Intoxicants and Recreation in Islamic Law
Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination
| This article or section is being renovated. Lead = 1 / 4
Structure = 2 / 4
Content = 3 / 4
Language = 3 / 4
References = 3 / 4
|
Intoxicants (الخمر al‐khamr) such as alcohol, marijuana, other drugs,[1] and recreational games of chance, such as board games[2] (including chess),[3] card games, and other forms of gambling, are forbidden under Islamic law. However, this regulation in its current form was absent in early Islam.
Initial rules surrounding intoxicants
Intoxicants (namely, alcohol) were permitted during the early phase of Islam. Some websites claim that Muhammad drank intoxicating wine, though that claim is not directly supported in the hadith literature.
In the Qur'an, wine is elevated and characterized as a blessing of God upon earth.
Sakr سكر or intoxicating drink is said to be a sign (or a miracle) from God:
It is also described as an aspect of heaven:
The Qur'an was purportedly revealed to Muhammad over a period of 23 years[4], and it is not written in chronological order. A chronological reading would indicate a gradual shift in religious attitudes toward intoxicants.
Over the course of the Qur'an's composition, older revelations were stricken and replaced by newer ones, a phenomenon known as Naskh (abrogation). When Muhammad's followers were attending prayer at the mosque while intoxicated, the following verse was revealed to warn against such behavior:
Later, a revelation suggests that some intoxicants and games of chance are good while others are bad:
The hadith record that Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib, in a drunken state, mutilated two camels belonging to Ali, chopping of their humps and taking out their livers.
When rebuked by Muhammad, Hamza insulted him to his face, saying "Aren't you but the slaves of my father?"
Restriction of alcohol and games of chance
Muhammad banned the consumption of all intoxicants in response to Hamza's actions:
Muhammad referred to alcohol (which is found in heaven) as an "abomination" and "Satan's handwork":
Games of chance were also banned:
Al-Muwatta 52:6, See also:
Al-Muwatta 52:7Muhammad compared playing chess with dyeing one's hand in the flesh and blood of swine:
After the revelation of verse 5:90, Muhammad ordered beatings for anyone who violated his rules regarding these substances:
Muhammad and his successors also ordered floggings:
Muhammad ordered that repeat offenders be put to death:
AbuDawud said: And there is a similar tradition of Umar ibn AbuSalamah, from his father, on the authority of AbuHurayrah, from the Prophet (peace be upon him): If he drinks wine, flog him if he does it so again, a fourth time, kill him.
Later, Umar (the second Rashidun Caliph) clarified that al-khamr refers to all intoxicants:
Tafsir ibn Kathir
Umar ordered eighty stripes as the mildest form of punishment:
Modern usage
Many Muslim-majority countries still restrict the sale, purchase, and drinking of alcohol by adults, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia,[5] the Maldives, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates.[6] Punishments vary by country, but many are consistent with the Sunnah of Muhammad. They range from weeks to months of imprisonment, public flogging, and (in the case of Iran) the death penalty.
This prohibition, in many cases, does not exclude the non-Muslim. For example, in June 2009, Catholic chef Sapon D Costa was jailed in Bangladesh for the possession of alcohol.[7]
Despite these laws and widespread negative views of alcohol among Muslims, Euromonitor International reported in 2011 that alcohol use in predominantly Muslim regions of the world increased by 25 percent in 5 years.[8] Additionally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported in the same year that Malaysia, a country with a Muslim majority, is the world's tenth largest consumer of alcohol.[9]
See Also
- Alcohol - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Alcohol
External Links
- Muhammad, the Quran, and Prohibition - Islam’s punishments for drinking and gambling - Answering Islam
- On Khamr (And What Intoxicates) - Islamic site
References
- ↑ "....The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) replied: "Every intoxicant is khamr, and every khamr is haram."....“Khamr is what befogs the mind.” These are the words spoken by 'Umar ibn al-Khattab from the pulpit of the Prophet (PBUH),....Drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, opium, and the like are definitely included in the prohibited category of khamr. It is well known that the use of such drugs affects the sensory perceptions, making what is near seem distant and what is distant seem near; that their use produces illusions and hallucinations, so that the real seems to disappear and what is imaginary appears to be real; and that drug usage in general impairs the faculty of reasoning and decision-making...." - [Alcohol and Intoxicants in Islam] - Muslim Bridges
- ↑ "....the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever plays games of dice has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger."...." - Al-Muwatta 52:6, See also Al-Muwatta 52:7
- ↑ "....Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: He who played chess is like one who dyed his hand with the flesh and blood of swine...." - Sahih Muslim 2260, See also Al-Muwatta 52:7
- ↑ Living Religions: An Encyclopaedia of the World's Faiths, Mary Pat Fisher, 1997, page 338, I.B. Tauris Publishers,
- ↑ Malaysian model seeks public flogging for drinking - The Associated Press, August 20, 2009
- ↑ Prohibition
- ↑ Catholic chef has a “really rough time in Dhaka’s central jail” - Asia News, June 11, 2009
- ↑ Islam: Survey, Alcohol Use In Mideast-Africa +25% In 5 Years - ANSAmed, February 23, 2011
- ↑ Tanya Thomas - Despite Its Muslim Majority, WHO Names Malaysia as World's 10th Largest Alcohol Consumer - Medindia Health Network, May 24, 2011