Cannabis, Marijuana,
Hashish and drugs
It has become a sorry
sight to walk the streets and smell cannabis. The wretched stench of this dreaded
drug comes from the ignorant. You could be walking in street and someone could
speed past you driving at 80 miles an hour in a 20 mph zone. You might walk
down a street and see people gathered on street corners puffing the stench of
this intoxicant. As well as people walking intoxicated in the streets.
You could even
enter a shop and smell the aftermath of this wretched smell emanating from
someone as they queue to pay. The young are getting drawn into this nonsense,
and more, without realising the damage they are doing to their lives and the
lives of their families.
I feel like the
problem needs addressing and this is what I will attempt to do.
Purposes of the
scared law
Are five: religion,
wealth, linage, intellect and life. These five things are the reason
the sacred law. Islam was not sent to destroy all other religions rather it was
sent to overcome them, if the adherents willingly choose to become Muslim. But they have a protection and a preservation with their adherents. They are protected people and neither them or their property can be harmed. The caliph was meant
to protect people and their wealth.
Part of protecting people is seeing to
their needs. Even non-Muslims were able to trade with substances unlawful to
the Muslims. Life was an important factor and no blood could be split
without the inference of a court of law.
Intellect is the
important thing here because that is meant to be protected. It is meant to be
developed by knowledge and learning. Drinking, taking drugs and so forth
destroy the mind, knowledge, harm the body and brain. Some of the damage of
drugs irreversible, so it is not a simple matter.
Intoxicants are
unlawful
Intoxicants are
anything that causes the intellect to be abnormally affected in a negative
manner. It does not matter what it is or what name you call it. If it hampers
the intellect then it's unlawful/haram.
These hadiths are
taken from the forty hadith on the unlawfulness of intoxicants complied by
Sheikh Yusuf al-Nabhani (may Allah show him mercy). Available as a ebook on Amazon.
The Messenger of
Allah (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said,
كل مسكر خمر وكل مسكر حرام و من شرب الخمر
في الدنيا فمات و هو يدمنها لم يشربها في الآخرة
"Every
intoxicant is wine and every intoxicant is unlawful. Whoever drinks wine in the
world, dies being drunk will not consume it in the afterlife.” (Al-Bukhari,
Muslim, Abu Dawood, Al-Tirmidhi and Al-Nisa'i.)
This normally
is the hadith, which the argument against wine, alcohol, and drugs are built. All intoxicants
that make one lose their intellect are unlawful. Taking intoxicants can lead to
other sins like illegal fornication and so on.
If he tastes the
pleasure of it then the result is an every lasting punishment.
The Messenger of
Allah (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said,
ما أسكر كثيره فقليله حرام
"What much intoxicates then a little is unlawful."
Sometimes it takes
a while to get drunk because the body gets used to intake and this becomes a
problem. But here the quantity does not matter. A little will lead to a lot
when it comes to intoxicants, as the more one takes the less they have rational
control of their intellects.
The Messenger of
Allah (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said,
لعن الله الخمر وشاربها وساقيها ومبتاعها
وبائعها وعاصرها ومعتصرها وحاملها والمحمولة اليه
"Allah cursed
wine, drinkers, servers, traders, purchasers, extractors, producers, carriers
and those it is carried to.” (Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah)
This is something
that any prepare wine or alcohol should be scared to death of. Anyone involved
in the process of making wine or alcohol is cursed.
Unfortunately, there
are many Muslims trading in alcohol attaining a curse every time they sell
these wretched substances. Similarly are all those involved in drug manufacture,
selling in bulk, selling bags, and so on. All drug dealers are cursed for peddling
things that cause misery. All those involved in heroin, cannabis, cocaine
and all other illegal substances that are killing people. They are all cursed.
The Messenger of
Allah (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said,
مدمن الخمر ان مات لقى الله كعابد وثن
"The drunkard
dies and meets Allah like an idol worshipper.” (Imam Ahmad)
It does not mean
that the drunkard is like an idol worshipper because he could still have his faith
but his desire for alcohol means he is like an idol for his drink. All he sees
is his next fix, be it drink or drugs. The person addicted to drugs is included because the word Khamr is the thing that blocks the intellect as drugs, smoking and so forth does.
