerable to alcohol-related Cirrhosis than men. During
pregnancy alcohol consumption has a severe detrimental effect on the
foetus. Foetal Alcohol Syndrome is being recognised more and more in the
medical profession.
- Skin
diseases are also related to alcohol indulgence.
- Eczema,
Alopecia, Nail Dystrophy, Paronychia (infection around the nails) and
Angular Stomatitis (inflammation of the angle of the mouth) are common
diseases among alcoholics.
8. Alcoholism is a ‘disease’
Medical doctors have now turned liberal towards alcoholics
and call alcoholism a disease rather than an addiction.
If alcohol is a disease, it is the only disease that:
- Is
sold in bottles
- Is
advertised in newspapers, magazines, on radio and television
- Has
licensed outlets to spread it
- Produces
revenue for the government
- Brings
violent deaths on the highways
- Destroys
family life and increases crime
- Has
no germs or viral cause
ALCOHOLISM IS NOT A DISEASE – IT IS SATAN’S HANDIWORK
Allah (swt) in His Infinite Wisdom has warned us against
this snare of Satan. Islam is called the "Deen-ul-Fitrah" or the natural religion of Man. All
its injunctions are aimed at preserving the natural state of man. Alcohol is a
deviation from this natural state, for the individual as well as for society.
It degrades man to a level below that of the beasts he claims to be superior
to. Hence the consumption of alcohol is prohibited in Islam.
PROHIBITION OF ALCOHOL IN CHRISTINITY AND HINDUSIM:
PROHIBITION OF ALCOHOL IN THE BIBLE
THE BIBLE PROHIBITS THE CONSUMPTION
OF ALCOHOL IN THE FOLLOWING VERSES:
a. “Wine is a mocker, strong drink
is raging; and whosoever is
deceived thereby is not wise.”
[Proverbs 20:1]
b. “And be not drunk with wine.”
[Ephesians 5:18]
There is more
condemning the use of alcoholic beverages than will be found on the subjects of
lying, adultery, swearing, cheating, hypocrisy, pride, or even blasphemy.
1) Genesis 9:20-26 - Noah became
drunk; the result was immorality and family trouble.
2) Genesis 19:30-38 - Lot was so drunk he did not know
what he was doing; this led to immorality
3) Leviticus 10:9-11 - God commanded priests not to
drink so that they could tell the difference between the holy and the unholy.
4) Numbers 6:3 - The Nazarites were told to eat or drink
nothing from the grape vine.
5) Deuteronomy 21:20 - A drunken son was stubborn and
rebellious.
6) Deuteronomy 29:5-6 - God gave no grape juice to
Israel nor did they have intoxicating drink in the wilderness.
7) Deuteronomy 32:33 - Intoxicating wine is like the
poison of serpents, the cruel venom of asps.
8) Judges 13:4, 7, 14 - Samson was to be a Nazarite for
life. His mother was told not to drink wine or strong drink.
9) 1 Samuel 1:14-15 - Accused, Hannah said she drank no
wine.
10) 1 Samuel 25:32-38 - Nabal died after a drunken
spree.
11) 2 Samuel 11:13 - By getting Uriah drunk, David hoped
to cover his sin.
12) 2 Samuel 13:28-29 - Amnon was drunk when he was
killed.
13) 1 Kings 16:8-10 - The king was drinking himself into
drunkenness when he was assassinated
14) 1 Kings 20:12-21 - Ben-Hadad and 32 other kings were
drinking when they were attacked and defeated by the Israelites.
15) Esther 1:5-12 - The king gave each one all the drink
he wanted. The king was intoxicated when he commanded the queen to come.
16) Psalm 75:8 - The Lord’s anger is pictured as mixed
wine poured out and drunk by the wicked.
17) Proverbs 4:17 - Alcoholic drink is called the wine
of violence.
18) Proverbs 20:1 - Wine is a mocker, strong drink is
raging.
19) Proverbs 23:19-20 - A wise person will not be among
the drinkers of alcoholic beverages.
20) Proverbs 23:21 - Drunkenness causes poverty.
21) Proverbs 23:29-30 - Drinking causes woe, sorrow,
fighting, babbling, wounds without cause and red eyes.
22) Proverbs 23:31 - God instructs not to look at
intoxicating drinks.
23) Proverbs 23:32 - Alcoholic drinks bite like a
serpent, sting like an adder.
24) Proverbs 23:33 - Alcohol causes the drinker to have
strange and adulterous thoughts, produces willfulness, and prevents
reformation.
25) Proverbs 23:34 - Alcohol makes the drinker unstable
26) Proverbs 23:35 - Alcohol makes the drinker
insensitive to pain so he does not perceive it as a warning. Alcohol is habit
forming.
27) Proverb 31:4-5 - Kings, Princes, and others who rule
and judge must not drink alcohol. Alcohol perverts good judgment.
28) Proverbs 31:6-7 - Strong drink could be given to
those about to perish or those in pain. Better anesthetics are available today.
29) Ecclesiastes 2:3 - The king tried everything,
including intoxicating drink, to see if it satisfied. It did not. (Ecclesiastes
12:8)
30) Ecclesiastes 10:17 - A land is blessed when its
leaders do not drink.
31) Isaiah 5:11-12 - Woe to those who get up early to
drink and stay up late at night to get drunk.
32) Isaiah 5:22 - Woe to "champion" drinkers
and "experts" at mixing drinks.
33) Isaiah 19:14 - Drunken men stagger in their vomit.
34) Isaiah 22:12-13 - The Israelites choose to drink;
their future looks hopeless to them.
35) Isaiah 24:9 - Drinkers cannot escape the
consequences when God judges.
36) Isaiah 28:1 - God pronounces woe on the drunkards of
Ephraim.
