What is Alcohol?

• The word alcohol is derived from the Arabic word al-kuhul, which means grains, fruits, or vegetables that form an intoxicating beverage when fermented. Fermentation is a process that uses yeast or bacteria to change the sugar in the food into alcohol.
• Alcohol is widely used, either pure or denatured, as a solvent, in drugs, cleaning solutions, explosives, and intoxicating beverage.
• An alcoholic beverage is defined as any liquid containing from 0.5% to 80% ethyl alcohol by volume.
• Non-alcoholic beverages are products that have less than 0.5% alcohol by volume, compared with 4% for regular beer, 3% for light beer, and 2% for most wines. The non-alcoholic drinks may not be free from alcohol, as there is no known process that will extract all the alcohol from an alcoholic drink.
• Soft and carbonated drinks do not contain any alcohol. Some soft drink flavors are extracted with alcohol, but the residual alcohol is at insignificantly low level and do not have any technical or functional effect on that drink.
• Alcohol or wines may be added to food during cooking for flavor or taste. Enough wine must be added to give the characteristic wine-flavor product. Wine added to food recipes may cook off, but it depends on the method and duration of the cooking process as shown in the following table prepared by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA):

Preparation Method                                                      % Alcohol Retained
 

Alcohol added to boiling liquid

and removed from heat                                                             85%

Flame                                                                                     75%

No heat; stored over night                                                         70%

Backed 25 min, alcohol not stirred                                            45%
 

Backed/simmered, alcohol stirred into mixture:

15 minutes                                                                               40%

30 minutes                                                                               35%

1 hour                                                                                      25%

1.5 hours                                                                                  20%

2.0 hours                                                                                  10%

2.5 hours                                                                                    5%

___________________________________________________________                                                                                                                                                 

How Does Alcohol Affect the Body?

Alcohol is a depressant, which means it slows the function of the central nervous system. Alcohol actually blocks some of the messages trying to get to the brain. This alters a person's perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing.

In very small amounts, alcohol can make a person feel more relaxed or less anxious. More alcohol causes greater changes in the brain, resulting in intoxication. People who have overused alcohol may stagger, lose their coordination, and slur their speech. They will probably be confused and disoriented. Depending on the person, intoxication can make someone very friendly and talkative or very aggressive and angry. Reaction times are slowed dramatically — which is why people are told not to drink and drive. People who are intoxicated may think they're moving properly when they're not. They may act totally out of character.

When large amounts of alcohol are consumed in a short period of time, alcohol poisoning can result. Alcohol poisoning is exactly what it sounds like — the body has become poisoned by large amounts of alcohol. Violent vomiting is usually the first symptom of alcohol poisoning. Extreme sleepiness, unconsciousness, difficulty breathing, dangerously low blood sugar, seizures, and even death may result.

In addition, heavy drinking increases the risk of developing the following diseases (3):

• Hepatitis (inflammation of the liver).
• Cirrhosis (scarring of the liver). Up to 3 in 10 long-term heavy drinkers develop cirrhosis.
• Stomach disorders.
• Pancreatitis (severe inflammation of the pancreas).
• Mental health problems including depression, anxiety, and various other problems.
• Sexual difficulties such as impotence.
• Muscle and heart muscle disease.
• High blood pressure.
• Damage to nervous tissue.
• Accidents - drinking alcohol is associated with a much increased risk of accidents. In particular, injury and death from fire and car crashes.
• Some cancers (mouth, gullet, liver, colon and breast).
• Obesity (alcohol has many calories).
• Damage to an unborn baby in pregnant women.
• Alcohol dependence (addiction).

In the USA more than 100,000 deaths a year are related to drinking alcohol (4).

Alcohol Drinking and Problems to Others

Heavy alcohol drinking in one person often seriously damages others. Many families have become severely affected by one member becoming a problem drinker. Emotional and financial problems often occur in such families. It is estimated that 3 in 10 divorces, 4 in 10 cases of domestic violence, and 2 in 10 cases of child abuse are alcohol related. Often the problem drinker denies or refuses to accept that the root cause is alcohol.

Some Common Myths about Drinking Alcohol

Myth: Alcohol stimulates a person to become livelier.

Fact: Alcohol is actually a depressant of the brain and its function. There is a common belief that it removes (depresses) inhibitions. Careful observation has shown that "removing inhibitions" happens before alcohol levels in the blood reach a noticeable threshold. Thus, the real reason for "removing inhibition" appears to be anticipatory learned behavior.

