‘‘Drinking is an emotional thing. It joggles you out of the standards of everyday life, out of everything being the same. It yanks you out of your body and your mind and throws you against the wall,’’ Charles Bukowski.
Many today question the wisdom behind complete prohibition on alcohol in Islam. For them perhaps the Saracen’s faith is a little too strict when forbidding the greatest pleasures of life. Yet so immersed are they in their pursuit of alcoholic pleasure that they ignore both conventional wisdom and scientific facts.
In Surah Baqarah Allah states, ‘‘They ask you (O Muhammad ) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: “In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit.”
It is clear from this verse that though alcohol might have some benefits, its vices are too big for it to be allowed to be consumed in the society.
Even in those so called liberal societies it is clearly visible how alcohol destroys a person completely. It devoid a man of all his strength leaving him addicted to a bottle of booze forever. Alcohol abuse centers propping up every now and then in Europe are a testimony to this.
Present era science has further highlighted the harmful effects of alcohol. Here are some of the following
Fact 1: Alcohol is a means of escapism. Perhaps for many the problems of this world are too much to bear. Having no faith, or not enough faith to give them hope, they turn to drinking.
Fact 2: Short term side effects of alcohol include slurred speech, drowsiness, breathing difficulties, impaired judgment and decreased perception and coordination problems. In short it can not only cause harm but also fatality.
Fact 3: Long term effects of alcohol include unintentional injuries, alcohol poisoning, high blood pressure, stroke, heart-related diseases, liver diseases, nerve damage, cancer and sexual problems. Not suggestible for a long and healthy life.
Fact 4: When a person drinks too much he might lose control over himself and end up committing an act he later regrets. Over the years such acts by alcoholics include murder, car accidents and domestic violence; destroying lives and families completely.
In short present era science only further highlights why alcohol is a curse for the society.
These facts should remove any doubts in the minds of those who question the wisdom behind forbidding alcohol and hopefully enlighten others on the wisdom in Islam.
I for one believe one only needs common sense and look at the countless alcohol abuse treatment centers in the so called civilized west to understand why alcohol is haram!