37) Isaiah 28:3 - Proud drunkards shall be trodden down.
38) Isaiah 28:7 - Priests and prophets stagger and reel
from beer and wine, err in vision, and stumble in judgment.
39) Isaiah 28:8 - Drinkers’ tables are covered with
vomit and filth.
40) Isaiah 56:9-12 - Drinkers seek their own gain and
expect tomorrow to be just like today.
41) Jeremiah 35:2-14 - The Rechabites drank no grape
juice or intoxicating wine and were blessed.
42) Ezekiel 44:21 - Again God instructed the priests not
to drink wine.
43) Daniel 1:5-17 - Daniel refused the king’s
intoxicating wine and was blessed for it along with his abstaining friends.
44) Daniel 5:1 - Belshazzar, ruler of Babylon; led his
people in drinking.
45) Daniel 5:2-3 - The king, along with his nobles,
wives, and concubines, drank from the goblets which had been taken from God’s
temple.
46) Daniel 5:4 - Drinking wine was combined with
praising false gods.
47) Daniel 5:23 - God sent word to Belshazzar that
punishment would be swift for the evil he had committed.
48) Hosea 4:11 - Intoxicating wine takes away
intelligence.
49) Hosea 7:5 - God reproves princes for drinking.
50) Joel 1:5 - Drunkards awake to see God’s judgment.
51) Joel 3:3 - The enemy is judged for selling girls for
wine.
52) Amos 2:8 - Unrighteous acts of Israel included the
drinking of wine which had been taken for the payment of fines.
53) Amos 2:12 - Israel is condemned for forcing
Nazarites to drink wine.
54) Micah 2:11 - Israelites are eager to follow false
teachers who prophesy plenty of intoxicating drinks.
55) Nahum 1:10 - The drunkards of Nineveh will be
destroyed by God.
56) Habakkuk 2:5 - A man is betrayed by wine.
57) Habakkuk 2:15 - Woe to him that gives his neighbor
drink.
58) Habakkuk 2:16 - Drinking leads to shame.
59) Matthew 24:48-51 - A drinking servant is unprepared
for his Lord’s return.
60) Luke 1:15 - John the Baptist drank neither grape
juice nor wine.
61) Luke 12:45 - Christ warned against drunkenness.
62) Luke 21:34 - Drunkenness will cause a person not to
be ready for the Lord’s return.
63) Romans 13:13 - Do not walk in drunkenness or
immorality.
64) Romans 14:21 - Do not do anything that will hurt
your testimony as a believer.
65) 1 Corinthians 5:11 - If a Christian brother is a
drinker, do not associate with him.
66) 1 Corinthians 6:10 - Drunkards will not inherit the
kingdom of God
67) Galatians 5:21 - Acts of the sinful nature, such as
drunkenness, will prohibit a person from inheriting the kingdom of God.
68) Ephesians 5:18 - In contrast to being drunk with
wine, the believer is to be filled with the Spirit.
69) 1 Thessalonians 5:6-7 - Christians are to be alert
and self-controlled, belonging to the day. Drunkards belong to the night and
darkness.
70) 1 Timothy 3:2-3 - Bishops (elders) are to be
temperate, sober, and not near any wine.
71) 1 Timothy 3:8 - Deacons are to be worthy of respect
and not drinkers.
72) 1 Timothy 3:11 - Deacons’ wives are to be temperate
and sober.
73) Titus 1:7-8 - An overseer is to be disciplined.
74) Titus 2:2-3 - The older men and older women of the
church are to be temperate and not addicted to wine.
75) 1 Peter 4:3-4 - The past life of drunkenness and
carousing has no place in the Christian’s life.
THE HINDU SCRIPTURES PROHIBITS THE CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL IN
THE FOLLOWING VERSES:
i.Manu Smriti:
“A priest-killer, a liquor drinker, a thief and a violator
of his guru’s marriage bed - all of these, and each separately, should be known
as men who committed major crime.”
[(Manu Smriti Ch 9: Verse 235]
Further after two
verses it is mentioned in:
ii.
Manu Smriti
“These miserable men - whom no one should eat with, no one
should sacrifice for, no one should read to, and no one should marry - must
wander the earth excommunicated from all religions”.
[Manu
Smriti Ch 9:Verse238]
A similar message is
repeated in:
iii. “Killing a
priest, drinking liquor, stealing, violating a/the guru’s marriage bed, and
associating with those (who commit these acts) are called the major crimes”.
[Manu Smriti Chapter 11 verse 55]
It is mentioned in
iv. Manu Smriti
“For liquor is the defiling dirt excreted from rice, and
dirt is said to be evil; therefore a priest, ruler, or commoner should not
drink liquor.”
[Manu
Smriti Ch11: Verse 94]
c.Intoxicants /
Intoxicating drinks are prohibited in several other verses of Manu Smriti
including
i. Manu Smriti Chapter 11
verse 151
ii. Manu Smriti Chapter 7 verses 47-50
iii. Manu Smriti Chapter 9 verse 225
iv. Manu Smriti Chapter 12 verse 45
v. Manu Smriti Chapter 3 verse 159
vi. Rigved Book 8 hymn 2 verse 12
vii. Rigved Book 8 hymn 21 verse 14
Reference:
“THE MOST FIFTY COMMON QEUSTIONS ASK BY THE NON MUSLIMS ABOUT ISLAM
UNVEILED” -by Mohammed Asif Ali
https://www.facebook.com/download/105521182953563
/THE%20MOST%2050FIFTY%20COMMON%20QUESTIONS%20ASK%20BY%20THE%20NON%20MUSLIMS%20UNVEILED%20BY%20PEACETV%20A% 20CALL%20TOWARDS%20ISLAM.pdf]