Myth: People who become aggressive and violent after alcohol use cannot control their behavior because it is caused by alcohol's action on the brain.

Fact: Many people learn to associate certain moods and behaviors with the alcohol effect and behave in a manner in which they wish to behave. The behavior then becomes 'conditioned'. People can learn to change the conditioning. Thus, people, not alcohol, are to blame.

Myth: Alcohol enhances sexual performance and desire.

Fact: Shakespeare's quote that alcohol “provokes the desire but inhibits the performance” is well-known. Alcohol interferes with achieving erections. In research studies, alcohol has been shown even to reduce sexual desire.

Myth: Alcohol promotes good sleep.

Fact: People dependent on alcohol cannot sleep well without alcohol. Those who do not use alcohol regularly may have disturbed sleep after alcohol consumption.

Myth: Alcohol helps people to forget their problems.

Fact: This has become a 'truth' because regular and heavy alcohol users often say this is the reason why they drink alcohol. Very often the opposite is found to be true – people bring up forgotten problems only when they are intoxicated.

Myth: Alcohol is a good way to cope with cold weather.

Fact: Alcohol makes blood vessels of the skin dilate and the skin feels warm. But in a cold environment, the body tries to save heat by cutting down the blood supply to the skin. Thus alcohol is not a good way to "warm up" in the cold. If a person is exposed to the cold after consuming alcohol, there can be significant heat loss from the body. This can be dangerous for health.

15

Myth: Alcohol has been shown to be "good for the heart", so one should drink alcohol every day.

Fact: There is some research which has shown the potential protective effect of alcohol on the heart. This research has been based on consumption of small amounts of alcohol, mostly wine, one or two glasses, on a daily basis. Even if this is true, the harm from alcohol outweighs the good, so it should be avoided (verse 2:219 in the Quran). If a person wants to help his/her heart, there are better ways to do it, like regular exercising and eating less saturated fat and cholesterol.

Myth: “He is really a good man; it is the alcohol which makes him abuse me.”

Fact: When a woman is beaten by a husband while he is sober, she may consider this as unacceptable. However, if he behaves in exactly the same manner after drinking, she may forgive him and blame alcohol. Society's view of intoxicated people makes it less risky to behave defiantly while intoxicated. However, projects on prevention of harm from alcohol have shown that if society will not tolerate unacceptable behavior with or without alcohol, such behavior ceases. An unacceptable behavior is unacceptable, with or without alcohol.

Myth: "In our society, alcohol 'loosens up' people, so they enjoy themselves".

Fact: Most societies have set the norms for uninhibited behavior while intoxicated. People appear to adhere strictly to these norms and rules. The “uncontrolled” impulses appear to be controlled by society's instructions about the effects of alcohol upon behavior. Thus, people learn about drunkenness from what their society "knows" about drunkenness.

16

Myth: "If your friends are drinking, you have to drink to have a good time with them."

Fact: Behavioral research has documented that in a group drinking alcohol; even those who are not drinking can have an equally good time and behave in the same uninhibited manner. Adolescents call this "getting high on other people's alcohol".

Intoxicants and Islam

Khamr or khamrah is the word used in the Quran to denote a fermented beverage that intoxicates a person when he/she drinks it. It is sometime translated as “wine”.

The general rule in Islam is that any substance that get people intoxicated when taken is unlawful (haram), both in small and large quantities, whether it is alcohol, drugs, fermented raisin drink, or any other form.

Intoxicants were forbidden in the Qur'an through several separate verses revealed at different times over a period of years (6). At first, it was forbidden for Muslims to attend to prayers while intoxicated (4:43). Then a later verse was revealed which said that alcohol contains some good and some evil, but the evil is greater than the good (2:219). This was the next step in turning people away from consumption of it. Finally, "intoxicants and games of chance" were called "abominations of Satan's handiwork," intended to turn people away from God and forget about prayer, and Muslims were ordered to abstain (7):

“ O you who believe! Truly, intoxicants and gambling and divination by arrows are an abomination of Satan's doing: avoid it in order that you may be successful * Assuredly Satan desires to sow enmity and hatred among you with intoxicants and gambling, and to hinder you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. Will you not then desist?” (5:90-91)

According to Al-Qaradawi (8) and Shaltoute (9), in these two verses, Allah strictly prohibited wine and gambling, linking them to idols and seeking omens by means of divining arrows, and declared them to be rijs (abominable or filthy), a term which the Qur'an reserves for extremely indecent and evil things. He ascribes them to the work of Satan, which indeed consists only of obscenity and evil, and commands the Believers to abstain from them as the only way to attain success. Allah Ta'ala then mentions the harmful effects of wine and gambling on society, namely, the breaking of relationships and ensuing enmity and hatred, in addition to the harm they do to man's soul by causing him to neglect the religious obligations of remembering Allah and of performing prayer. The verses end with a very stern admonition to abstain: "Will you not then desist?" And when the Prophet (PBUH) had finished reciting these verses for the first time, the listeners answered with the fervent cry, "We have desisted, O Lord! We have desisted!"

