THE DANGER OF PERSONAL DRUG ABUSE, ADDICTION, AND THE BREAK DOWN OF SOCIETY

Allah said:“O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), and gambling, and Al-Ansāb, and Al-Azlām (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaytān’s (Satan) handiwork. So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) so that you may be successful. Shaytān (Satan) wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allāh and As-Ṣalāh (the prayer). So, will you not then abstain?” [Sūrah Al-Māʾidah (5):90-91]This verse calls on the believers in Allāh who follow His Messenger. The word ‘intoxicants’ applies to any material that spoils the functions of reason, be it drinkable, eatable, or inhaled. The ruling of unlawfulness is also extended to gambling, where earnings are collected by pure luck. The word ‘Al-Ansāb’ refers to the idols the polytheists designated to be worshiped where they offered their animal sacrifices. These prohibited behaviors or beliefs are intangibly impure and constitute a major sin, if not polytheism. It is the Shaytān who embellished them with their appeal to entice people. And since such prohibited acts are an abomination of the devil’s handiwork, it is only evident that one must completely distance himself away from the locations where they may be consumed, out of a desire to win admission to Paradise and salvation from the Hellfire.