Adeel Malik
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالْأَنصَابُ وَالْأَزْلَامُ رِجْسٌ مِّنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), gambling, Al-Ansab, and Al-Azlam (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaitan’s (Satan) handiwork. So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be successful.
[Qur’ān 5:90]
Islam is a major religion that straightforwardly forbids alcohol consumption.
And while Allāh tells us alcohol has some benefits, He tells us its harm outweighs any such benefit and it is prohibited.
Here are 10 statistics that will blow your mind:
1. 88,000 people die (approximately 62,000 men and 26,000 women) in the US every year due to alcohol-related diseases.
2. Alcohol is the fourth leading preventable cause of death in the US.
3. 10,000 people killed in the US in 2014 due to alcohol-impaired driving.
4. The economic cost of excessive alcohol consumption in the US was $250 billion in 2010, with three-quarter due to binge drinking.
5. Globally, 3.3 million deaths, or 5.9 percent of all global deaths (7.6 percent for men and 4.0 percent for women), were attributable to alcohol consumption in 2012.
6. Alcohol misuse is the fifth global leading risk factor for premature death and disability; among people between the ages of 15 and 49, it is the first.
7. In the age group 20–39 years, globally, approximately 25 percent of the total deaths are alcohol attributable.
8. Alcohol contributes to over 200 diseases and injury-related health conditions, most notably alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers, and injuries worldwide.
9. Globally, 5.1 percent of the burden of disease and injury worldwide (139 million disability-adjusted life-years) was attributable to alcohol consumption in 2012.
10. Drinking alcohol increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, esophagus, pharynx, larynx, liver, and breast.
And so much more that can be listed from official and governmental sources around the world that all point in the same direction.
Indeed, Islam came to preserve human life, mind and spirit. And in prohibiting the followers of Muhammad, peace be upon him, from consuming alcohol and intoxicants, there is a mercy to us and to all of humanity.
And if we think about the society that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent to and how attached they were to intoxicants, we would all begin to realise just how radical, extraordinary and beneficial Islam’s prohibition of alcohol is. Thus, there are many sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that clearly forbids alcohol:
Abstain from Khamr (intoxicants, alcohol) because it is the key (source) of all evils.
[Abu Dawud]