The response of the Muslims to these verses was remarkable indeed. At the time some people were drinking, with partly-filled cups in their hands. As soon as they heard someone announcing, "Wine has indeed been prohibited," they poured the remaining drinks upon the ground and broke the big clay pots in which other drinks were being fermented.

Other questions related to the prohibitions of intoxicants in Islam are covered in the following sections quoted from Al-Qaradawi’s book “The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam” (8):

All Substances that Intoxicate are Prohibited (Haram)

As mentioned previously, the Arabic word khamr signifies any alcoholic drink which causes intoxication. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) first declared that not only is wine prohibited but that the definition of khamr extends to any substance which intoxicates, in whatever form or under whatever name it may appear, Thus, wine, beer, gin, whiskey, hashish, cocaine, and similar substances are haram.

The Prophet (PBUH) was once asked about certain drinks made from honey, corn, or barley by the process of fermenting them until they became alcoholic. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) replied: "Every intoxicant is khamr, and every khamr is haram." And 'Umar declared from the pulpit of the Prophet, "Khamr is that whichever befogs the mind."

Whatever Intoxicates in Large Amounts is Forbidden (Haram) in any Amount

Islam takes an uncompromising stand in prohibiting intoxicants, regardless of whether the amount is little or much. If an individual is permitted to take but a single step along this road, other steps would follow; he starts walking and then running, and does not stop at any stage. This is why the Prophet (PBUH) said: "Of that which intoxicates in a large amount, even a small amount is haram."  And in another hadeeth He said: "If a bucketful intoxicates, a sip of it is haram." For this reason, most observant Muslims avoid intoxicants in any form, even small amounts that are sometimes used in cooking or may be detected in the so called “non- alcoholic beverages”.

Trading in Alcohol

The Prophet (PBUH) did not stop at prohibiting the drinking of alcohol, whether much or little, but he also forbade any trading in it, even with non-Muslims. It is not permissible for a Muslim to import or export alcoholic beverages, or to own or work in a place which sells them. In connection with alcohol, the Prophet (peace be on him) cursed ten categories of people saying: “Truly, Allah has cursed khamr and has cursed the one who produces it, the one for whom it is produced, the one who drinks it, the one who serves it, the one who carries it, the one for whom it is carried, the one who sells it, the one who earns from the sale of it, the one who buys it, and the one for whom it is bought.”

When the above verses of Surah al-Maidah (5:90-91) were revealed, the Prophet (PBUH) announced: “Truly, Allah has prohibited khamr. Therefore, whoever hears these verses and possesses some of this substance should neither drink it nor sell it.” The narrator of this hadeeth said: "The people brought forth whatever they possessed of it and poured it out in the streets of Madinah."

Since the Islamic method is to block all avenues which lead to the haram, it is also haram for a Muslim to sell grapes to a person whom he knows will make khamr from them. A hadeeth states: “If someone stockpiles grapes during harvest time and holds them in order to sell them to a Jew or Christian or anyone else (even if he is a Muslim) who produces khamr, he will be leaping into the Fire with his eyes open.”

Alcohol Cannot Be Given as a Gift

Just as the sale of alcohol or receiving the price of it is haram for the Muslim, likewise giving it as a gift to anyone, such as a Christian or Jewish friend, is haram. Alcoholic beverages cannot be received or given by a Muslim as gifts because a Muslim is pure and neither gives nor receives anything except what is pure.

It is reported that a man brought a cask of wine to the Prophet (peace be on him) as a gift. The Prophet (peace be on him) informed him that Allah had prohibited it. “Shall I not sell it?”, asked the man. “The One Who prohibited drinking it has also prohibited selling it”, replied the Prophet (PBUH). “Shall I not give it to a Jew as a gift?”, asked the man. “The One Who has prohibited it has also prohibited that it be given as a gift to the Jew”, said the Prophet. “Then what shall I do with it?”, asked the man. “Pour it on the ground”, the Prophet replied.

