Voice of British Muslim Women

Fezia Haq, Southfields

‘O ye who believe! intoxicants and games of chance… are only an abomination of Satan’s handiwork. So shun each one of them that you may prosper.’ [Chapter 5, Verse 91]

‘No alcohol safe to drink, global study confirms’ [1], read a BBC article in late 2018. Yet it is one of the intoxicants highly publicised in the media, with a study by Barker et al. (2018) finding that in the year 2015, over 50% of daytime UK television portrayed alcohol content [2]. Its detrimental impacts can be seen in statistics [3]: in the UK, there were over nine thousand alcohol-related deaths in 2016; in the same year, there were around 1.13 million hospital admissions due to alcohol consumption in England; finally, between 2014 and 2016, 67% of all violent incidents were related to alcohol use in England and Wales.

Regarding the ‘game of chance’, better known as gambling, we find that in the year 2018, the gambling or betting industries of the UK had a total of £14.4 billion in gross-gambling-yield. In the same year, 47% of online gamblers reported advertisements to have prompted them to bet [4]. A Guardian article of 2017 highlighted that a government commission found more than 2 million people in the UK to be addicted to gambling or at risk of developing a problem. The case studies mentioned in the article suggest that there is a direct link of gambling with crime, health issues and problems with money – including fraud and loss [5]. Certainly, there are better places such wealth can be spent on.

Even before such studies emerged, we were blessed to have the Holy Qur’an warn us of the use of all intoxicants, including alcohol and wine, as well as involvement in gambling. In the verse above, the Arabic word ‘Khamr’ is used to explain anything that causes drunkenness. The fourth Khalifa (Caliph) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Mirza Tahir Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) eloquently explains this verse[6], stating that alcohol and gambling have ‘satanic elements’ to them. Gambling also impacts our consciousness, and is therefore a vice which must be avoided.

The verse that follows goes on to call out these two acts, and His Holiness’ commentary of it elucidates that these acts break society up, cause discontentment as well as grudges in life. They also hinder a person from following his or her religious duties and from carrying out good works. As we can see, God has placed much wisdom behind these prohibitions, since our involvement in them is not only dangerous to ourselves, but also to those around us, risking well-being, safety and wealth as well as our spiritual states.

Prohibitions may sound like limiting us in what we can do and achieve, but the wisdom of those in the Holy Qur’an are there for the benefit of communities. In the words of our beloved Khalifa His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may Allah be his Helper): “Sins like gambling and alcohol consumption are known as ‘ismul kabeer’ (great sin). Ismul kabeer is a sin that repeatedly incites one to commit sin.”[7]

When matters have been opened up so much, it only becomes incumbent upon us to stay away from these vices.

REFERENCES:

[1] Ives, L. (2018). No alcohol safe to drink, global study confirms. [online] BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-45283401.

[2] Barker, A. et al. (2018). A content analysis of alcohol content in UK television. [online] Oxford Academic Journal of Public Health. Available at:

https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pubmed/fdy142/5078451

[3] Alcohol Change UK. (n.d.). Alcohol statistics | Alcohol Change UK. [online] Available at: https://alcoholchange.org.uk/alcohol-facts/fact-sheets/alcohol-statistics.

[4] Gamblingcommission.gov.uk. (n.d.). Statistics and research. [online] Available at: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/Statistics-and-research/Statistics-and-research.aspx.

[5] Davies, R. (2017). Number of problem gamblers in the UK rises to more than 400,000. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/24/problem-gamblers-uk-gambling-commission-report.

[6] Tarjumatul Quran – Surah al-Maidah [The Banquet]: 84 – 96. (1995). London, UK: MTA International. Available at:

[7] Alislam.org. (2010). Friday Sermon: Jalsa Salana Spain. [online] Available at: https://www.alislam.org/friday-sermon/2010-04-02.html.

Khan, A. (2016). Why Alcohol is Prohibited in Islam. [online] Review of Religions. Available at: http://www.reviewofreligions.org/12519/why-alcohol-is-prohibited-in-islam/#.

Why Alcohol is Prohibited in Islam