Enormities
Ibn Hajar
al-Haytami (may Allah show him mercy) said in his list of enormities from
Al-Zawajir, "(170) to take an intoxicant such as Hashish, opium, henbane,
ambergris, and the like, of substances that are not ritually unclean
[najis]." (p.976 Reliance of the traveller by Ibn Naqib al-Misri
translated by Sheikh Nuh Ha Mim Keller)
Ibn Hajar included
taking drugs as enormity/major sin. Not a minor that you can pretend never
happened. Taking these drugs is a major sin as is selling them.
Ruling of Hashish
Imam Muzani (may Allah
show him mercy) was the first to forbid it [hashish], then he was followed by
the Hanafi's. The names that forbid it are al-Nawawi in Sharh al-Madhab, Ibn 'Asqalani
in takrim al-Mashah, Al-Zakraashi in Zahr al-Ariys, and so forth (p.238 Wadah
al-Burhan by Abdullah al-Hassani al-Idris)
Imam al-Qarafi (may Allah
show him mercy) said
its [unlawfulness is] Ijma/consensus (ibid).
Hafiz al-Dhahabi
(may Allah
show him mercy) said that he considered [smoking] hashish a major sin that necessitates the
punishment of drinking wine. (ibid)
It is stated in Fatawa Ridawiyyah by Imam Rida Khan (may Allah
show him mercy) : "A
person who uses marijuana is definitely a Fasiq and worthy of punishment."
[Fatawa Ridawiyyah volume 25, 105]
It is further stated in Fatawa Ridawiyyah:"These
[marijuana etc.] devilish substances have such an effect that it creates holes
in the stomach." [Fatawa Ridawiyyah, volume 25, page 213]
Imam Rida Khan is clearly stating the harm of these horrible drugs are known and he rightly explained them with the addition that they make holes in the stomach.
Imam al-Haskafi (may Allah
show him mercy) said in al-Durr al-Mukhtar, "Every disliked
[meaning highly disliked] forbidden is like the forbidden in the punishment of
the fire." (p.605)
Imam al-Haskafi said the punishment is the fire for involving oneself into drugs.
Imam Ibn Abiden (may Allah show him mercy) position is here
http://marifah.info/articles/Cannabis-IbnAbidin.pdf
Harms of Hashish
Muhammad ibn
Zakariyah al-Razi al-Tabib (may Allah
show him mercy) said, "It gives birth to many [useless]
thoughts, it makes impotent, it dries out because it is not wet in the major
limbs." (ibid p.242)
The author Abdullah
al-Hassani continues, "it causes forgetfulness, sudden death, confused
intellect, high temperature, putrid breath, blood loss, blackened teeth and
falling out, yellowness, reduced shyness, birth to much bitterness, hair loss
due to dryness, manifestation of a hidden illness, languid limbs, shortened
life, increased bafflement, cause of catarrh or loss of sight, the loss of
mind, sitting with Satan, laziness and failure, considering a loin to be
mountain, considering humiliation mighty, to make the eloquent deaf, the
intelligent stupid, the intellect disappears, the perpetrator is distant from
the Sunnah, evicted from paradise, promised to be cursed by Allah; unless he
leaves it and repents." (p.242).
Can it be used as a medicine? I would not like to comment about this.
Unlawful drinks
Imam Abu Laith
al-Samarqandi (may Allah
show him mercy) said in Hazanah al-Fiqh, "there are four unlawful drinks: 1.
Wine which is wrung from grapes when it is yielded, fermented and mixed in a
churn. 2. Wrung then cooked until less than a third evaporates. 3. When raisins
or dates are soaked and fermented. 4. Date or raisin juice when ether of them
is cooked [but] before it is fermented, it is lawful. When it is strengthened
and drinking from it does not over the mind and does not intoxicate and he does
not speak foolishly or dance, then there is no harm in mixing them."