Avoiding Drinking Parties

In the same spirit, the Muslim is ordered to stay away from drinking parties or gatherings at which drinks are served. 'Umar narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying: "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day must not sit at table at which khamr is consumed."

While it is the duty of a Muslim to eradicate the evil he sees, if he is unable to do so, he must stay away from it, leaving the place where people are engaged in such things.

It is reported that the rightly-guided Caliph 'Umar ibn 'Abdul'Aziz used to flog not only those who drank but those who sat with them as well, even if they were not themselves drinking. When once he was told of a group of people who were at a drinking party, he ordered that all of them be flogged. He was told that a person who was fasting was among them. "Begin with him," he said. "Have you not heard Allah's saying, “And He has revealed to you in the Book that when you hear the revelation of Allah rejected and mocked, you are not to sit with them until they turn to some other theme; for if you do so, you will be like them.... "(4:140)

Alcohol, Itself a Disease, Cannot Be a Medicine

From all the explicit texts of the Qur'an and ahadith quoted above, we see that Islam is very firm in combating alcohol, as well as in keeping the Muslim away from it by erecting barriers between him and it so that no opening, either wide or narrow, is left for him either to consume alcohol or to touch it. The Muslim is not allowed to drink it in large or small amounts; he is not permitted to handle it through selling or buying, manufacturing, or giving it as a gift; he is not allowed to bring it to his home or shop; he is not allowed to serve it at gatherings, for a joyous occasion or otherwise, or to serve it to a non-Muslim guest; and he is not allowed to mix it with any food or beverage.

A question raised by some people who still remain to be answered concerns the use of alcohol as a medicine. This question was answered by the Prophet (PBUH) when a man told him that he used wine as a medicine. The Prophet (PBUH) said: “It is not a medicine but a disease.”

He also said: “Allah has sent down the disease and the cure, and for every disease there is a cure. So take medicine but do not use anything haram as medicine.”  

With regard to intoxicants Ibn Mas'ud said: “Allah has not made a cure for you in what He has prohibited to you.” It is therefore not surprising that Islam forbids the use of alcohol and other prohibited substances as medicines. As explained by Ibn Qayyim, the prohibition of a thing implies avoiding and staying way from it by every means, while taking it as a medicine renders it desirable and requires keeping it on hand, and this is against the Law-Giver's purpose. Ibn Qayyim, said: “If alcohol were permitted as medicine when people are already inclined toward it, it would provide them with an excuse to drink it for pleasure and enjoyment, especially since people have the impression that it is beneficial for their health, alleviates their complaints, and cures their diseases.”

One may also mention that the attitude of the patient toward the medicine he takes has a considerable effect in hastening or delaying the cure. Ibn Qayyim, who had considerable insight into human psychology, elaborates on this point in the following manner: One condition for the efficacy of the medicine is that the patient believes in its efficacy and that Allah has placed the blessing of cure in it. Now the Muslim patient's belief that a particular substance, such as alcohol, is haram prevents him from believing that it can at the same time be beneficial or blessed. Thus he will not have any trust in it nor will he take it approvingly. On the contrary! The stronger the Muslim's faith, the greater will be his aversion to it and the greater his mistrust of it. If hethen grudgingly takes what he hates and loathes, it will not be a cure for him but a disease.

Having said this, we must again mention the exempted case of necessity; the Islamic Shari'ah has a different ruling for such a case. Supposing a ma's life were in danger and no substitute for a medication containing alcohol were available; a Muslim physician, who was at once an expert in his field and at the same time zealous in safeguarding the commands of religion, would then find no alternative except to prescribe a medication containing alcohol. As its aim is always the welfare of human beings, the Shari'ah permits the taking of such a medicine in such a case. However, one must be aware that this concession is strictly limited to that quality which is deemed essential: ...”But if one is compelled by necessity, neither craving (it) nor transgressing, then, indeed, thy Lord is Forgiving, Merciful.” (6:145)

DRUGS

“Khamr is what befogs the mind.” These are the words spoken by 'Umar ibn al-Khattab from the pulpit of the Prophet (PBUH), providing us with a decisive criterion for defining what falls under the prohibited category of khamr. There remains then no room for doubts and questions: any substance which has the effect of befogging or clouding the mind, impairing its faculties of thought, perception, and discernment is prohibited by Allah and His Messenger (PBUH) until the Day of Resurrection.