[p.339]
Against you
Have you ever
wondered why your body talks on the day of judgement? It talks because we have
dishonoured, humiliated and oppressed it in our lives. Your body is not yours
this is why the body complains because your body belongs to Allah. The
oppressed are given a tongue to speak out against their oppressor, you. It is
your responsibility to maintain your health and not to take silly risks with
it.
Wretched brothers
There are many
names for this drug and it is similar to smoking but its physical damage is
slightly quicker. Both smoking cigarettes and taking any drug takes its toll on
the body and some of it reversible. They are brothers of the same tree of
intoxication that destroys the individual.
In Halal wa
Haram/the lawful and the prohibited in Islam of the modernist Yusuf al-Qardawi,
[p.77] he says, "Drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, opium and the like are definitely
included in the prohibited character of Khamr." He continues, "the
Muslim jurist were unanimous in prohibiting those drugs which were found during
their respective times and places. Foremost amount them was Ibn Taymiyyah, who
said, "The solid grass (hashish) is haram, whether or not it produces
intoxication. Sinful people smoke it because they find it produces rapture and
delight, an effect similar to drunkenness. While wine makes the one who drinks
it active and quarrelsome. Hashish produces dullness and lethargy; furthermore,
smoking it disturbs the mind and temperament, excited sexual desire, and leads
to shameless promiscuity, and these are greater evils than those caused by
drinking. The use of it has spread among the people after the coming of the
tartars." [p.78.]
Imam Muzani (may Allah
show him mercy), a student of Imam Shafi (may Allah show him mercy) was the
first to forbid it. Its use was not widespread at the time and only became like
that after a few hundred years and according to Ibn Taymiyyah is was due to the Tartars.
Al-Qastalani (may Allah
show him mercy) said
in his commentary of al-Bukhari/Irshard al-Sari lliSharh Sahih al-Bukhari,
(كل شراب أسكر فهو حرام) ولو لم يسكر المتناول بالقدر الذي تناوله منه،
وعند أبي داود والنسائي وصححه ابن حبان عن جابر قال -صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ-:
"ما أسكر كثيره فقليله حرام". وفي ذلك جواز القياس باطّراد العلة وعلى هذا
فيحرم جميع الأنبذة المسكرة، وبذلك قال الشافعية والمالكية والحنابلة والجمهور، وقال
أبو المظفر السمعاني: وقياس النبيذ على الخمر بعلة الإسكار والإطراب من أجلى الأقيسة
وأوضحها والمفاسد التي في الخمر توجد في النبيذ، وقال الحنفية: نقيع التمر والزبيب
وغيرهما من الأنبذة إذا غلى واشتدّ حرم ولا يحدّ شاربه حتى يسكر ولا يكفر مستحله، وأما
الذي من ماء العنب فحرام ويكفر مستحله لثبوت حرمته بدليل قطعي ويحدّ شاربه، وقد ثبتت
الأخبار عن النبي -صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- في تحريم المسكر، وقد قال عبد
الله بن المبارك: لا يصح في حلّ النبيذ الذي يسكر كثيره عن الصحابة ولا عن التابعين
شيء إلا عن إبراهيم النخعي ويدخل في قوله: كل مسكر حرام حشيشة الفقراء وغيرها وقد جزم
النووي وغيره بأنها مسكرة
"All drinks that intoxicate are unlawful." Even if
does not intoxicate by a [single] cup that is taken. Abu Dawud, al-Nisa'i and
ibn Hibban authenticate that Jabbar reports that he (may Allah bestow peace and
blessings upon him) said, "What much intoxicates then a little is
unlawful." In this is disregard for the reason, despite is being unlawful
for all intoxicating beverages. That is the opinion of Shafis, the Malikis, the
Hanbalis and a great many. Abu Muzafar al-Samani said, "The reasoning about
Nabid being the cause of wine being intoxicating and entertainment is the
upmost reasoning. The clearest is that the corruption that is in wine is found
in nabid. The Hanafi's say, "Soaking dates and raisins and so forth of
nabid when it is cooked and fermented is unlawful. There is no penal punishment
for drinking it until intoxicated and it is not disbelief if deemed lawful. As for
that which is water of the grape then this is unlawful and disbelief if deemed
lawful because the affirmation of its unlawfulness is decisively proven and
there is penal punishment for drinking it. It is proven in narrations that the
Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) forbade intoxicants. It
was said by Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak, "It is not authenticate about the permissibility
of nabid which intoxicates from most of the companions and from their students
anything except Ibrahim al-Nakhai. It enters into this word every intoxicant is
unlawful and cannabis of the poor is unlawful and so forth. It was affirmed by
al-Nawawi and others say it unlawful because it is an intoxicant. The meaning
of drinking wine is consuming it."
The nabid that the Hanafi's
allow is that which has not fermented yet but this is widely a confused matter. So it is
recommended for people to stay away from such things when there is confusion.
Criminal element
Is one of the most
dangerous things about cannabis and drugs. They use this to fund misery and
make fortunes by making addicts from their customers. If you cannot use it
yourself then you cannot give it someone else. If you had alcohol then it would
not be a crime to waste it because it is worse for you to use it or give it
away. Even to a non-Muslim who does not have diet-restrictions other than those
needed for their health. The proof is:
لا ضَرَرَ و لا ضِرَارَ
The Messenger of
Allah (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said, “Do not cause harm
or respond with harm.” (Muslim)
This is also a
proof against using anything that kills your body. Heroin, smack, LSD, and so
forth are call included because they all destroy the individual. Some addicts
become so addicted that they begin to steal and involve themselves in criminal activity
for their next hit.
Criminals who sell,
produce, manufacture this evil substances are included in the prohibition. They
have sold their afterlife and are heading towards hell. One of the curses of a
evil drug dealer is to do more and more.
Poverty is not an
excuse because plenty of people work hard jobs but do not drug deal. People in countries
are worse off because they could claim benefits and look for a job or re-train.
There is no excuse to deal with such substances. I hope these criminals are put
behind bars for a long time or even deported.
Solutions?
Is there a solution
to this problem? There would not be a demand for such services if people were
not doing them. So why do not we look to ourselves and not take the drugs.
I
watched a rather depressing documentary about a designer drug called 'spice'.
That was making people into walking zombies, after consuming them. But who are helping such people? Cuts to vital services need to be renewed so that people can get more support.
There was a
government run project were people could take drugs in safe environment. This
seems like a solution of sorts but we need to ask hard questions to ourselves.
Quitting is hard
but not impossible and someone who tries hard can leave it. Any addiction can
be conquered with hard work but it takes time. That person needs a lot of hard
work. Quitting any harmful addiction takes time and should be done slowly.
I personally have
no sympathy for drug dealers, rapist or pimps. They will be punished in this
world or the next. They will not get away with the evil that they have done.
Conclusion
I would love for
the streets to be cleaned up and drugs to be removed from our streets and for
it to be removed from our world, But this is not a perfect world. The police,
local authorities, government officials and so on should be supported in their fight against it.
I personally detest
drug dealers and their ilk. They are cursed in this world and the next. Money is
the only thing we are asked about twice. Once how you earned and the second
time is how you spent it. If someone is a wretched drug dealer then they will
be punished twice for earning the haram, then they will have to answer for each
transaction they made. Each time they answered their phones and so on. You might
look at them now with their fancy cars and want it. However, on the Day of
Judgment they will be wishing to be you. So, they can escape decades of
sins. Know that you we commit a sin against another person then they will have
to forgive us before we are forgiven. These sins Allah does not forgive. The sins
that include the rights of others are the sins with the most punishment. None are
going to punished more for their sins like a drug dealer or pimp. Anyone who uses drugs funds criminal activity and therefore is a party to this evil.
وَمَن يَعْـمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرّاً يَرَهُ
"Whoever does the least bit
of evil will be recompensed for it."(Quran 100:8)
Drug dealing and
taking are not little things, they are major sins.So if you are going to be recompensed for minor sins, what do you think about major sins like drug dealing, drug taking and drink alcohol/wine?