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. Such drugs are taken as a means of escape from the inner reality of one's feelings and the outer realities of life and religion into the realm of fantasy and imagination. Added to this psychological fact are the physical effects: bodily lassitude, dullness of the nerves, and decline in overall health. The moral consequences, moral insensitivity, weakening of the will-power, and neglect of responsibilities are also well known. Eventually, addiction to drugs renders a person a diseased member of society. Furthermore, drug addiction may result in the destruction of the family or even in a life of crime. Since obtaining drugs involves a great outlay of money, a drug addict may well deprive his family of necessities in order to buy drugs and may resort to illegal means to pay for them.

When we recall the principle that impure and harmful things have been made haram, there can be no doubt in our minds concerning the prohibition of such detestable substances such as drugs, which cause so much physical, psychological, moral, social and economic harm.

The Muslim jurists were unanimous in prohibiting those drugs which were found during their respective times and places. Foremost among them was Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, who said: “This 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, excites 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. The hadd punishment (The Qur'an specifies the punishments for certain crimes, such as lashing for drinking wine and equal retaliation or compensation in the case of murder or injuries. These punishments are called hadd (plural, hudud), meaning "the limit set by Allah." (Trans.)) for smoking hashish, whether a small or large amount of it, is the same as that for drinking wine, that is, eighty or forty lashes.”

He explained the imposition of hadd for smoking hashish in the following manner: It is the rule of the Islamic Shari'ah that any prohibited thing which is desired by people, such as wine and illicit sexual relations, is to be punished by imposing hadd, while the violation of a prohibited thing which is not desired, such as (eating) the flesh of a dead animal, calls for ta'zir. (For crimes concerning which no specified punishment is mentioned in the Qur'an or Ahadith, the Muslim government may introduce its own punishments, such as fines or imprisonment. Such a punishment is called ta'zir. (Warning). Now hashish is something which is desired, and it is hard for the addict to renounce it. Accordingly, the application of the texts of the Qur'an and Sunnah to hashish is similar to that of wine. (Fatawa Ibn Taymiyyah, vol. 4, p. 262 f. Also see his book, Al-Siyasah al-Shar'iyyah.)

The Consumption of Harmful Things is Haram

A general rule of the Islamic Shari'ah is that it is haram for the Muslim to eat or drink anything which may cause his death, either quickly or gradually, such as poisons, or substances which are injurious to health or harmful to his body. It is also haram to eat or drink large quantities of a substance if large quantities of it cause illness. For the Muslim is not entirely his own master; he is also an asset to his religion and his ummah (the Muslim nation), and his life, health, wealth, and all that Allah has bestowed upon him are a trust with him which he is not permitted to diminish. Says Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala: “And do not kill yourselves; indeed, Allah is ever Merciful to you.” (4:29). He also says: “And do not be cast into ruin by your own hands...” (2:195), and His Messenger (PBUH) said: “Do not harm yourself or others.”

As an application of this principle, we may say that if it is proved that the use of tobacco is injurious to health, it is haram, especially for a person whose physician has advised him to stop smoking. Even if it is not injurious to health, it is still a waste of money, spent neither for religious nor for secular benefit, and the Prophet (PBUH) forbade wasting of property. This becomes the more serious when the money is otherwise needed for the sustenance of oneself or one's family.

  References

1.      Mian N. Riaz, “Alcohol: The Myths and Realities”, www.islamawareness.net/Alcohol/alcohol_myths.html.

2.      “Alcohol”, www.kidshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/alcohol/alcohol.html.

3.      “Alcohol and Sensible Drinking”, www.patient.co.uk/printer.asp?doc=23068675.

4.      “Alcohol: Facts, Statistics, Resources, and Impairment Charts”, www.gdcada.org/statistics/alcohol.htm.

5.      Hans Olav Fekjaer, “Alcohol and Illicit Drugs: Myths and Realities”, IOGT Alcohol and Drug Information Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka 1993.

6.      “Why is Alcohol forbidden in Islam”, http://islam.about.com/od/health/f/alcohol.htm.

7.      Note- the Quran is not arranged chronologically, so later verses of the book were not necessarily revealed after the earlier verses.

8.      Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, “The Lawful and The Prohibited in Islam” (Al-Halal wal Haram fil Islam”, Translated by Kamal El-Helbawy et al,  Published by Islamic Book Trust, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, edition 1995, Reprint 2001.

9.      Mahmoud Shaltoute, “Al Fatawy”, Published by Dar El-Shorouq, Cairo, Egypt, the 14^th Edition (1987).